In honor of varalakshmI vratam

Concerts and other events related to CM.
Post Reply
rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

We used to have a practice of musically celebrating various pUjAs:
Well, today is varalakshmI vratam celebrated by many, but not all.
So, here are a few compositions that I think are addressed to divine mother as varalakshmi:

Starting with the one of my favorites: MSS rendering srI varalakshmI of MD:

http://rapidshare.de/files/28198653/2-0 ... m.m4a.html

The next is the dulcet tones of MLV singing varalakshmI namOstutE of MV in gowrimanOhari:

http://rapidshare.de/files/28199164/08_ ... 1.m4a.html

The next couple are grand compositions of the Royal Composer of Mysore Jayachamarajendra Odeyar - they were discussed very exhaustively by DRS:
http://rapidshare.de/files/28199484/01_ ... I.m4a.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/28200075/pAh ... a.mp3.html

Please share other pieces to celebrate this vratam musically.

Ravi

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

Wonderful revival Shankar!
Indeed we used to celebrate all festivals musically until some **** threw a spanner in our rasika community. Now let us revive the tradition and pay our homage to the deities as well as our great musicians. Of course we have to be cautious about what we post. Pl post stotras as well so that we may relish the 'bhakti' spirit immanent in CM! Also share purana stories as well as anecdotes relating to the festivals too! VaralakShmi vratam primarily evolved from Andhra though celebrated all over the south. Can we have from our Telugu folks the origin as well as the way it is traditionally celebrated therein? Is it true that it is a tradition passed on in the family through the women and that it pasees unbroken through the generations ?

Thanks again!

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

cmlover wrote:Is it true that it is a tradition passed on in the family through the women and that it pasees unbroken through the generations ?
CML,
I was not aware of that practice - not so in our family...
Ravi

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

BTW, I am sure everyone reallizes that the Maharaja in his usual fashion treats durgA lakshmI saraswatI (malai magaL, alai magaL, and kalai magaL) interchangeably unlike MD and MV...
Ravi

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

rshankar wrote:BTW, I am sure everyone reallizes that the Maharaja in his usual fashion treats durgA lakshmI saraswatI (malai magaL, alai magaL, and kalai magaL) interchangeably unlike MD and MV...
Ravi
That is not quite correct Ravi. MD does treat the dEvis as one and the same in many kRtis.
For e.g

gItavAdyavinOdinIm girijAm tAm indirAm in hiraNmayIm lakSmIm, rAga lalita.

meena
Posts: 3326
Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

cml/shankar

This is how my fam. practice.
once u start doing varalakshmi vratha u cannot break- meaning u cannot skip a year of not doing the pooja.

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

meena wrote:once u start doing varalakshmi vratha u cannot break- meaning u cannot skip a year of not doing the pooja.
Right Meena. Its like the anantana vrata among kannDigas. Once you start, you should not stop. And should be passed on to anothrt person who will do it with Sraddhe.

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

gItavAdyavinOdinIm girijAm tAm indirAm in hiraNmayIm lakSmIm, rAga lalita.
True: I should have qualified that I was talking about the kritIs that I posted in the first post...

Meena,
In our family, the vratam has been passed down from MIL to DIL.....No clue who my wife will pass it on to!

Ravi

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

You are right Ravi. My sister too had it passed on to her by her MIL. Same dilemma there too. Who will she pass it on to next! :)

ramakriya
Posts: 1876
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 02:05

Post by ramakriya »

drshrikaanth wrote:
rshankar wrote:BTW, I am sure everyone reallizes that the Maharaja in his usual fashion treats durgA lakshmI saraswatI (malai magaL, alai magaL, and kalai magaL) interchangeably unlike MD and MV...
Ravi
That is not quite correct Ravi. MD does treat the dEvis as one and the same in many kRtis.
For e.g
gItavAdyavinOdinIm girijAm tAm indirAm in hiraNmayIm lakSmIm, rAga lalita.
Even though I agree that Saraswati/Gouri/Lakshmi have been treated as one in many musical compositions,
for the charaNa line in hiraNmayIm there is a paThantara as girijAptAm indirAm


p.s: Feels very good to be back in the forum!

