The Hindu wedding is full with rituals and customs that teach us about the actual meaning of happiness in marriage. The seven vows of marriage represent seven commitments made by the bride and husband during their auspicious wedding ceremony. During the wedding, a sacred fire is built with ghee and wooden sticks to invoke Agni (the deity of fire), who serves as the witness to the seven vows procedure. A priest officiates the wedding and sings Vedic mantras. The bride and groom swear their allegiance to one other for the rest of their lives amidst the glowing fire of the havankund and the singing of mantras. Saptapadi/pheras, or seven vows, is a lovely Hindu marriage rite, albeit the method of saying the seven vows differs by area in India.
Hindus believe that a married couple will stay together for the rest of their lives if they walk seven steps around the havankund’s fire. Before taking the seven vows, the bride is traditionally positioned to the right of the groom. After taking the pheras, the bride moves to the left side of her husband, suggesting that she is now closer to his heart. In most Hindu weddings, the newlywed couple takes seven pheras around the sacred fire, with the exception of Gujaratis and Sindhis, who take four pheras. In the majority of the seven pheras, the husband leads the first four, while the bride leads the last three.
The significance of the seven marriage vows are listed below.
• The bride and groom take the first of the seven marriage vows to swear that they will provide a prosperous life for the household or family that they will look after, and that they will avoid individuals who will block their healthy living.
• The bride and groom pledge to strengthen their physical, mental, and spiritual powers in order to live a healthy lifestyle during the second portion of the seven pheras.
• During the third vow, the married couple agrees to earn a living and increase their materialistic wealth through virtuous and proper ways.
• During the fourth vow, the married couple promises to gain knowledge, happiness, and harmony through mutual love, respect, understanding, and faith.
• They take the fifth vow in order to expand their lineage by producing children for whom they will be responsible. They also want children that are healthy, honest, and fearless.
•During the sixth step around the sacred fire, the bride and groom pray for mental, physical, and spiritual self-control as well as the longevity of their marriage.
• The seventh and final vow, the bride and groom swear to be faithful and truthful to each other for the rest of their lives, as well as companions and best friends.
