Kanyadana


Kanyadana is a Hindu wedding ritual. Inscriptional evidence of this tradition can be found on 15th century stones found in the Vijayanagara Empire in South India. There are different interpretations regarding kanyadana across South Asia.
The kanyadana ritual occurs before the sindoor ritual.

Etymology

Kanyadana is made of the Sanskrit words kanyā and dāna, referring to the tradition of a father giving his daughter in marriage to a groom, symbolizing the transfer of responsibility and care from one family to another.
According to Sanjeev Newar, as a forensic truth, Kanyadana has 2 different meanings. The 1st means - father asserts that he no longer holds rights over daughter and is offering her for a higher cause of society as she has grown up and is ready for the next phase of her life. While the 2nd means - father asserts that he will offer whatever is necessary to his daughter to make her journey into a new phase of life comfortable and meaningful. Newar had addressed this due to some people misinterpreting the tradition, adding that others have spread propagandas against it.

Kanyadana songs

The wedding ritual may be accompanied by a variety of kanyadana songs. These songs may include the parents lamenting the loss of their daughter. Other songs focus on the groom, sometimes comparing him to Rama, portrayed in the Ramayana as the "ideal groom".