Marriage in the Rig Veda
Ṛg Veda Book 10 Verse 85 is commonly known as Sūryā’s Bridal Hymn or the Wedding Hymn. In some Hindu families, this is one of the Vedic verses recited as part of the liturgy at Hindu marriage ceremonies. It tells a metaphorical story of the wedding of Sūryā, seemingly the daughter of the sun-god, as bride, to soma, seemingly the moon, as bridegroom. Some of the features of the wedding described continue to be features of Hindu weddings today
Although the presentation is rather convoluted from the perspective of the modern reader and some verses are hard to fathom, this article will attempt to pick out a few salient moments in possible sequential order. At the same time, this being a cosmic wedding that unites sun and moon, the literal story seems to be used as a metaphor to describe the movements of these two celestial objects across the sky, as will be discussed.
The aśvins, or divine twins, about whom I have written a separate article, arrive at the home of Sūryā as representatives of the moon, with a proposal from him. Pūṣan, seemingly the sun, that is, the father of the prospective bride, as well as others, agree to this proposal -
Aśvins, when you came on your three-wheeler to ask for the hand of Sūrya in marriage,
Then all the gods gave you consent; the Sun, a son, chose you to be fathers.[Ṛg Veda 10.85:14; my own…
