Kanyādāna is a

Hindu wedding A Hindu wedding, also known as Vivaha (Devanagari: विवाह; Kannada script: ವಿವಾಹ; ''Vivaaha'') (), Lagna (लग्न), or Kalyanam (Devanagari: कल्याणम्; Kannada script: ಕಲ್ಯಾಣಮ್; ta, கல ...

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

.Enslin, Elizabeth. "Imagined Sisters: The Ambiguities of Women’s Poetics and Collective Actions". Selves in Time and Place: Identities, Experience, and History in Nepal. Ed. Debra Skinner, Alfred Pach III, and Dorothy Holland. Lanham; Boulder; New York; Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1998 (269-299). One possible origin of this tradition can be traced to 15th century stone inscriptions found in Vijayanagara empire in South India. There are different interpretations regarding kanyādān across India (

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

Origin

Kanyādāna is a

dating as far back as the 15th century, as can be evidenced by several stone inscriptions found in the Vijayanagara empire. As the name suggest, Kanya = girl, aDaan= acceptance, meaning suggest as per sandhiviched= accepting a girl to a man's family. In a deep meaning, a father is giving his responsibility of her girl to a man, who will handle this further, as he was handling. Also we can say bride is accepting groom

Gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra fo ...

Kanyādāna songs

In communities where kanyādāna is performed as part of the actual wedding, the ritual is carried out through a variety of kanyādāna songs. These songs may include the parents lamenting the loss of their daughter, as well as regretting their economic sacrifice for the wedding. Other songs focus on the

groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man an ...

, for example comparing him to the "ideal groom", the god

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

, in the epic ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

''. Importantly, the kanyādān

occurs right before the

Sindoor Sindooram is a traditional vermilion red or orange-red coloured cosmetic powder from the Indian subcontinent, usually worn by married women along the part of their hairline. In Hindu communities the sindoor is a visual marker of marital stat ...

ritual (sindurdan).Henry, Edward O. "Folk Song Genres and Their Melodies in India: Music Use and Genre Process". Asian Music (Spring-Summer 2000). JSTOR. 20 February 2008.

Origin

Kanyādāna songs

See also

References

Further reading