-Ramakriya

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

ramakriya wrote:for the charaNa line in [/b]hiraNmayIm there is a paThantara as girijAptAm indirAm
-Ramakriya

The SSP gives girijAm tAm indirAm only. My impression is that the pAThAntara was created by well-meaning people who read girijAm tAm as girijAntAm and corrected it to make sense.

ramakriya
Posts: 1876
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 02:05

Post by ramakriya »

Ended the post too soon -

I have heard the line sung as follows - and I thought it made perfect sense - since it calls
Lakshmi as one who is dear to girijA, rather than Lakshmi being the daugher of giri.

gIta vAdyavinOdinIm girijAptAm indirAm

Haven't checked references though.

-Ramakriya

p.s: BTW, I am not able to bold the lines in spite of using the tags. Why?

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

MD was an advaitin and he did not differentiate betwen the deities. It makes perfect sense to see why he called lakShmi as "None other than girijA/pArvati".

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

Take a look at a few more examples
rAga- mAnji
shrI sarasvatI hitE SivE cidAnandE SivasahitE

Andd in mahAlakShmi karuNArasalahari- rAga- mAdhavamanOhari

kShIrasAgara sutE vEdanutE
kShitISAdi mahitE Siva sahitE

meena
Posts: 3326
Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

Deleted
Last edited by meena on 06 May 2008, 07:16, edited 1 time in total.

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

And the ever popular "kAmAkShi SrI varalakShmi kamalAlShi jayalakShmi".

Suji Ram
Posts: 1529
Joined: 09 Feb 2006, 00:04

Post by Suji Ram »


ramakriya
Posts: 1876
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 02:05

Post by ramakriya »

But in srI sarasvatI hitE, I think sarasvatI is not equated to shivE, but the compound word "sarasvatI hitE"
is equated to shivE. If not, there will be difficulty in interpreting 'hitE'.


-Ramakriya

P: shrI sarasvatI hitE shivE cidAnandE shivasahitE

A: vAsavAdimahitE vAsanAdi rahitE

C: kAmakOTinilayE karadhRta maNivalayE kOmaLatara hRdayE guruguhOdayE mAmava sadayE

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

Ramakriya
It is not at all difficult to interpret hitE. But I shall leave it to you to discern and decide for yourself.

Suji Ram
Posts: 1529
Joined: 09 Feb 2006, 00:04

Post by Suji Ram »

http://www.carnatica.net/nvr/vara.pdf

Nine gems..
my favorite Bhagyada Lakshmi..

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

meena/shankar

I have been told that you cannot start the vratam unless you can have it traced in the line on the husband's or wife's side. In other words you cannot just start it on your own since there is a tradition! So is it possible that those who celebrate it in TN and elsewhere had some Andhra connection in the distant past? Any historical anecdotes?

Thanks suji for that interesting puranic references from Hindu!

Incidentally I noticed that the special songs sung on the occasion are mostly telugu (traditionally) (I know this through my wife's relatives) and they have to learn them willy-nilly! Also do folks from Andhra have a 'taali' like the Tamils (I understand they use what is called a 'karugu maNi' in its place!). The doragranti used on the occasion is not a taali (am I right?).

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

cmlover wrote:Also do folks from Andhra have a 'taali' like the Tamils (I understand they use what is called a 'karugu maNi' in its place!). The doragranti used on the occasion is not a taali (am I right?).
The karimaNi sara is sacrosanct for kannaDigas also and is part of the mangaLa sUtra/mANgalya/tALi. There are also special golden pendants(mANgalya) made in particlar shapes depending on the community that HAS to be part of the mAngaya. karimaNi and guNDu and mAngalya should all be present in the mangaLa sUtra. of course in an emergency "ariSinada kone"(manjaL vEr) can be tied in place of the sUtra. What exactly do you mean by tALi.

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

cmlover wrote:Incidentally I noticed that the special songs sung on the occasion are mostly telugu (traditionally) (I know this through my wife's relatives) and they have to learn them willy-nilly! Also do folks from Andhra have a 'taali' like the Tamils (I understand they use what is called a 'karugu maNi' in its place!). The doragranti used on the occasion is not a taali (am I right?).
I think there is a tAli - pottu - in AP. Correct me if I am wrong. Most Hindu communities in India came up with the concept of the tAlI so that married 'sumangalIs' could be spared the pillaging that maurading islamic troops left in their wake. The mAngalya dhAraNam is sanctified by a shlOkam and not a vEdic chant/mantra for that reason.

