Marathi weddings are a simple affair filled with a lot of rich traditional rituals. There’s more to the Marathi weddings than just bright navari, spicy kolhapuri food and hassle-free wedding ceremonies. Marathi weddings rituals are vibrant, simple and fuss-free. Every ritual performed have deeply rooted traditions and symbolic significance behind it. If you have ever witnessed a Marathi wedding, you would have come across all these rituals. As fun and interesting it looks, there’s a lot of effort and time required to pull off a classic Maharashtrian weddings. Wedding planners are professional experts that will take care of your wedding needs and preparations.

To help you gain better insights, we have listed the significance and meaning of every wedding ritual that are categories as pre-wedding, wedding and post wedding rituals.

Pre-wedding Marathi rituals

The pre-wedding stage is where the things get fixed right from horoscope matching to getting engaged. Sakhar puda is one of the most heard and known pre-wedding rituals.

Lagnach Bedior

The patrikas or horoscope of the respective bride & groom is matched by a Pundit. This determines the Pre-wedding Maharashtrian rituals

beginning of the wedding by selecting an auspicious wedding date and time.

Sakhar Puda

Sakhar translates to sugar and this ceremony is the official engagement where the rings are exchanged. The bride and groom are applied haldi kumkum and are showered with blessings, gifts and sweets.

Muhurt Karane

This is where the wedding madness begins! Married women are invited by the bride’s mother to make sandege, which is pestles using pulses and spices. Not to forget, Papad rolling is done too. Post this, all the bridal trousseau, jewelry, sweets, jewelry are artistically displayed.

Kelvan

Kelvan signifies the Puja performed to receive blessings from their respective Kuldevatta or deity. This ceremony is extended by a family lunch for some more bonding.

Halad chadavne

The married women who performed muhurt karane apply haldi i.e. turmeric to the bride & groom. The turmeric is applied to the forehead, cheeks, shoulders, hands, and feet using a mango leaf.

Marathi Wedding rituals

The actual wedding madness begins here. Unlike every other auspicious occasion, wedding ceremonies are also commenced and filled with a lot of traditional and cultural rituals.

Ganpathy Puja

The wedding celebration starts with a Ganesh puja. Flowers and sweets are offered to Lord Ganesha to seek blessings for a happy married life.

Punyavachan

The bride’s parents ask all the elderly family relatives present there to bless their daughter. These rituals strengthen the bond further and creates a positive wedding environment.

Devdevak

Devdevak is done to invite the family deity also known as Kuldevatta to the mandap where the marriage is to be held.

The Seeman Puja

The groom and his family are welcomed by the bride’s mother following an arti, cleansing the groom’s feet and doing a tilak. This is done to show respect and love for their extended family to be.

Gurihar puja

The bride dresses up in an attire gifted by the maternal uncle to offer prayers to Goddess, Parvati. The idol of Goddess Parvati, placed on a heap of rice indicates prosperity.

The Antarpat ritual

The groom enters the mandap decked up in traditional attire and headwear known as mundavalya. As soon as the groom sits down, a cloth ie antarpath is held in front of him to prevent him from seeing the bride.

The Sankalp ritual

At this stage, the antarpath is removed and the bride is led to the mandap by her maternal uncle. Holdy wedding vows and mantras are chanted by the pundit. Garlands are exchanged and the couple is showered with akshatas i.e. broken rice by the guests.

The Kanyadan ritual

The kanyadaan ritual is performed as an act of giving away their daughter to the groom in exchange for love. Marital promises are exchanged and turmeric thread id tied on each other’s hands known as Kankan bandhane. The ritual ends when the groom places the mangalsutra on the bride’s neck and sindoor is applied to the center parting of the head.

The Sataphdhi Ritual

The holy fire is encircled seven times by the couple in sync with the wedding vows chants. Seven wedding promises are made and accepted by the partners while encircling the holy fire.

The Karmasampati ritual

Laxmi puja is performed by the couple. Post this, the groom gives a new name to the bride. The groom is teased by the bride’s brother by pulling his ears to remind him of his marital duties.

Post wedding rituals

Post wedding Maharashtrian rituals are no different than any other cultural weddings. It mostly involves welcoming the newlyweds to the home and celebrating happiness with a reception party.

The Varat ritual

This marks the farewell of the darling bride from the parent’s home to her in-laws. The procession is carried out and is followed by the groom’s house.

The Grihapravesh

The married couple is welcomed to the home with an aarthi. The bride is then asked to push a Kalash of rice with her feet as a piece of good luck.

The Reception

This is an official celebration post marriage where the couple is introduced to the guests. The bride’s and groom’s outfit is gifted by their respective in-laws.

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