(“seven steps”) The
most important rite in the Hindu marriage ceremony, in which the bride and
groom take seven steps together to symbolize their marital union.
The seventh step completes the transfer of the bride from
her natal fam ily to the groom’s family and is also the point when the marriage
becomes per manent.
As described in the dharma lit erature, the bride and groom
would perform this rite by taking seven steps in a straight line.
In contemporary times this rite is often combined with the
agnipradakshinam (“circumambulat ing the fire”), in which the bride and groom
make seven revolutions around a small fire—considered to be a form of the god
Agni and thus the divine witness to the marriage.
While circling the fire, the bride and groom are often
physically joined by tying part of his turban to the edge of her sari as a
visible sign of their marital union.
