Mangalsutra – The Indian tradition

Mangalsutra is considered as the symbol of marriage in India. The word mangalsutra is derived from sankrit word ‘mangal’ which means holy and ‘sutra’ meaning thread. The tradition of tying mangalsutra is followed among almost all the communities. It is a chain with a pendant tied by the groom to the bride on the marriage day. There are a wide variety of mangalsutra owned by differnet communities and sub castes. You can also find trendy mangalsutras in the market with expensive stones like diamonds and ruby.
 

The Above pic is of Marathi Mangalsutra which is a combination of black and gold beads in a double layer which symbolises shiva and shakti along with a pendant. The gold pendant resembles the union of shiva and shakti.
 

The black beads chain with diamond pendant is usually used by the the Marwaris, Gujaratis etc but its becoming a widely used trend in other casts too.
 

 

These are the mangalsutra used in Kerala, they call it as ‘thali. First one is a Hindu mangalsutra known as ‘thali’ second being christian mangalsutra also known as ‘minnu’ .
 

It is seen that in Telugu communities the mangalsutra contains coral beads, gold coins etc along with the main pendant and gold chain.
 

 
In Tamil Brahmans the ‘thali’ or mangalsutra or ‘thirumangalyam’ is a pendent which is worn on  a thread dipped in turmeric water. Later after the wedding the pendant is moved to a gold chain.

The Kashmiri Pandits have a very different way of wearing mangalsutra, which goes  through the ears.
How ever certain communities like Bengali’s, Oriya, Assamese do not follow the custom of tying mangalsutra. Modern brides prefer trendy mangalsutras which has become a big hit in the jewelry market.
The tradition of tying mangalsutra is the symbol of holy matrimony in India. In today’s India people prefer less jewelry and because of this trend people wear mangalsutra only to family functions, weddings etc. Our mother land is famous for the rich and varied traditions and we should be proud about such traditions.
write to us – admin@theknotstory.com