Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor took the sacred vows last evening as they bound themselves in holy matrimony, in the gracious presence of close friends and family members. The pictures and videos from their intimate wedding ceremony are leaving everyone in awe of their close-knit, minimalistic ceremony.
Giving fans a peek into the celebrations, Alia’s half-brother Rahul Bhatt told India Today that it was “a lovely wedding”. “Both the groom and bride looked like a prince and princess. They are made for each other. I don’t think it gets any better than that.”
He further shared that the couple took only four pheras instead of seven and the pandit, who has been with the Kapoors for many years now, revealed the significance of each phera. “Interestingly, there were not seven but four pheras at the wedding. They had a special pandit. So he explained the significance of each phera. Ek hota hain dharm ke liye, ek hota hain santaan ke liye, so it was really fascinating. We have not been exposed to this. I come from a household of multiple ethnicities. So, that was fascinating. There were not 7 pheras but 4 pheras for the record. And I was during all the 4 pheras,” he revealed.
Pheras are basically the rounds taken around the holy pyre by the bride and groom, holding hands, during the nuptials. Explaining the importance of the same, Jeevika Sharma, tarot card reader and guidance counsellor, told indianexpress.com, “According to the Hindu rituals, every wedding has at least four pheras. Every phera has been attributed to a specific significance – the four main aims of life: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.”
*Dharma: It denotes the spirit of righteousness and one’s duty of devout adherence to religion.
*Artha: It denotes the pious means that one should take to garner wealth and a good livelihood. “Striving for material gain and success, and helping the poor and unprivileged whenever possible is also prescribed,” Sharma added.
*Kama: According to Hindu mythology, Kama is the God of Love. Thus, the phera represents the love and dedication that a married couple should harbour for each other. “They should support each other and even stand for each other, ‘for better or worse’, for the rest of their lives.”
*Moksha: Moksha, which is the last phera, denotes liberation from suffering. Once a person gets married and receives the joys of marital fulfilment, they would find liberation from the sufferings and pains of unmarried life.
While it’s necessary to take at least four pheras, people rarely limit it to four, Sharma said. “It is seldom that people opt for only four pheras, as it is prescribed in the customs and traditions of Sanatan Dharma and even Arya Samaj that they should be seven in number.”
“But due to the exigencies of time, some people choose to focus only on the primary four pheras and do away with the remaining three, as seen in Sikh weddings as well,” she added.
This, however, does not disqualify the matrimony as “defunct ab initio”. She explained that a “matrimony where there are only four pheras will be considered legal, according to the law of the land. It is solely a matter of choice.”
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