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Gowri Pooja also spelled as Gauri Pooja is a very common wedding ritual carried out by the bride as she prays before the Goddess for an auspicious start to a happy married life! Gowri Pooja or Gowri Vratham procedure in Tamil Iyengar wedding rituals is quite simple yet very powerful.
Literally translated as ‘auspicious/purifying bath', the ‘Mangala snaanam' ritual is conducted during the wee hours of the wedding day for both the bride and the groom in their respective homes/rooms. Manjal (turmeric), kumkum (vermilion), and sandalwood paste are applied to the bride by her sumangali (married woman whose husband is alive) relatives. After this application, the bride is made to take a bath in holy water and get ready for the wedding rituals. A similar ritual is carried out for the bridegroom by sumangalis.
The term ‘Lagna Pathirikai' translates to a wedding invitation in Tamil. The priest officially announces the wedding date to all the guests who are present for the nichayathartham. One can either do the lagna patrika matching online or it is handwritten by the priest after looking through the horoscopes of the bride and groom and finalising the right time for their wedding. The pathirikai carries the name of all the family members of the bride and groom in addition to a mention of the auspicious time and date for the wedding.
Note: This is Conducted before the Nichayathartham
Viratham or Vratham is an important ritual conducted by the bride and groom’s family separately in the Kalyana mandapam. It is a fast that is done usually a day before the Tamil Hindu brahmin wedding. In this ritual, both the groom and bride families fast for the prosperity and well-being of the to-be-weds. Viratham irukum murai (steps followed for fasting) in a Tamil Iyengar wedding is far more elaborate for the groom than the bride.
Nichayathartham or the Engagement ceremony is one of the Tamil Iyengar pre-wedding ceremonies where the groom and bride families come together and commit the wedding.
The Background
The Naandi ceremony is a ritual in the Tamil Iyengar wedding that is performed to please the Naandi Devtas. Referred to as Pitrus, Naandi Devtas are the ancestors who have departed. It is believed that the Pitrus lay the foundation for the creation of the physical body. Therefore, it is important to pay gratitude to the ones who created us. Not only at weddings, even during all auspicious events they are the first ones to be thanked and prayed to.
Fertility Ceremony
Pallikai Thellichal is another beautiful pre wedding custom of the Tamil Iyengar Brahmin wedding. The ritual symbolises the auspicious beginning of a new family. Earthen pots are prepared the day before the ceremony. A sand bed is formed on top of which mango leaves are spread. The earthen pots are now placed on the mango leaves. Some people may wish to decorate these pots with sandalwood powder and vermillion(kumkum).
Sumangali is a term for a married woman whose husband is still alive. Sumangali poojai is one of the rituals that is associated with the wedding. While some families perform this pooja before the wedding (mostly in the bride’s family), there are some that conduct this pooja after the wedding, when its conducted by the bridegroom’s family. It is one of the special poojas that follows the customs of each family.
Marriage is one of the most important moments in anyone's life. When it comes to Tamil Brahmin Iyengar weddings in India, there are so many customs and rituals associated with it right from finalising the Tamil muhurtham dates for the wedding to the post wedding celebrations. There are quite a few pre-wedding rituals conducted for the well-being of the bride and groom out of which Pandal Kaal Muhurtham takes a significant place in most Hindu weddings.
