ThirukkalyANa MahOthsavam 7.2

[Guest guest]

MangaLa SnAnam & wearing of the Koorai Pudavai

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After NischiyathArtham and reciting of the four

manthrAs referred to in the previous posting ,

Sri RanganAthA prepared ANDAL for the mangaLa

snAnam and the wearing of the new wedding saree .

 

The five Veda manthrams used for the ritual bathing

( mangala snAnam ) of the bride are addressed to

SavithA dEvan , Sooryan , VaruNan , dEvAs and

holy waters .

 

Japam is made with these manthrams and the sanctified water

resulting from that japam is used to bathe the bride .

 

The first manthram

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hiraNya varNA : suchaya: paavkA : prachakramurhithvA

avadhyamApa: I satham pavithrA vidhathAhyAsu tApishtvA

dEvassavithA punAthu II

 

Oh Bride ! May the SavithA bhagavAn purify you with

these waters that are golden in color and are pure .

They remove the blemishes on contact and banish

any dhoshams in the bride .Hundreds of sanctified

and auspicious objects emanate in this world because of

these sacred waters .

 

The Second manthram

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hiraNyavarNA: sucha: paavakA : yaasu jaatha

kasyapO yAsvagni: I

yaa Agnim garbham dhadhirE suvarNAs taastha

aapas saggusyOnA bhavanthu II

 

May those waters that hold inside them Agni ,

may those waters from which Sooryan emerges ,

may those waters from which Agni arises ,

may those sacred and golden waters confer

on you sukham and concordant life with

your bridegroom !

 

Third manthram

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yaasAgum rAjO VaruNO yaathi madhyE sadhyAnruthE

avapasyan janAnAm I

yaa Agnim garbham dhadhirE suvarNAs taastha

aapa: saggusyAnO bhavanthu II

 

May VaruNA , the king of waters , who moves amidst

people witnessing their good and bad deeds , may

those fair colored waters associated with VaruNA

containing Agni inside them grant you sukham and

auspicious union with your bridegroom .

 

Fourth manthram

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yaasAm dEvA dhivi gruNvanthi paksham yaa

antharikshE bahudhA nivishtA I

yaa Agnim garbham dhadhirE suvarNAs taastha aapa:

saggusyOnA bahvanthu II

 

May those waters selected by the dEvAs containing

Agni inside them for the consumption of the celestial

beings and may those dEvAs positioned in the interspace

between the earth and the sky bless you to

realize sukham and happy union with your bridegroom .

 

Fifth manthram

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Oh bride ! May these auspicious waters cast their

benovolent glances in your direction !May they touch

the skin covering your body with their auspicious

forms ! May these pure waters that soften ghee

confer on you sukham and concordance with your

beloved one .

 

The reference to Agni residing inside water has

been elaborately dealt with in the earlier

Soorya NaarAyaNa manthrA postings .

 

Wearing of Koorai pudavai after Mangala SnAnam

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The bride now wears the new wedding saaree to

the acoompaniment of the Rg vEda manthram( I.10.12):

 

pari tvA girvaNO gira imA bhavanthu visvatha: I

vruddhAyumanu vruddhayO jushtA bhavanthu jushtaya : II

 

Oh Lord IndrA ! You are reached by auspicious sounds .

Just as the new saaree covers the body of this bride ,

may our salutations cover you intimately . May our praise

couched in words with artha pushti reach You ! May

those words of praise become objects of your joy !

 

The Veda Manthrams have many layers of meanings .

The very same manthram quoted above changes meaning ,

when they are addressed to the very same IndrA in

another context :

 

May our eulogies and invocations spread far and wide !

may they celebrate your glory all around and may your

blessed devotees dedicate their lives to making the world

happy and prosperous !

 

The tying of the waist of the bride with darbha rope

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After the bride came back to the wedding canopy

then Sri RanganAthA repeated the manthrams

recited by the purohithar, chathurmuka BhrammA :

 

aasAsathA soumanasam prajAgum soubhAgyam tanUm I

AgnEranuvrathA bhoothvA sathnahyE sukruthAya gam II

 

( Meaning ) :This bride ( GodhA dEvi ) stands in front of

Agni with a pure mind and is praying for a blemishless mind,

good children , the state of soumAngalyam and a disease -free

body and is ready to follow her bridegroom ( RanganAthA )

to perform the agni samskaarams prescribed for gruhasthAs .

I tie this dharbhA rope around her waist for the purpose

of the auspicious ceremony of marriage .

 

Seating of the bride and the bridegroom in front of the Agni

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Next , Sri RanganAthA took the right hand of His bride and

led Her to the western side of the sacred Agni guNtam and

seated Her on a new mat ( pattu paai ) on the southern side and

then seated Himself on the northern side of theb mat .

Now , the purOhithar recited the Rg vEda manthram ( 10.85-26)

inviting GodhA piratti to be the head of the household

of Sri RanganAthA :

 

pUshA tvEthO nayathu hastha gruhyAsvinA tvA pra vahathAm rathEna I

gruhAn gaccha gruhapathnee yathAsO vasinI tvam vidhathamA vadhAsi II

 

( Meaning ) : May pUshA ( one of the 12 forms of SUryan ) give

You his hand and lead You by showing the way to Your new house.

May Thou be carried by the Asvini dEvAs in a covered

wagon to the house of Sri RanganAthA .May Thou become

the queen of that household and become the aandu aaLum ANDAL

and conduct all the auspicious rituals prescribed for gruhasthAs !

 

*** ANDAL's own description of the MangaLa snAnam

and the entry to the wedding hall :

 

BhrammA , PeriyAzhwAr , saptha rishis and the other

assembled Veda sirOmaNis recited the udaga sAnthi

manthrAs and sanctified the waters assembled from

the four corners of Bharatha dEsam .Then they sprinkled

those sanctified waters on ANDAL's head and united Her hand

with that of Her Lord with a kankaNam ( Kaapu/RakshA

Bhandham). ANDAL describes this beautiful scene

in the next Paasuram :

 

nARRisait theerthang koNarnthu nani nalki

pArppanacchittargaL pallAr yedutthEtthip

pUpunai kaNNip punithanOdu yenrennaik

kAppu nANN kattak kanAk kanDEn thozhI naan

 

In Her Next Paasuram , ANDAL describes how she was

led to the kalyANa mantapam by beautiful young

damsels ,some carrying auspicious lamps with lustre

equal to that of the rays of the Sun and others holding

golden kalasams in their hands :

 

kathiroLi dheepam kalsamudan yEnthi

chathirLa mangayar taam vanthu yethir koLLa

MathurayAr mannan adi nilai thottu , yengum

athirappuhuthak kanAk kanDen thOzhi nAnn

 

We will continue in the next posting the

Maangalya DhAraNam , PaaNigrahaNam and

the sapthapathi functions .

 

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

 

P.S : May I request all-the Sri ANDAL-Sri RanganAthA

wedding participants-to send your sambhAvanAs ( Pledges

of support for the Bricks of their temple ) at your

earliest convenience to :

 

Sri RanganAthA Temple

P.O Box 120, POMONA , NY 10970

 

We have to remember that Sri RanganAyaki SamEtha Sri RanganAthA

is AadhimUlam . There are no AzhwArs without Him ; there are

no AchAryAs without Him .There is no Sri VaishNavam

with out this VishNu ( all pervader ) .We need your

generous help for this extraordinary kaimkaryam .

Please come forward with your generous support

and receive the blessings of the Divya Dampathis !

Thanks very much .