decorated in finery. The bridal pair are taken up on the shoulders of their maternal uncles, who dance about for a short time. Whenever they meet, the bride and bridegroom exchange garlands (mālaimththal). The couple then sit on a swing within the pandal (booth), and songs are sung. A few married women go round them three times, carrying water, a light, fruits, and betel, in a tray. The pair are conducted into the house, and are seated on the marriage dais. The marriage, or Vivāham, is then commenced. A purōhit (priest) repeats certain Vēdic texts as a blessing, and says: — " Bless this couple of ... . gōtras, the son and daughter of .... , grandchildren of .... , now about to be married." At this stage, the gōtras of the contracting couple must be pronounced distinctly, so as to ensure that they are not among the prohibited degrees. The bridal couple must belong to different gōtras. The bridegroom next says that he is about to commence the worship of Visvaksēna if he is a Vaishnavite, or Ganapathi if he is a Saivite, for the successful termination of the marriage ceremonies. The Ankurarpana (seed-pan) ceremony is then proceeded with. Five earthenware pans are procured, and, after being purified by the sprinkling of punyāham water over them, are arranged in the form of a square. Four of the pans are placed at the four cardinal points, east, west, north, and south, and the remaining pot is set down in the centre of the square. The pan to the east represents Indra, the one to the west Varuna, the one to the south Yama, and the one to the north Sōman. While water is being sprinkled over the pans, the following synonyms for each of these gods are repeated: —
- Indra — Sathakruthu, Vajranam, Sachipathi.
- Yama — Vaivaswata, Pithrupathi, Dharmarāja.
