AP Kalyanavedika
The Ultimate Wedding Planners
Rituals & Customs
Wedding Dress
Seven Steps And Its Imp 
Mehendi Ritual 
What is Marriage?
Types of Marriages
Marriage System In India
Marriage and some Recent Trends
Seven Steps & Its Importance
- Seven steps & its importance
- With the first step they promise to nourish each other
- With the second they reiterate their determination to grow together in strength
- With the third step they promise to preserve their wealth
- With the fourth step they vow to share all their joys and sorrows
- With the fifth step they promise to care for their children
- With the sixth step they vow to be together forever
- With the seventh step they promise each other lifelong friendship and vow that they would be two perfect and equal halves to form a whole.
The seven steps taken by the bride and groom around the sacred fire (Agni) is one of the most important Vedic rituals that constitute a traditional Hindu wedding, be it north Indian or south Indian. The couple takes the seven steps and makes seven important promises to each other. While the priests recite the Vedic mantras, the groom repeats the sacred vows while the bride concurs.
Basically, they take the following vows invoking God to be their guide while making the promises to each other.
After the seventh step, the bridegroom tells his bride “With these seven steps we now become friends. Allow me to reach out to you in friendship. Let our friendship be eternal and never severed".
The whole Saptapadi ceremony concludes with a heartfelt prayer that this union remains indissoluble. Though seven steps are common, some communities take four steps round the fire signifying Artha, Dharma, Kama and Moksha. This ceremony remains one of the most moving of the rituals accompanying an Indian wedding and the entire gathering waits with hushed breath as this denotes the exchange of wedding vows between the couple signifying the sanctity of the preceding ceremonies.
