Welcoming Bride
Also known as Granthi Bandhan, the Ganth Bandhan ceremony is generally performed after the Pant Grahan rites. In some places, it is also performed after the Saptapadi rites and at other places after the Laja Homa ceremony. During this ceremony, the presiding priest requests the bride’s sister-in-law to tie the bridal knot. A knot is tied to the bride’s red scarf and the bridegroom’s cream colored handkerchief. The bridegroom holds onto the knot until he reaches the Kohbar. The ceremony is symbolic of the welcoming of the bride into the life of the bridegroom.
During the ceremony, during the ceremony, flowers, betel leaves, betel nuts and fruits are offered to the deities. The bridegroom takes a public pledge during the ceremony to look after the health and happiness of the bride.
Bride’s Oath
During the tying of the knot, the bride says:
“The tie with that of thine I fasten with this cloth of mine, which is woven with the greatest care and artistry, that thou be exclusively mine and should not and would not talk of other women.
And having gone through all the rites sanctioned either by the Vedas or by family usage the glorious king Janaka gave his Daughter to the Bridegroom.
When oblations had been offered to the sacred fire with due rite, the ends of garments of the bride and the bridegroom were tied together (as a token of their indissoluble union) and the couple began to circumambulate the fire in order to show that the two had been united in the presence of the fire God as a Witness.”
