Indian wedding glossary · After the wedding
What is Griha pravesh?
Also written: Grihapravesh, dulhan ka swagat, गृह प्रवेश
Griha pravesh is the welcome of the new bride into her husband's home, when she gently tips over a kalash of rice with her right foot at the threshold and steps inside.
- Who keeps it
- Hindu families across India, under different names.
- When
- When the couple reach the groom's home after the vidaai.
About Griha pravesh
What should you know about Griha pravesh?
The groom's mother welcomes the couple with an aarti. In many families the bride then steps into a plate of red alta or kumkum water and walks in, leaving her footprints, which many families see as Lakshmi coming into the home.
It is usually followed by games, such as finding a ring in a bowl of milk, and the untying of the kangana.
In the order of functions
Where does Griha pravesh come in an Indian wedding?
When the couple reach the groom's home after the vidaai.
- Before the weddingFixing the match, the engagement, the date and the card.
- The functionsPujas, haldi, mehndi, sangeet and the family days before the wedding.
- Wedding day ritualsFrom the baraat to the pheras, nikah and anand karaj.
- After the weddingVidaai, the new home, the reception and the first visits.
Planning your own days? The free wedding function order planner puts your functions in a sensible order with dates.
On the card
What do families write on the invitation for Griha pravesh?
Rarely printed; families share the time in the wedding group: Griha pravesh 11 am, Sunday.
Related words
Words that go with Griha pravesh
- Kalash
A kalash is a metal or clay pot filled with water, topped with mango leaves and a coconut, placed at a wedding puja or in the mandap as a symbol of abundance and blessing.
- Vidaai
Vidaai is the farewell of the bride from her parents' home after the wedding, when she leaves with the groom for her new home.
- Mooh dikhai
Mooh dikhai, meaning showing the face, is the custom where the women of the groom's family and neighbourhood meet the new bride, see her face and give her gifts or money.
- Dwar rokai
Dwar rokai is the playful custom in many North Indian families where the groom's sisters stand at the door of his home and ask for a gift before letting the newly married couple in.
- Kangana
Kangana is the sacred thread with small charms tied on the wrists of the bride and groom before the wedding, which they later untie for each other in a playful game.
Questions
Griha pravesh, answered
What is Griha pravesh?
Griha pravesh is the welcome of the new bride into her husband's home, when she gently tips over a kalash of rice with her right foot at the threshold and steps inside.
Which families celebrate Griha pravesh?
Hindu families across India, under different names.
When does Griha pravesh happen in the order of wedding functions?
When the couple reach the groom's home after the vidaai.
What do families write on the invitation for Griha pravesh?
Rarely printed; families share the time in the wedding group: Griha pravesh 11 am, Sunday.
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