himself to the residence of the guests and invites
them with expressions of humility to honour his home. Before the
wedding the ancestors of the family and also the divine mothers are
worshipped, these latter consisting of the consorts of the principal
gods. In front of the wedding procession are carried _kalashas_ or
earthen jars filled to the brim with water, and with green shoots
and branches floating on the top. The _kalasha_ is said to represent
the universe and to contain the principal gods and divine mothers,
while the waters in it are the seven seas. All these are witnesses
to the wedding. Among other ceremonies, presents of fruit, food,
ornaments and jewellery are exchanged between the parties, and these
are called _choli-ka-bharana_ or filling the bride's breast-cloth. The
original object of giving these presents was thus, it would appear
from the name, to render the bride fertile. The father then gives
his daughter away in a set form of speech. After reciting the exact
moment of time, the hour, the day, the minute according to solar
and lunar reckoning, the year and the epoch, he proceeds: "In the
name of Vishnu (repeating the name three times), the supreme spirit,
father and creator of the universe, and in furtherance of his wish for
the propagation of the human species, I (specifying his full name and
section, etc.), in the company of my married wife, do hereby offer the
hand of my daughter--may she live long--full of all virtuous qualities,
image of Lakshmi, wife of Vishnu, anxious of union in lawful wedlock,
ornamented and dressed, brought up and instructed according to the best
of my means, by name (naming her and repeating the full description
of ancestors, class, etc.) in the solemn presence of the Brahmans,
Gurus, fire and deities, to you--may you live long--(repeating the
bridegroom's name and full description), anxious to obtain a wife
with a view to secure the abode of bliss and eternal happiness in
the heaven of Brahma. Accept her with _kusha_ grass, grains of rice,
water and presents of money." Afterwards the father asks the bridegroom
never to disregard the feelings and sentiments of his wife in matters
of religion, social pleasures and the acquisition of money, and the
bridegroom agrees. The binding portion of the ceremony consists in
walking seven times round the sacred post, and when the seventh round
is completed the marriage is irrevocable. Among the Maratha Brahmans
the bridegroom is called