Indian wedding glossary · Before the wedding
What is Lagan?
Also written: Lagan patrika, lagna, लगन
Lagan is the fixed auspicious time of the wedding, and in many families the lagan patrika is the formal letter the bride's family sends to the groom's family to announce that date and time.
- Who keeps it
- Many Hindu families in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Marathi families use lagna for the wedding itself.
- When
- After the muhurat is fixed, a few weeks before the wedding and usually before the invitations go out.
About Lagan
What should you know about Lagan?
In many families in UP, Bihar and Rajasthan, the bride's side writes the wedding date, the muhurat and the schedule in a lagan patrika, decorated with haldi and kumkum. A priest reads it out at the groom's home with a small puja, and the groom's family accepts it with gifts.
In everyday speech lagan also means the wedding season itself, as in "lagan ka mausam". In Marathi, lagna simply means wedding, and a lagna patrika is the wedding card.
In the order of functions
Where does Lagan come in an Indian wedding?
After the muhurat is fixed, a few weeks before the wedding and usually before the invitations go out.
- 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 Lagan?
Lagan: Thursday, 12 February, 4 pm, at the residence of Shri Ramesh Sharma.
Related words
Words that go with Lagan
- Muhurat
A muhurat is the auspicious date and time chosen by a priest for the wedding, and often for each key ritual, based on the Hindu calendar and the couple's horoscopes.
- Tilak
Tilak is the ceremony where the bride's family, usually her father and brothers, visit the groom's home, put a tilak of kumkum on his forehead and welcome him into their family.
- Shadi card
A shadi card is the wedding invitation, and its card matter is the wording: the invocation, the hosts, the couple and their parents, each function with date, time and venue, and the family's welcome.
- Kundli milan
Kundli milan is horoscope matching, where a priest or astrologer compares the bride's and groom's birth charts before the families agree to a match.
- Vivah
Vivah is the Hindi and Sanskrit word for marriage, and vivah sanskar is the Hindu wedding seen as one of the life-cycle rites, the sanskaras.
Questions
Lagan, answered
What is Lagan?
Lagan is the fixed auspicious time of the wedding, and in many families the lagan patrika is the formal letter the bride's family sends to the groom's family to announce that date and time.
Which families celebrate Lagan?
Many Hindu families in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Marathi families use lagna for the wedding itself.
When does Lagan happen in the order of wedding functions?
After the muhurat is fixed, a few weeks before the wedding and usually before the invitations go out.
What do families write on the invitation for Lagan?
Lagan: Thursday, 12 February, 4 pm, at the residence of Shri Ramesh Sharma.
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