Vivaha (Marriage) – Considered one of the most extensive personal rituals a person undertakes in their life, marriage occurred when a boy or girl had reached a level of maturity and sense to begin their own family. The wedding rituals begin with engagement and end after the completion of the wedding. Most of the rituals in weddings vary depending on the ethnicity but the major ones include Kanyadan (giving away of daughter by the father or walking down the aisle), Panigrahan (voluntarily holding hand near the fire to signify union), and Saptapadi (taking seven steps with each step includes a vow/promise to each other before the fire). The post-wedding rites include Grihapravesa (welcoming the bride into her new home by her in-laws and the groom), Chaturthikarma (rite on the fourth day of the wedding, when the bride cooks for the first time. The last rite is the Nishekam which is the honeymoon or the first night, consummating the marriage. During the married life, the couple also goes through fasting and austerity to help them stay on the spiritual path and not stray from it. Then the same cycle of impregnating and the child’s life repeats.