You must have heard about Sikh weddings and how fun it is, but do you know the meaning of the wedding ceremony? This beautiful religious wedding ceremony is known as ‘Anand Karaj,’ it is a blissful union, where a couple marry in front of the Guru Granth Sahib, at a Gurdwara — a Sikh Temple. And their guests sit around the couple, with men on one side and women on the other.

 

A Sikh wedding ceremony is a beautiful occasion in which two people meet in equal partnership. The ceremony consists of various stages of the wedding, where the Baraat; the bridegroom’s party are greeted by the Bride’s family at the Gurdwara (the wedding venue). Then the groom with his party enters the wedding place and is greeted lovingly by the bride’s family with Milni. After that, the Giani- Sikh priest reads a special prayer called Ardas. Later comes the formal introductions of both sets of parents and other family members.

 

If you find all these lovely traditions delightful and are thinking of doing an Anand Karaj marriage in UK, then you should definitely contact Royal Bindi. They can help you with great traditional photographs of your wedding.

 

Once, the wedding party enters the Darbar, which is the main hall where the wedding ceremony takes place. There the groom sits with other men where his sisters remove the sehra before he sits in front of the holy scripture in the Gurdwara. And when the bride makes her entrance, she sits on the left of the groom. Before the main wedding ceremony, the bride and groom, including their parents, will stand for another Ardas.

 

Then comes another tradition called ‘Palla Rasam,’ performed by the bride’s father, this ritual symbolises that he is giving his daughter away by handing the end of the groom’s scarf in the hands of the bride. Not to mention, it is a pretty emotional tradition. After this, the bride’s brothers will stand around Guru Granth sahib; it depicts protection and the couple starts their Lavan. The meaning of the word “Lavan” is ‘the next stage’ or to break away, considering the bride is breaking away from her parents and uniting with her husband and going to a different family.

 

In Lavan, the Groom leads the Bride, while they walk around the Guru Granth Sahib 4 times at set intervals, starting with bowing and at the end of each stanza. All the brothers guide the bride around by taking turns, which stems from a tradition from older times when brides used to cover their face to protect them from the evil eye, but brides were unable to see through the veil, so their brothers used to guide her as well as to protect her.

 

Each verse of the wedding ceremony’s vows is written by the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das Ji. And during the Anand Karaj, the Ragis sing each verse of the wedding song as the bride and groom, circle around the Siri Guru Granth Sahib.

  • 1st stanza: The first verse of the hymn declares that marriage is supported as the best state of life for a Sikh.
  • 2nd Stanza: The second verse of the nuptial hymn conducts the rising love feelings of a bride, while leaving her former life, and entering a new life in the company of her husband.
  • 3rd Stanza:The third hymn states the detachment of the bride from the world and outside magnetism, and becoming more deeply devoted to her husband, wishing only to live for him.
  • 4th Stanza: The fourth verse of the matrimonial hymn defines a spiritual connection of love and devotion where there is no feeling of separation, allowing only joy, and contentment.

 

And after the completion of the fourth nuptial round, the bride and groom are considered to be husband and wife.

 

In a nutshell, Lavan basically means that both husband and wife are equally devoted to each other and that they might be husband and wife to the world, but they are two bodies with one light or soul.

 

The main Sikh wedding is just under an hour-long, but with all pre-wedding traditions and post-wedding rituals, the wedding usually takes three to four hours long. After the completion of the whole wedding ceremony, another Ardas is read, where everyone stands in front of the Guru Granth Sahib before being served prasad; a sweet offering made of sugar and flour.

 

Whether it’s a Sikh wedding or any other wedding, one thing is common, that is the tradition to serve a wedding lunch. Some families have an afternoon reception and others in the evening, where guests make their way to the venue. The guests are served at the Gurdwara, with lavish Punjabi dishes, such as chhole bhature and saag, filled with flavours and aromas, a cuisine fit for royalty.

 

Once in their lifetime, everyone should attend an Anand Karaj, and enjoy all the traditions of this religious wedding.