'Saptapadi' or 'Saat Phere'

"Seven steps"

The word, Saptapadi means "Seven steps". The tradition of taking 7 steps around the fire or 'Saptapadi' or 'Saat Phere' is an important rite of any Hindu Marriage Ceremony, irrespective of the region. In this rite the bride and groom are symbolically brought together through the marriage knot and then asked to  circumambulate a (sacred) fire or the Agnideva 7 times reciting specific vows which represent everything from nourishment, strength, hapiness to progeny, long life, harmony & understanding. After taking these 7 sacred rounds or 7 life-changing steps and exchanging the vows; the couple agrees to be companions forever. But, how many of us really know the significance of the 7 steps – why the 7 rounds around the fire are important in marriage? According to Sanskrit Saptha means - 7 and then what does padhi mean? 7 steps with 10 different meanings is collectively called Saptha padhi. Here is the meaning of the seven different things and the relative importance in life of the married couple.

1.    7 Kama" (lust), "Lobha" (greed), "Kroda" (anger), "Moha" (anxiety), "Mada" (conceit) and "Matsarya" (envy), "Ahankara"(pride).- By leaving all these 7 evils behind both the bride and bridegroom promise not leave each other.

2.    7 colours of the rainbow – VIBGYOR

·         Violet – Sweetness.

·         Indigo - peace full like night.

·         Blue - pleasent as morning sky.

·         Green - healthy

·         Yellow -  Generally In Hinduism yellow is symbol of auspicious and good things.

·         Orange - Kashayam  in Hindusim is mostly worn when they enter to lords place which is considered to be true color to devotion.

·         Red- Kumkum – it’s not danger, but like spice; adds taste to life have a meaning for the life.

Life is common with problems. Even in any of the 7 experiences of life they would walk together and yet, treasure the colourful life.

3.    7  directions of the path – with 8 directions, the mention is for 7 only because despite there being 8 directions but in our life, we must pray and hope that we never get a chance to go in backward direction and hence, it’s only the 7 directions we need to choose and keep going forward.

4.    7 Saptha rushi- During the re-incarnation of the world; only [7] Saptha rushis were alive and saved by lord Vishnu. Hence, they form the base for knowledge. Bowing to them would propel one forward by obeying the Vedas written by them.

5.    7 Sapth Graha - not including the moon and sun which are included as Navagraha in Hinduism. Why so? We can get blessings of sun and moon by bowing to them directly. But for the remaining 7, one needs to get blessings symbolically by one step for each of them.

6.    7 Days of the week – this is symbolic of the fact that the couple would be with each other; all the time and in all kinds of situation extending support to each other to lead a happy life.

7.    7 to be immersed in all the 7 worlds. The seven lokas, may be briefly described as:

·         Bhûhû - earth, the physical world

·         Bhuvaha - astral/desire/breath, the world of becoming

·         Suvaha - mental, the world of thinking

·         Mahaha - causal, silent mind, the world of emotion

·         Janaha - world of creative generation

·         Tapaha - world of intuition

·         Satyam - world of absolute truth

8.    7 Notes of the music- The way the 7 notes of the music make great tunes; similarly, the couple should strike a musical cord through the ups and downs of life for a wonderful and pleasant life of togetherness.

9.    7 Lives - why the 7 lives and why not 8 lives live together? For this, a small story should be recollected of Jaya and Vijaya Dwara [palakas of the Lord Vishnu] - When they were cursed by Rishis to take birth on Earth. As Jaya and Vijaya plead, asking the way to redemption and for getting back to Vaikuntam, Lord Vishnu Says - "you should either take birth for 7 livs as a devotee and follow all ashram dharmas to reach me  OR take 3 lives as demon and keep chanting my name to get killed by me and come back". So, as Lord Vishnu said, 7 lives are needed to reach him by following all the Ashrams of life. For all the 7 lives, the prayer is to seek the same life partner to complete and reach lord successfully.

10. 7 final - Give respect to each other. Uphold the good name of both the families that can be remembered for at least 7 generations. In earlier times, it was common for families to harbour 6 to 7 generations, since marriages were early and life span was more).