The celestial wedding of Lord Rama with Sita is performed on His birthday, Sri Rama Navami, as per tradition.  It was performed in a grand and ceremonial manner at Sri Chinmaya Maruti temple on Saturday, March 31st, 2018. Sri Rama Navami was observed on Sunday, March 25^th.

The event started at 9.30am with sankalpam for sponsors followed by Gowri Puja performed by married women. Gowri pooja, which is of great importance in any Hindu marriage, is a pre-wedding ritual that takes place at the bride’s house. This pooja is performed with immense devotion and respect towards Goddess Gowri to seek Her divine blessings for a bright and happy future for the family.

The exquisitely adorned God and Goddess were then taken in a procession, the bride following the groom, in individual palanquins, (pallakki) sheltered by decorative umbrellas (Chatrams) by assigned volunteers, amidst ritualistic singing, starting with the Thodaya mangalam*.

Once outside the temple building, the traditional exchange of garlands followed. Varamala is one of the oldest traditions followed in Hindu weddings and has its roots in the Vedas. Here the bride offers the first garland to the groom in symbolical acceptance of Him as her husband and the groom then follows suit. This also involves some fun, where the priests carrying the garlands on behalf of the Divine bride and groom are given a run before they manage to put the garland around the God’s or Goddess’s necks. Priests Satyanarayana Bhat represented Goddess Sita and Priest Rajesh represented Lord Rama in the garland exchanges. After three such exchanges, the Divine couple were welcomed back into the temple and offered traditional gifts including clothing, sweets and savories specially prepared for the occasion. 

After the Gods were welcomed back into their seats in the marriage arena, subsequent ritualistic preparations for the actual wedding were guided and managed by the priests. Priest Rajesh Sastrigal took the role of Sage Vasishta and Priest Satyanarayana Bhat, took the role of Sage Viswamitra, reading out the pravaras (lineage) of Lord Rama and Goddess Sita respectively. Pravaras are of extreme importance in vedic rituals, as these are used to extoll the virtues of the bride and groom, further proclaiming the worthiness of their ancestors. Pravaras can be three, five or seven generations long. While this was being done, the audience was constantly likened to the different celestial gaNas (groups) that had come to witness the sublime function, thereby keeping them engaged and maintaining tranquility. Soulful singing by Smt. Pavitra Sampath during each step of this process added vibrance to the Divine atmosphere that prevailed in the mandir.

Mangalya dharanam, in which the mangala sutra (sacred thread) is tied around the bride’s neck by the groom, is considered to be the core ritual of Hindu marriage. This was duly exercised by the priests and ritwiks, thus making them the celebrated Divine couple yet again. Then followed the akshatAropaNam. Moon is the planet that governs the mind and rice is the grain attributed to the Moon. By showering rice infused with turmeric (turmeric signifies auspiciousness) over one another, the bride and groom express their desire, wish and blessing for wedded bliss. Rice also symbolizes their desire for emotional and spiritual well-being. It is said that Sita and Rama, being royalty, showered pearls instead of rice for akshatAropaNam at their wedding, pearl being the gem associated with the Moon. It so happened in this wedding too - pearls were added to the rice and every devotee was delighted to take a pearl or two along with the akshatas as divine blessings in the end.

Various upacharas like Sangeetam (song), nRutyam (dance) were offered in sequence to the happily married couple. Smt. Laxmi Ramesh, the lead singer of Chinmaya Swaranjali group, soulfully rendered the ‘Sri Ramachandra kripaalu’ song. Kumari Vinidra, a California native and a PhD student from MIT, did the Nrutyanjali by beautifully dancing to Bhaavayaami Raghuraamam.

A well- organized queue presented each devotee to have a close darshan of the Gods and receive the prasad in on orderly manner.

All the guests were then treated to an authentic wedding feast whose endless menu included payasam, thayir (yogurt) pacchadi, kosumbari (pulse salad), beans curry, avial, sambar, rasam, pineapple gotsu, vada, appalam, boondi, curd rice with vadu manga (tender mango) pickle. All these items were freshly and deliciously prepared right that morning under the able guidance of the unassuming Sri Ravindra Kumar, who manages the Chinmaya kitchen, ably assisted by many other enthusiastic volunteers of the Mission. The delicious food was generously served on banana leaf by another dedicated team of volunteers, whose swift work made the job of managing such a large crowd look relatively easy. An estimated 400 people witnessed the blissful event, went home happy and contented, filled with fond memories of the event and the beautifully decorated divine couple that is bound to remain in their hearts for a long time.

* Thodaya mangalam – In dakShina sampradaya, it is a set of songs that are normally sung in auspicious occasions to welcome the Gods and Goddesses.

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