The wedding was held on the auspicious day that Visnu weds Laksmi in Vaikuntha (Srinivasa-kalyana-utsava). Before the ceremony began, Srila Narasingha Maharaja spoke briefly to devotees and guests about the difference between a grhastha (Krsna Conscious householder) and a grhamedhi (mundane householder). He also explained the topic of Daivi varnasrama-dharma.
The ceremony began with the kanya-dana wherein Nanda-kisora Dasa consented to the betrothal of his daughter to Sri Gopala Dasa. Then Sri Gopala performed sindura-dana (placing kum-kum on the brides hair-parting), Mangala-sutra-dana (offering the mangala-sutra necklace to the bride) and Sapta-padi-gamana (the ritual of seven steps).
The ceremony ended with a Vaisnava homa and all the devotees, family members and guests blessed the newly wed couple. The ceremony was preceded by Nageswaram and followed by the sankirtana of the Holy Name and the classical flute playing of Murali Krsna Dasa, a disciple of Svami B.G. Narasingha. Murali Krsna Dasa (Ravi Shankar Mishra) has just produced his second classical flute music CD. Find out more about his Classical Flute Bansuri here.