The dOragrathI is not a tAlI ...it is a much thinner yellow thread with nine knots or granthIs in it. During the pUja, the granthIs/knots are made and a spot of kumkumam is placed on each knot chanting the dOragranthi pUja:
kamalAyai namaha prathamagranthim pUjayAmil
ramAyai namaha dvitIyagranthim.........l
lOkmAtrE namaha.......l
vishwajananyai namaha......l
mahAlakshmyai namaha.....l
kshIrAbdhitanayAyai......l
vishwasAkshiNyai namaha.....l
chandrasahOdaryai namaha......l
harivallabhAyai namaha.....l

After this, the first dOragranthi is offered to varalakshmI...and the remaining are tied around the right hands of women and girls in the family. I do not know exactly what the 9 knots denote.

I have always suspected that as a family we do have some ties to AP...not really sure why, but just a feeling.

Ravi

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

rshankar wrote:Most Hindu communities in India came up with the concept of the tAlI so that married 'sumangalIs' could be spared the pillaging that maurading islamic troops left in their wake. The mAngalya dhAraNam is sanctified by a shlOkam and not a vEdic chant/mantra for that reason.--Ravi
This is incorrect Ravi. I remeber you said the same thing in my thread> There are vedic mantras/references and maybe a new thread should be started.

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

drshrikaanth wrote:This is incorrect Ravi. I remeber you said the same thing in my thread> There are vedic mantras/references and maybe a new thread should be started.
Sounds like a good idea...
Go ahead and educate us.
Ravi

meena
Posts: 3326
Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

cml

i do not know how the vratha is practiced @ my MIL.
Its not passed down either for us. For us one has to married to perform this pooja.
We just keep 'kalsha'- (silver pot-coconut/ beetle leaf in H20) and decorate it with all gold jewellery we have and late eve. after the lights are lit the pooja is performed, and of course special food/sweets are prepared.
My amma/rest of my relatives as far as i know we don't do any fasting :) or tali pooja.

My ajji (my ammas mom) they celebrate varalakshmi vratha on diwali night. Like the north indians.

--- i guess we being non-brahmins and telugu, but not from AP, we follow a miss mash of both customs ;)

kannadigas - they tie 'nombu' thread on their wrist.

Suji Ram
Posts: 1529
Joined: 09 Feb 2006, 00:04

Post by Suji Ram »

Here's the BhAgyada lakshmi bAramma I learnt on this auspicious Friday

http://rapidshare.de/files/28244507/BhA ... a.mp3.html

This is my first try at madhyamAvati.
Last edited by Suji Ram on 05 Aug 2006, 13:12, edited 1 time in total.

srkris
Site Admin
Posts: 3497
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 03:34

Post by srkris »

This seems to be very interesting. Will a separate section for "Music and festivals" help to revive and lend a distinct identity to discussions like this, as distinguished from other general music talk?

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

Good Idea srkris. Unless of course it clutters up the home page;)

kiransurya
Posts: 781
Joined: 13 Dec 2005, 15:58

Post by kiransurya »

cmlover wrote:Can we have from our Telugu folks the origin as well as the way it is traditionally celebrated therein? Is it true that it is a tradition passed on in the family through the women and that it pasees unbroken through the generation
CML
It all started with Charumathi devi, who dreamt of doing a lakshmi pooja on a friday preceeding the full moon in Sraavana Maasa with a poorna Kalasam sitting on mango leaves and banyan twigs. As Meena said, it is passed down in the family and every family has a different format (all of them will do more or less similar things) of doing this Pooja. You will get to eat lot of home made traditional sweets too :P

Apparently, it is the conversation between Goddess parvathi and lord Shiva that brought this secret pooja onto the earth.

Sankar!!!
I think Nine granthis in the toram represent nava nidhis....

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

Thanks kiran
I believe that varalakshmi vrtam is a heritage which Telugus carried with them into TN and propagated therein just as the Tamil Iyengars have propogated the divya prabandams to the nooks and corners of SI.

suji

very nicely done. That was one of my favourites and no varlakshmi vratam is complete without singing that. I have several versions but all are commercial! It is nice to hear it with a personal touch from you!

DRS
are you asking about the 'taali' in TN? Even christians and muslims have taali in TN! There is no Rigvedic reference to 'mangala sutram' (special vedic chants). I guess it came after the Muslim invasion (who always preferred virgins :)

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

cmlover wrote:DRS
are you asking about the 'taali' in TN? Even christians and muslims have taali in TN! There is no Rigvedic reference to 'mangala sutram' (special vedic chants). I guess it came after the Muslim invasion (who always preferred virgins :)
CML
Was your post meant to goad me to write more on the subject?;)

I wanted to know if you meant the entire mangaLasUtra or a part thereof by the word "tAli". Please clarify that.

