Know How an Authentic Telugu Wedding takes place

Telegu Matrimony

Telugu marriages believe not only in religion but also in spirituality. The telugu marriages happen in the months of Aashad, Bhadrapad and Shunya, and still take place in the traditional manner. Telugu Brahmin previously used to happen for sixteen days which is also called Padaharu Rojula Pandaga meaning “sixteen days of celebration”. At present, the days are reduced to 4-5 days due to budget and availability of guests for the longer duration. Telugu planning is itself a part of the celebration and the wedding is not only about two individuals but between two families which has a great religious significance. Several rituals are followed before the wedding, on the wedding day and post wedding which are given below. 

Pre-wedding rituals:

  • Nischyadaartham – Nischyadaartham is the other name given to the engagement ceremony. The Horoscope or the jathakam as it is called in Telugu, of both the groom and the bride is first matched. It is the duty of both the families to check the compatibility of the to-be bride and groom. Then a date is fixed accordingly for the nichayathartham and the bride and groom exchange rings and gifts. The Lagna Patrika or the wedding letter, written to confirm the date and time of the wedding, is read. This contains the date of the wedding, wedding venue address along with the name of the parents and their ancestral name.
  • Pellikuthuru Pellikodukuni cheyuta – On a fixed day, the relatives, friends and well wishes of both the parties gather at the respective houses and blesses both the groom and the bride with Nalugu which is a mixture of flours, turmeric powder and oil. The wedding ceremony starts with this ritual. Both the bride and the groom are blessed by everyone and are given a new set of clothes. 
  • Snathakam –  This is a ceremony which is performed at the groom’s place by his family. This ritual signifies the transition of the groom from the bachelorhood stage to grihastha (family man). The groom wears a white holy thread which ensures that he has ended his Brahmacharya vrata. Most of the brahmins have three rounds of thread before the wedding which indicates their brahmacharya stage. During this ritual, they add three more rounds of thread, a total of six rounds of the thread which is tied. This denotes the beginning of the grihastha stage.   
  • Mangala Snanam – In this ritual, the couple takes an auspicious bath before the wedding. This ritual is very similar to the haldi ceremony. The married women of the families apply oil on the bride and groom’s hair. This ceremony takes place separately at their houses. A paste is prepared out of turmeric, vermillion and sandalwood which is then applied on the couple’s hands, feet, and face. The couple then takes a bath in the holy water. Once this ritual is over, the bride and the groom get ready for other wedding formalities.
  • Aarti – The couple proceeds to offer their prayers to God which is known as aarti. A silver plate is filled with water, turmeric, vermillion and akshintalu (rice coated with turmeric powder and ghee) in it. A silver lamp is placed and is rotated six times (3 times clockwise and anticlockwise each) facing the God. The prayer is done for the prosperity of the couple. Songs are sung by the married women during the aarti.
  • Edurukolu – During this ritual, the bride’s family tries to impress the groom’s family. The brother of the bride impresses the groom by praising his sister’s beauty, intelligence, and other qualities. The groom somehow falls in love with the bride and gets ready to be married. In recent times, both the families convince the bride and the groom to marry each other. This is a very eye catching ritual amongst the telugu weddings. 

Wedding day ceremonies:

  • Kashi Yatra – This ritual basically means escaping the wedding! A chance is given to the groom where he is made to carry some essentials like an umbrella, bamboo stick, and wears new slippers to start his journey to Kashi. The bride’s brother needs to stop the groom and convince him to marry his sister. 
  • Gauri pooja – The Gauri pooja is performed in the bride’s house. The bride or the pellikuthuru performs the pooja by praying to the goddess Gauri. The bride offers flowers and fruits to the goddess and prays for a happy and successful wedding. In some of the families, Goddess Lakshmi is also worshipped. 
  • Kanyadanam – Kanyadanam means ‘giving away the bride’ by the father of the bride. In this ritual, the bride is carried in a bamboo basket by her maternal uncle. The bride and groom aren’t supposed to look at each other. Hence a curtain is held in between the couple. Then, the bride’s parents wash the groom’s leg with water. It is believed that the groom is incarnated as Lord Vishnu to marry the bride who is incarnated as the Goddess Lakshmi. The bride’s father then offers his daughter’s hand in marriage to the groom. 
  • Panigrahanam – Here the bride holds the right hand of the groom and the groom chants some mantras which literally means that amidst many desires, joys, and sorrows, the husband promises to be with his wife forever and protect her. 
  • Jeelakarra Bellamu – In this ritual, a paste prepared with Jeelakarra (cumin seeds) and Bellamu (jaggery) is placed on the couple’s head. A curtain is raised while performing this ritual. This ritual signifies that the bond shared by the couple will be strong and unbreakable. Following this, a ritual called pravara is held amidst the couple’s family. The Pandit chants mantras to convert the bride’s gotra (clan) to that of her prospective husband’s. In this ritual, the actual muhurtham starts.
  • Madhuparkam – During this ritual, the bride wears a white cotton saree with a red border. The groom wears a cotton dhoti with a red border. This ritual signifies purity and strength. These attires are to be worn during the muhurtham.
  • Mangalsutra Dharana – Once the couple are in their traditional dresses, the curtain between the couple is removed. The groom ties the Mangalsutra to the bride. Traditionally, the groom is supposed to tie three knots but in some traditions, the groom ties two knots and the third knot is tied by the groom’s sister. This completes the ritual of the could being married. 
  • Akshintalu – The garland is exchanged between the couple during this ritual. They are blessed by the elders and the guests present there. Flowers and Akshintalu (rice coated with turmeric powder and ghee) are sprinkled on them by the guests. 
  • Saptapadi – After the Akshintalu is over, the couple walks seven times around the fire and takes vows to support each other in all the aspects of life, love and trust each other. 
  • Sithalapakkam – In this ritual, the groom adorns the feet of the bride with toe rings. This signifies that the woman is married. A silver vessel is then kept in which the engagement ring is tossed. The couple needs to find the ring inside the vessel. Whoever wins maximum times in three attempts is considered to be the dominant one. 
  • Appagintalu – This is the last ritual of the Telugu wedding ceremony. Appagintalu actually means vidaai where the bride is handed over to the groom’s family. This means the bride will now belong to the groom’s family. This is both a happy and a sad moment. A big plate is arranged which is filled with milk. The bride, groom, and their respective family sit in front of each other. The bride’s parents dip the bride’s hands in milk and hand her over to her husband and in-laws. 

Post-wedding rituals:

Once the wedding rituals are over, the bride then accompanies the groom to his house. The following rituals are followed there.

  • Gruhapravesam – After the wedding ceremony, the bride is welcomed by the groom’s family. A jar is filled with rice and jaggery which is kept at the entrance of the house and the bride needs to kick it with her right toe. The groom’s family then performs a small aarti and the bride enters her new house. 
  • Satyanarayana Vratam – Lord Satyanarayana is the supreme of all lords and worshipping him brings happiness and is considered as one of the purest rituals. The puja is performed on either the full moon day or during any auspicious occasions like a Telugu wedding ceremony. This puja brings good luck and prosperity to the newly wed couple.
  • Uniting the Mangalsutra – The bride’s mother  ties the mangalsutra on an auspicious day to the bride before the wedding. In the mangalsutra dharana, the groom will tie the mangalsutra to the bride. According to telugu ritual, after sixteen days of the wedding, both the mangalsutras are tied to one single thread and tied around the bride’s neck by the groom. This is the reason two coin-like pendants are seen in their mangalsutra. 
  • The above mentioned rituals are followed at every Telugu brahmin wedding. The rituals are common in every kind of wedding be it simple or a grand one. releaseMyAd, an INS accredited agency, is considered as the ideal platform to place your Telugu matrimonial ads in the newspaper. It is an online ad booking platform which serves more than 270 newspapers and is in this industry for more than 10 years. releaseMyAd allows the advertisers to book their ads in the newspapers at affordable rates. The process is very easy and user friendly. You get to select top newspapers like Eenadu, Sakshi, Andhra Jyothy and many more. The circulation details are also provided along with the rates and affordable packages. 

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