Dharmasthala: A total of 123 couples, including 39 intercaste couples, entered into wedlock at a mass wedding ceremony held at Dharmasthala on Wednesday. The wedding ceremony, held at 6:45 p.m. under the ‘Godhuli Muhurta’ with Vedic mantras, was witnessed by hundreds of people.
Dharmadhikari of the Kshetra, Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade, and Hemavati Heggade distributed sarees and ‘ravike’ to the brides and ‘dhotis’ and shawls to the grooms. At 6 p.m., the bride and groom circumambulated the temple and attended the function at the Sabha Bhavan. Half an hour before the muhurta, the Heggade couple, along with film actor Doddanna, distributed mangalya sutras. Religious rituals were performed according to the respective caste-religion traditions.
Dharmadhikari D. Veerendra Heggade said that mass marriage means a simple marriage. Due to mass marriage, the dowry menace and wasteful expenditure on marriage have decreased. The newly married couples should lead a meaningful life with responsibility and by engaging in satsang. He advised them to maintain the sanctity of marriage and lead a cultured life.
The newly married couples had darshan of the deity and enjoyed their wedding meal at the Annapurna Bhojanalaya.
To curb wasteful expenditure and the dowry menace, Dharmadhikari D. Veerendra Heggade started free mass marriages in Dharmasthala in 1972 with 88 couples. Mass marriages are held in Dharmasthala every year in April or May.
The Dharmasthala Dharmothana Trust provides dhotis and shawls to the grooms, and sarees, ravikae, and mangalsutras to the brides, bearing all the wedding expenses. Until last year, 12,777 couples have been married in mass marriages.
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