RgvEda is not the only vEda. And absence of vEdic reference does not automatically push the mAngalya to Muslim times. Pardon me for saying this, but such a notion is preposterous even blasphemous.
Last edited by drshrikaanth on 05 Aug 2006, 22:32, edited 1 time in total.

srkris
Site Admin
Posts: 3497
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 03:34

Post by srkris »

I dont think mangalsutra has any reference in the vedas. I could be wrong though. And my view is that its use could have started in the puranic period.

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

DRS

My original query about 'karugu maNi' was in relation to what goes inside the 'managaLa sUtra'. This varies among communities (christians for example include a 'cross'!).

Our concept of marriage 'ceremony' arises from Rig veda, the wedding of Soma with sUryA (Rigveda 10.85). grihya sutras formalized and integrated the rituals strating with Rigveda and integrating from the rest of the vedas as well as sUtras. The collection is called 'EkAgnikhANDaM' or mantraprashnaM. The key shloka is
'vAgdAnaM ca pradAnaM ca varaNaM pANipIDanaM|
sapatapAdIti pancA^NgO vivAvaH parikIrtitaH||
note the absence of 'mA^Ngalaya dhArNaM' in these essential angas. I have no proof that it started with muslim incursion but kALidAsa does not mention it:)

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

cmlover wrote:My original query about 'karugu maNi' was in relation to what goes inside the 'managaLa sUtra'. This varies among communities (christians for example include a 'cross'!).
I have already explained this. To reiterate "kari maNi" (black beads), guNDu (Golden beads in a polygonal shape(3-D of course) and mAngalya in a bilaterally symmetrical manner. These are mandatory AFAIK. In the centre a pendant is often included. It usually depicts mahAlakShmi in brahmins. The lingayats have a "linga" in a holding box as a pendant.

The shape/form of the mAngalya is peculiar to communities. While boTTu tALi is usual among kammes anda brAhmaNas, in sankEtis it is "huNise bIja" or shaped as a tamarind seed. Yet others have different shapes (Iyers and Iyengars for instance).
Last edited by drshrikaanth on 05 Aug 2006, 23:15, edited 1 time in total.

srkris
Site Admin
Posts: 3497
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 03:34

Post by srkris »

CML, very interesting verse that. sUryA the bride, goes to soma's house with the company of her brothers, the Asvins. I think this is a hidden reference to sunlight reaching the moon. And here sUrya (possibly ushas) is differentiated from "her father" Savitr.

Sorry for the digression.

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

First a SlOka from saundarya laharI of Adi SankarcArya.

galE rEkhAstisraH gatigamaka gItaika nipuNE |
vivAhavyAnaddha praguNaguNa sankhyA prabhuvaH |
virAjantE nAnAvidha madhura rAgAkarabhuvAm |
trayaNAm grAMANAm sthiti niyama sImAna iva tE ||69||


Here Sankara explicitly compares the three lines in Her neck to the mAgalya tied by ISvara at the time of their marriage.

Here is a link to discussion on this SlOka by kanci paramAcArya.

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/DPDS76-81.html

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

The latest date assigned to Adi Sankara is te 8th century. About 2 centuries after Prophet Mohammed. However the mulslims were largely unknown in India until the 11th Century when Muhammed of Ghazni invaded and occupied areas currently included in Paksitan and some parts of NorthWestern India. Note that they came nowhere near South India even now. Delhi was occupied by the Muslims only at the very end of the 12th Century(1194)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_o ... im_history

This is well after the time of Adi Sankara. So this duly dismisses tha fallacy that Muslims were the cause for mngaLa sUtra entering our tradition.
[Of course Sankara had divine foresight and may have seen the Muslims invading. Scared for SrImAta's chastity, he tied her with a mANgalya in his poem :D thus introducing the tradition of tying mAngalya]
Last edited by drshrikaanth on 06 Aug 2006, 01:11, edited 1 time in total.

kiransurya
Posts: 781
Joined: 13 Dec 2005, 15:58

Post by kiransurya »

DRS
DId Sankara tie a new mangala sutra to Sri Mata or did he add a new one to already existing two saying that it would be for loka kalyana? (Thats what I have been told). Correct me if Iam wrong

