Indian wedding glossary · Wedding day rituals
What is Havan?
Also written: Agni, sacred fire, homa, हवन
A havan is the sacred fire lit in the centre of the mandap; in a Hindu wedding Agni, the fire, is the divine witness to the vows, and the couple make offerings into it.
- Who keeps it
- Hindu, Jain and Arya Samaj families across India.
- When
- Lit at the start of the wedding rites in the mandap and kept burning through the pheras.
About Havan
What should you know about Havan?
The priest lights the fire with mango wood and ghee, and the couple pour offerings of ghee, grains and samagri as mantras are chanted. The pheras or saptapadi are taken around or beside it.
Guests often join the havan at a grah shanti or a puja before the wedding. At the wedding itself, only the couple, parents and priest usually sit close to it.
In the order of functions
Where does Havan come in an Indian wedding?
Lit at the start of the wedding rites in the mandap and kept burning through the pheras.
- 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 Havan?
Vivah sanskar (with havan): 11:15 pm in the mandap.
Related words
Words that go with Havan
- Pheras
Pheras are the rounds the bride and groom take around the sacred fire, tied together, with a vow made in each round; in most North Indian weddings there are seven.
- Saptapadi
Saptapadi means seven steps: the bride and groom take seven steps together near the sacred fire, each step with a promise, and in many traditions this is the rite that completes the marriage.
- Lajja homam
Lajja homam is the ritual where the bride's brother pours puffed rice into her hands and she offers it into the sacred fire with the groom, praying for her husband's long life and the family's prosperity.
- Mandap
A mandap is the canopy, usually on four pillars, under which a Hindu wedding's main rites, such as kanyadaan and the pheras around the sacred fire, are performed.
- Grah shanti
Grah shanti is a puja to the nine planets (navagraha), held by each family before the wedding to seek peace and good fortune for the couple's life together.
Questions
Havan, answered
What is Havan?
A havan is the sacred fire lit in the centre of the mandap; in a Hindu wedding Agni, the fire, is the divine witness to the vows, and the couple make offerings into it.
Which families celebrate Havan?
Hindu, Jain and Arya Samaj families across India.
When does Havan happen in the order of wedding functions?
Lit at the start of the wedding rites in the mandap and kept burning through the pheras.
What do families write on the invitation for Havan?
Vivah sanskar (with havan): 11:15 pm in the mandap.
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