Saptapadi, Saat phere or Seven vows are the most important and religious rite of Indian Wedding Ceremony. Wedding rituals and rites in Indian weddings are varied from region to region. Every religion has its own wedding style depending upon the region but one rite which is common to every Indian wedding is the last and the most important one is Saptapadi. Though the style of seven encirclements changed, the significance is same whether it is Uttarakhand wedding, north Indian wedding or the southern one.
The word Saptapadi is the Sanskrit word which means “Seven Steps” taking around the holy “Agni Kund” or the sacred fire followed by 7 vows between the groom and the bride. Where each step has distinct significance. The rites and rituals are performed under the guidance of Pandit Ji(priest). The priest chanted aloud the Shlokas or Mantras in Sanskrit, while the Bride and Groom seated around the sacred Agni Kund. Agni is considered as the “God of Fire” according to the Hindu mythology. It is said that all the Gods and Goddesses are always present around this sacred fire, so the bride and groom both are required to take this ritual together around this holy fire so they get the blessings for their new life. In the first three pheras bride leads the groom while in remaining the groom leads the bride.This is the last and the main rite of Indian Wedding ceremony. After the completion of this rite the bride and groom legally become the husband and wife.
Significance Of Each Phera
The 1st Phera or the 1st vows as said in Sanskrit is
” Om esha ekapadi bhava iti prathaman,dhanam dhanyam pade vadet.”
In the first step or first Phera of Journey couple prays to god for nourishment. In the journey of togetherness, the couple solicits divine blessings by asking the lord to ensure that there will be no short of food and money in their new life. And blessed us with plenty of food and nourishment for our upcoming life. As the groom promises to provide welfare and happiness to his better half, the bride also promises to shoulders the responsibilities with him.Together they pray that they may work towards to achieve this goal with utmost dedication and respect each other in this journey of love.
The second Phera stated in Sanskrit as
“Om oorje jara dastayaha ,kutumburn rakshyammi sa aravindharam.”
With the second Phera the couple pleads to God for peaceful and healthy life.And praise the God to impart them mental physical and spiritual strength so that they can live their life smoothly being in the relation of husband wife forever.They vow to love each other forever, honestly! They vow to stand with each other in every situation or phase of the life and will become the strength of each other and defend our family from all the odd things.
3rd Phera or 3rd Vachan
“Om rayas santu joradastyaha,tava bhaktu as vadedvachacha.”
In the third Phera, the couple invokes to God for wealth.They ask God to bestow them the strength so that they can share the happiness and all the odds together. And if needed they both work together to get wealth. Wealth not only for their physical desire and existence to fulfill but also for the spiritual obligations too. They also pledge physical and spiritual loyalty towards each other throughout the life.
4th Phera or 4 Vachan
“Om mayo bhavyas jaradastayha, lalayami cha pade vadet.”
In this roundabout, the groom leads the bride to the way and compliment the bride that she brought the fortune and sanctity in his life. And May God bless us with an ecstatic life and healthy children.And, the bride takes the vow to love her husband in every possible way.They pray to the almighty to make their love and bond stronger. They also pledge to respect the family and friends of each other as the family is an important entity in Indian society.
5th Phera or 5th Vachan
“Om prajabhyaha santu jaradastayaha, arte arba sapade vadet”.
In the 5th Phera bride and groom pray together for the beautiful, heroic and noble children from the god.In this encirclement, the groom asked the bride that you have walked 5 steps with me and enriched my Life. May God bless us and our family with long life and prosperity. In return, the bride said she will share all the joy, pain in the journey of our marriage and in return seeking for the trust and honor from him.They also vow to be good and responsible parents to the children and provide them with an excellent education and correct upbringing as the children will carry their name forward.
6th Phera or 6th Vachan
“Rutubhyah shat padi bhava, yajne home shashthe vacho vadet.”
In the 6th Phera, the couple asks for the peaceful long life with each other.They pray to Almighty to extend his blessings for a long lives togetherness. In this vow, the groom said my beloved you have added immense bliss to my life by taking 6 encirclements with me. I wish to have you always by my side. May you be with me forever and glut my life with pleasure and peace. In return the bride makes the groom assured that she will always remain beside with you and extend my efforts to make our life beautiful and prosperous.
7th Phera or 7 Vachan
“Om sakhi jaradastayaha aatramshe sakshino vadet pade.”
In the final Phera, the prays to God for, togetherness, loyalty, and understanding between themselves. They pledge to bear the relationship with love and honesty.
In this Vachan the groom said to her beloved wife that now we are two bodies and one soul. We are unified henceforth we are incomplete without each other. You completely mine and I am completely yours. Our existence entirely devoted to each other. May we have an everlasting bond of love for next seven birth periods. Then the bride assures him and said she will always be truthful to him, love him from the bottom of her heart it’s an honor to be your wife for this life and for many other lives. We will pledge to be transparent to each other. All the vows which we have taken in front of the Agni (sacred fire) will try to carry out with pure intentions.