Jain Matrimonial Customs in Maharashtra

Indian population is a mix of various religion and castes. Jainism is one of the religions that trace its roots to India. Jainism preaches the path of non-violence for all life present on earth. According to Indian religious history, the advent of Jainism was around the 9th century in India. The Jain community members represent the Shramana tradition. The followers practice the teachings of the 24 Jain Tirthankaras. The Jain Matrimonial rituals and customs are as per the religious gurus.

Jain community members are spread across the length and breadth of the country. Jain Matrimony functions are organized among the various Jain communities. More than 100 communities exist in Jainism in India. Some members of the Jain community also live outside India. A good number of Jains reside in the central region of India, in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. There is also large group of Jainism followers in the state of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The southern states in India have Jains members living for years. The states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have Jain community population. They are commonly referred as Tamil Jains and Kannada Jains. In the eastern part of the country, the states of Jharkhand, Bihar Orissa and West Bengal are also Jain members. The Jain communities of Agrawal, Khandelwal, Lamechwal, Porwal, Maheshwari and Oswal reside in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttaranchal and Delhi. The Jains have also settled in cities and countries outside India. Jain community members are also found in countries like Germany, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the UK and the USA.

The Jain population in Maharashtra has their own set of wedding rituals and customs. Jain Matrimonial alliances from the state are generally fixed within their own communities. The Jain community members from Maharashtra generally do not consider nuptial bonds with Jain from other parts of India. The Jain members here come under the Digambara sect. The Jain members are divided based on profession. The Saitwal community of Jains was originally into tailoring and cloth business. The Chaturtha community of Jains are previously engaged in agricultural activities but with time joined other jobs. Kasaram community of Jains is coppersmiths.

There are communities of Jains in Maharashtra with lesser population like the Upajjhayas, Kamboja and Harada. The Dhakad community is another small community of Jains settled originally belonging to the vidarbha region of Maharastra. They were settled in the districts of Yavatmal, Amravati, Washim and Akola.

Apart from the original population of Jains, community members from other parts of the country have also migrated and settled in the state. A good number of Jain followers from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan reside in Maharashtra. Agrawal, Oswal, Sarawagi, Jaiswal, Shrimali and Humad are some of the large groups settled here. Some small groups of Jain community are also settled like Bagherwal, Palliwal, Porwal and Bannore.

Jain Matrimonial functions in Maharashtra have many rituals and customs. There are many pre-wedding rituals in Jain matrimony like Lagana Lekhan, Lagna Patrika Vachan, Vinayakyantra Puja and Sagai. Sagai is the engagement ceremony which is held in the boy’s place. The wedding day rituals for Jain Matrimony are Mangal Phere, Kanyavaran, Granthi Bandhan, Vamangi Shantipath and Visarjan. In the Kanyavaran ritual, the father of the bride gives her daughter’s hand to the groom. According to Jain wedding tradition, the bride’s father gives one rupee and twenty-five paise coin to the groom. The groom accepts by forwarding his right hand. The post wedding rituals associated with Jain Matrimonial are the Ashirvada ceremony, Sva Graha Aagamana and Jina Grahe Dhan Arpana.