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

Quoting form lalitA sahasranAma (The 30th nAma).

anAkalita sadRSya cubukaSrI virAjitA
kAmESa baddhamAngalya sUtra Sobhita kandharA ||6||

There is no room for doubt about the meaning here- "Her Whose neck is adorned by the mAngalya tied by kAmESa"

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

kiransurya wrote:DRS
DId Sankara tie a new mangala sutra to Sri Mata or did he add a new one to already existing two saying that it would be for loka kalyana? (Thats what I have been told). Correct me if Iam wrong
Kiran
That was a joke. ANd your are asking further questions about it.:rolleyes:

kiransurya
Posts: 781
Joined: 13 Dec 2005, 15:58

Post by kiransurya »

he he:/

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

DRS

The practice might have existed before the arrival of Islam! But it was strictly regional. Probabaly it was a Dravidian practice adopted into Hinduism locally! I have attended several NI weddings with no mangalsutra ceremony! Again the absence of any reference in the vedas (barring grihya sutras which are numerous) to claim it is a 'Hindu' practice is too generous! The 'maa^Ng' ceremony is very important for the NI but is unown in South. We cannot generalize!

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

cmlover wrote:Again the absence of any reference in the vedas (barring grihya sutras which are numerous) to claim it is a 'Hindu' practice is too generous!
Now you are talking. But hold on. Just a while ago, you said vEdas dont have reference to it ad now you are quietly introducing the gRhya sUtras but slighting them. Why should they not be important. Their bein numerous dos not detract from their value.

And lalitA sahasranAma is not a South Indian text.

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

Grihya sUtras do not have the authority of the vedas! There are several of them which are regional! The mantras in the sUtras are said to be compiled based on the vedas and brahmaNas but not all are referenced. The wedding mantras primarily are from Rig veda which does not mention mangal sutra ceremony. shruti takes precedence over smriti and the sUtras belong to the latter category!

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

drshrikaanth wrote:[And lalitA sahasranAma is not a South Indian text.
how can you prove this?

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

How can you disprove this CML? And the sahsranAma is considered the "ultimate" authority on dEvItantra, SaktiupAsane and SrIvidyA. It is not in circulation only in the south.

The text is narrated by sUta as a conversation between hayagrIva and agastya where hayagrIva tells agastya about lalitA, her mahime and the way to worship her. Even if you take agastya as a South Indian(There is no proof for this either) he is being taught by hayagrIva. hayagrIva, to my knowledge, has never been claimed to be a South Indian.

Anyway this is a minor point as is the presence or absence of Vedic references. South India is not outside the realm of Hinduism.The point is, this is an ancient practice and tradition that is part of mainstream Hinduism.

It may well be that tying the mAngalya is not followed by some communities in NI or even in SI. But lot of communities do not follow what is taught in or expected of by the vEdas.

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

One will certainly find references to the mAngalya in Ancient south Indian literature as well as in Sanskrit literature(I ahve mentioned 2 crucial ones). The other North Indian languages are significantly younger and hence that line of investigation/reasoning is closed.

Anyway the point is Muslims had nothing to do with mANgalyadhAraNa coming into vogue. Even more so if you claim the practice to be of South Indian origin. As Muslims were not able to influence our beliefs or traditions in the South as compared to their influence in the North.

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

cmlover wrote:Grihya sUtras do not have the authority of the vedas! There are several of them which are regional! The mantras in the sUtras are said to be compiled based on the vedas and brahmaNas but not all are referenced. The wedding mantras primarily are from Rig veda which does not mention mangal sutra ceremony. shruti takes precedence over smriti and the sUtras belong to the latter category!
OK. I agree with the essence of your post. But there is no proof to call them regional.
Last edited by drshrikaanth on 06 Aug 2006, 02:32, edited 1 time in total.

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

I quote kanci paramAcArya.
[quote=""paramAcArya""]
Panigrahana (the groom taking the hand of the bride in his), mangalyadharana, saptapadi (the bridal pair taking the seven steps round the sacrificial fire ) are important rites of the marriage function. There is a controversy about whether or not mangalya-dharana is a Vedic rite. It is an unnecessary controversy. Mangalya-dharana is a custom that is thousands of years old and it is an essential part of the marriage samskara.
[/quote]
The link is here

http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part19/chap1.htm

Post Reply