Kanyadaan, Agni and Saptapadi

There is a widespread perception, albeit wrong, that Kanyadan means donating or ‘giving away of the daughter’ by her parents to the groom – daan of their daughter. And because an unbaptised hindu – one who does not wear the sacred thread of Yagyopavit - cannot accept a daan, often we see the grooms undergoing the sacred thread ceremony a few days before the wedding. The actual act of Saptapadi is an act of pure poetic beauty. The couple circumambulates the fire, going around it seven times, clockwise, with the priest presiding over the ceremony. With each cirambulation they vow to share their lives, remain truthful to each other, stay healthy, trust each other, raise good children and have a happy family, share their prosperity, joys and sorrows, and remain loyal lifelong partners.