What are the Amazing Jain Wedding Rituals That Make It a More Wholesome Affair?

Balakrishnan David
3 min readFeb 18, 2021

Wedding is a sacred bond- two souls join and promise to be there and spend the rest of their life together. The rituals that come with any wedding for Digambar Jain brides and grooms vary. India is a diverse land and weddings here showcase that diversification. It is a time when family and friends come together to celebrate the union of the bride and the groom.
While so many weddings of one culture are being put forward, one sometimes stays behind the curtain. So many cultures have so many fun and also pure sacred ways by which they join two souls together through matchmaking. And, if you have always wondered regarding what happens in a Jain wedding, the curtain is up now and you would get to know about some wonderful rituals that will amaze you.

What Do You Know About Jain Matrimony?
The Jain community is believed to be the oldest in India and they follow the Sramana traditions. The faith was led down by the 24 Tirthankars. Jains are very popularly known as a business-oriented community and also thrive abroad. The people of this community believe in having a strong background, close-knit family and believe in simple approaches as it would be seen during Jain matrimonial too. Therefore, with a Jain wedding, a celebration with family and friends is a must. Here you would get to know about some of the Jain community rituals which are simple in ethos but grand and expansive.

Pre-Wedding Rituals

Lagna Lekhan
At the bride’s place, a small puja takes place where family and friends unite. Once the puja is over, the auspicious day of matrimony is disclosed along with the date. Digambar Jain matrimonial happens when the ‘Lagna Patrika’ is sent to the groom’s side where ‘Lagna Patrika Vachan’ is done. Here, after the puja, the details of the wedding are disclosed to the groom’s side of the family.

Sagai
This is usually happening at the groom’s place. And, one is asked to wear the traditional Jain headgear and perform the ‘Vinayakyantra puja’. Once the puja is completed, the brother of the bride would put a tilak on the groom’s forehead and then offer rings, gold chains, and other items to the groom.

Maha Mandap
This is held in both the bride's and the groom’s place two or three days before the auspicious day. Here the priest would start performing the wedding rites to maintain the auspiciousness. There are many matrimonial sites that offer you even wedding planning services.

Wedding Day Rituals

Baraati And Aarti
The groom’s family is welcomed by the bride’s family. Later the married women from the bride’s sides would do aarti of the groom and sing folk songs which are also known as ‘mangal geet’.

Kanyavaran
Here the parents of the bride would put 1 rupee and 25 paise on her hand and then put her hand on her life partner’s or groom’s hand. The mantra is chanted and water is poured three times.

Granthi Bandhan
It is the responsibility of a married woman to tie the bride’s pallu with the scarf of the groom so that they could get up for the pheras.

Pheras
This is considered one of the most sacred rituals in any community. Here, the groom and the bride would move round the havan kund with the bride leading the first time and the groom the next three times. Once this is done the bride is now ‘Vamanga’- the better part of their husband. Matrimony profiles offer you a huge selection when it comes to choosing the right partner.

Post Wedding Rituals

Ashirvada
The Jain bride and groom then take blessings from the elders and start a new chapter of their life.

Sva Graha Aagamana
With a few rituals, the bride is now welcomed into the groom’s home with an open heart.

Jina Grahe Dhan Arpana
This is an important part of any Jain community. Here, after the wedding, alms are donated to any Jain temple to say welcome for all the rituals being performed successfully.

And, therefore these are some of the most notable rituals that you will witness in any Jain wedding after which the new couple starts a new chapter in their life.

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Balakrishnan David

Balakrishnan writes on behalf of Matrimonials India, which is among the fastest-growing matrimonial site of India.