Sita Rama Kalyanam Celebrated at Sri Meenakshi Temple
The divine couple Sita and SriRama with Lakshmana and Anjaneya Swamy
PEARLAND: The Hindu religion is unique in its tradition of celebrating divine weddings as an expression of Bhakthi (devotion to God); it serves as a reminder for all, the eternal message of love and the union of the soul (jeevatma) with the divine (paramatma). Even to this day – the song sung to celebrate the Seetha-Rama kalyanam, “Seetha kalyana vaibhogame; Rama kalyana vaibhogame” is rendered at weddings in remembering and invoking the blessings of the celestial wedding of Lord Rama (an Incarnation of Vishnu) and Sita devi (an Incarnation of Mahalakshmi). One of the foremost devotees of Shri Rama, Shri Bhadrachala Ramadas, is credited with setting the tradition of celebrating Seetha-Rama Kalyanam at Bhadrachalam Shri Rama temple. Houston’s own Sri Meenakshi Temple Society (MTS) conducted the Seetha-Rama Kalyanam on Saturday, April 12, with the same spirit of auspicious devotion.
The majestic Raja gopuram raises behind the beautiful Silver Chariot on Sita Rama Kalyanam at Sri Meenakshi temple
The event began with the traditional seer varisai from the Ganesha temple. The divine wedding was celebrated at the main temple which was decorated beautifully with a celestial ambience and the event commenced with a Vishwaksena Pooja (to ward off all obstacles) and Punyaha-vachanam (to ritualistically) purify the space.
Beautifully laid out Seer varisai for Sita Rama Kalyanam at Meenakshi temple
From the enchanting divine bride and groom, to the décor, the display of sweets and the background music for the wedding, the assembled two hundred and fifty plus devotees felt blessed to be part of this holy matrimony. Ladies gathered up on the stage for the pidi sutral (offering of colored rice). The priests performed the recitation of the lineages for the three generations of both the groom and the bride. They then moved to tie the Raksha Sutram – a wristband that attests to the resolve of the sponsoring devotees to perform the holy wedding. This was followed by kanya dhanam (offering of the bride to the groom), mangalya dharanam (tying the holy thread) and maalai maatral (exchange of garlands); the priests then followed it up with the homam- holy fire ceremony, akstharaponam- sprinkling of holy rice, and mangalaharathi.
The Houston devotees proved to be ardent supporters of the Sita Rama wedding and had flocked fervently to make it a huge success. Following the wedding, the celestial couple were carried around the temple premises in the silver chariot in a procession (with the cries of Jai Shri Ram- Victory to Lord Rama), while the devotees chanted Vishnu Sahasranamam.
The divine wedding concluded with a sumptuous wedding feast, organized by MTS board member and Food committee lead, Jeyam Thyagarajan and served by MTS staff and volunteers. The MTS Pooja Committee, volunteers and the priests Doraiswamy Bhattar, Sridhar Raghavan and Sri Parthasarathy, and staff members deserve our gratitude for planning and organizing this event with the support of the board, the administrators and the volunteers. In particular we thank the event coordinators, Bhargavi Golla, Vijaya Kaila and Kumari Mikkilineni. These events really enrich our lives and nourish our souls. (References from M. Sriram, V. Natarajan and N. Sadagopan; Photos: S. Srinivasan and GNP)