THE CULTURES THAT BLOSSOMED IN GANGETIC PLAINS

 

                    

                         

                        

 

 THE  CULTURES THAT BLOSSOMED IN GANGETIC PLAINS

Mithila (Home of Sita) is south of Ayodhya (the home of Ram) and Ayodhya is south of Mathura (the home of Krishna).  All three are in the Gangetic plains.   Culturally, even today, these three areas have  very distinct cultures.  Mithila is associated with village arts and crafts; Avadh or Ayodhya was the center of urban sophistication; Vraja or Braj was the center of earthy devotion.  Each has a different dialect: Maithili, Avadhi and Brajbhasha.

                                                        Indo-Gangetic Plains

Let's examine the ancient cultures that existed in the Gangetic plains in the light of marriage and customs.

 

Ram had impressed everyone: everyone hailed him as a worthy groom for Sita.   And so, in the presence of Vishwamitra and Parashurama, Sita garlanded the eldest son of Dasharatha.  She would be his wife, and he would be her husband.

Messengers were sent to Ayodhya and Dasharatha came to Mithila with his guru, Vasishtha, and his other two sons.  Janaka had a proposal:  'You have three more sons and my family has three more daughters.  Let the four brothers marry the four sisters and let your house be united with mine.'

Dasharatha accepted his proposal and a grand wedding was organized to mark the union of four couples. Lakshman married Urmila, Bharatha married Mandavi, and Shatrughna married Shrutakirti.  

The brides and grooms were bathed in turmeric water.  The boys were dressed in white, a reminder of the white seed contained in their body.  The girls were dressed in red, a reminder of the red seed contained in their body.

Together they would produce the next generation, enabling the dead ancestors to be reborn.

 

Janaka gave his daughters to the sons of Dasharatha, saying 'I give you Lakshmi, wealth, Saraswati, wisdom.  This ritual came to be known as kanya-daan, the granting of the virgin bride.

 

The four couples took seven steps (saath-phera) together in front of their elders.  This made them lifelong companions who would share seven things: a house, fire, water, income, children, pleasure and conversation.  Placing their palms one below the other they made offerings of ghee and grain to the fire so that the smoke carried them up to above the sky where the devas could feast to their satisfaction. Offerings were also made to the cow, the dog, the crow and the serpent, to the banana plant and the banyan tree, to the rocks and to water, a reminder that humanity does not live in isolation.

 

When it was time for them to leave, Janaka blessed his daughters, 'May you take happiness wherever you go'.

 

Their mother Sunaina said nothing.  She just gave all the girls two dolls each, one male and one female, made of red sandalwood.  These were symbols of domestic bliss to be kept in the most sacred corner of their courtyards.  

 

Finally, the umbilical cord had been cut. Goodbye to ancestral home!

 

Sita, Urmila, Mandavi and Shrutakirti wanted to turn back, but they did not.  They were Janaka's daughters. They knew that there is wisdom in letting go and moving on.

A huge caravan of horses, elephants, donkeys and bullocks left the city of Mithila, carrying the gifts from the home of their brides to the home of the grooms.  There were fabrics, jewels and weapons.  A bride besides these gifts also carried new food, a new culture and with that new thoughts that enrich her husband's household.

Marriage, since Vedic times, is not just the union of a man and a woman but an opportunity for two cultures to intermingle so that new customs and beliefs can enter an old household and revitalize it.