The Beauty and the Beast.
Not that one can tell which one of them is which. The half-lion form surely surprises Chenchita but the unsaid attachment she has to him troubles her. The far she wishes to go, the closer she seems to getting.
"He is Srim...
She smiled at him. "You call me mata then why should any child worry that his mother will be angry at the child when the child hasn't done adharma at all." She asked.
When Chenchita sat back on the basket, the devis beginning with Shachi, Svaha, Varuni, and others, gathered there. While she sat there, they performed pooja for her. Chanting names of Mahalakshmi and offering her flowers while doing so. When the pooja was finished, it seemed as if she was place in a basket of flowers. Like a large golden flower placed over several flowers.
While Chenchita gained back the memory of her being Mahalakshmi, she pretended that she was yet to remember them.
Aarati was done to her and her mama carried her on the shoulder to the wedding mandapa.
A large plain white cloth was set up. On the other side of cloth, the groom was seated. Brahmaa sat on the seat of the priest. The sky was dark and there were only diyas lit up to see the place. In the diya lit mandapa, a large bowl was place right under the cloth. Half of it on both the sides each.
Even with the less lit time, when Narasimha saw the reflection in the water, it seemed like the he saw the sun itself. Was there any doubt in the fact that Mahalakshmi herself was kala in the whole of creation. She infused the whole of universe with life and colours. How could Narayana remain Raaseshwara unless there was rasa. All of rasa had to be born out of those pairs of eyes and lips. It was ranga which allowed him to be Ranganatha. All of the colours must have had born from her.
She looked at the reflection of him within the same waters. The lion mane was brushed perfectly to make sure that the wedding amulet tied on his forehead. He looked so beautiful. It reminded her of Narayana who has arrived at Makaralaya to marry her.
"The bride and groom place jellakarrabellam on each other's head." Brahmaa told them. "When the torra is removed, the two should look into each other's eyes,"
On a betel leaf, a mix of jeelakarea and bella was placed as a paste. This leaf was placed on each other's head.
"Jeelakarra is the bitter taste and bellam is the sweet taste. Bitterness and sweetness is both part of a married life, just like how the mix become a paste, life is also the same. While you place it on each other's head, you promise that in bitterness and sweetness, your hand and support will always remain by each other." Brahmaa explained.
The moment the white torra was remove, the nadaswaram was played. The groom and the bride looked at each other. Everyone poured down akshinta over them.
Chenchita could see the reflection of herself within those lion eyes. Narasimha could see the depth of her promises within her eyes. Her eyes almost a match to the depth of the samudra from which Sagarika had emerged. The same colour as the earth as if the very fertile nature of the earth is her grace.
After a few rituals, Brahmaa reached over to the mangalsutra. He raised it and showed it to everyone. Everyone bowed down to it. "Two plates are attached to this mangalasutra. One representing her maternal home and the other the home which will becomes hers once it is tied around her neck." He told them all. He offered the thread to Narasimha. He stood up and bend down to tie it around her neck.
She looked up once at him. He blinked at her slowly to assure her. She blushed and looked down. He tied the mangalsutra around her neck and everyone poured akshita and flowers.
After the rituals, the bride and groom both stood up. "Now, the toe ring is put around her feet."
Narasimha bent down to her feet and placed the toe rings on her toes.
"A marriage is always between two people who are equal to each other. A husband should seek to be equal to her husband and achieve the same stature as him. Such a representation of a marriage is the one between Vashishta and Arundhati. Arundhati and her praise had been such that she was placed next to her husband among the seven stars." Brahma told them. Chenchita looked through the whole sky but almost couldn't see the seven stars. Narasimha held her and pointed her finger so she could actually spot it.
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Jeelakarra - Cumin or Jeera
Bellam - Jaggery
Torra - the plain white cloth placed as a curtain between the groom and the bride in Telugu weddings.
Mangalsutra - In weddings of deities in the Telugu states, there are two plates kept. One belongs to her maternal home. Her maternal home is all of us. The whole of earth and prakriti. Her husband's home is kaivalya. So the marriage of the Goddess with the God is the union of prakriti with kaivalya. A representation that she could take us all to kaivalya or moksha.
Arundhati Vashishta Nakshatra - In Telugu weddings, the groom shows the bride the constellation of big dipped. The seven stars are representation of Saptarishis. Right by the last star at the end is a smaller star. That is representation of Arundhati. Arundhati is so great that she is equal to her husband in knowledge and tapasya. She is even said to give discourse to the Saptarishis themselves. She had become the only one to be given the same stature as the Saptarishis. Hence, Vashishta and Arundhati represent the perfect marriage. A marriage of equals. So, the husband shows his wife the star to encourage her to become equal to him. And he holds her hand and shows her as a promise that he too will aid her in reaching there.
