How the hands are bound
Some families tie the joined hands with a mauli thread, others place a garland over them, others simply hold them together under the priest’s hand. The meaning is the same.
Vedic Wisdom
Hasta Melap explained — the joining of hands
The moment the couple’s hands are joined is, for many Gujarati families, the heart of the wedding and the point the whole day is timed around. Here is what happens and why.
Quick answer
In short
What is Hasta Melap?
Hasta Melap — hasta, hand; melap, meeting or union — is the moment in a Gujarati Hindu wedding when the bride’s right hand is placed in the groom’s and the two are joined with mantras. It expresses mutual acceptance in front of both families, and in many families it is the point of the ceremony fixed to the muhurat, the chosen auspicious time.
When does it happen?
After the bride has arrived at the mandap and, in many Gujarati weddings, after the antarpat — the cloth held between the couple — has been lowered. Kanyadaan is closely linked to it, and the garments are often tied together at this point before the sacred fire rites begin.
Two hands, two families
Hindu weddings have many moments of acceptance — the garlands, the vows, the seven steps — but Hasta Melap is the most literal. Two people take each other by the hand. In many Gujarati families it is preceded by the antarpat, a cloth held up between bride and groom as she arrives so that the first sight of each other comes at the chosen moment. When the cloth is lowered the hands are joined, the priest recites the mantras and the two families witness the union.
Because it is so clearly a moment of joining, it is often the part of the ceremony the family asks the priest to fix to the muhurat. A muhurat is a time chosen as auspicious for an important undertaking. Some families take it very seriously and plan the whole day backwards from it; others treat it more flexibly. How much weight it carries in your family is respected either way, and no astrological readings or predictions are offered here.
In the sequence of a Gujarati wedding vidhi, Hasta Melap sits between the bride’s arrival and the sacred fire. Kanyadaan — in which her parents entrust her to the marriage — is closely woven into it, and in many families the end of the groom’s scarf is knotted to the bride’s sari at this point so that they move as one for the rest of the ceremony.
In sequence
What surrounds the joining of hands
A common Gujarati order. Families and priests vary in where each element sits.
01
Kanya aagaman
arrival of the bride
The bride is brought to the mandap, often by her maternal uncle, while the antarpat is held between her and the groom.
02
Antarpat lowered
At the chosen moment the cloth is lowered and the couple see each other. In many families garlands are exchanged here if they were not exchanged earlier.
03
Kanyadaan
The bride’s parents or elders place her hand in the groom’s and entrust her to the marriage with water and mantras.
04
Hasta Melap
The hands are joined and bound — in many families with a sacred thread or a garland — while the priest recites the mantras of union.
05
Chheda chhedi
tying the garments
The groom’s scarf is knotted to the bride’s sari so the couple are physically joined for the fire rites.
06
To the fire
The couple turn to the sacred fire for the havan, the Mangal Pheras and the Saptapadi.
Honestly
What varies
How strictly the muhurat is kept
Some families want the hands joined at an exact minute; others want the ceremony to flow naturally within a window. Your priest will plan for whichever your family prefers.
The name
Gujarati families usually say Hasta Melap; Hindi-speaking families say Hasta Milap; other communities have their own terms for the same moment. It is not a different rite.
Interfaith weddings
For couples where one family is not Hindu, Hasta Melap is often the moment guests connect with most readily, because its meaning needs no translation. A brief introduction in English helps everyone follow.
Questions
Common questions
Literally the meeting or union of hands. It is the moment in a Gujarati Hindu wedding when the bride’s right hand is placed in the groom’s and the two are joined with mantras, witnessed by both families.
In many Gujarati families it is the part of the ceremony fixed to the muhurat, the auspicious time chosen for the wedding. How strictly that time is kept varies from family to family and is planned for accordingly.
A cloth held between the bride and groom as she arrives at the mandap, so that they see each other at the chosen moment. It is lowered just before the hands are joined.
They are closely linked but distinct. Kanyadaan is the parents entrusting their daughter to the marriage; Hasta Melap is the joining of the couple’s hands that follows. In many weddings they flow into one another.
No. Hasta Melap is the Gujarati usage and Hasta Milap the Hindi. Other communities have their own names for the same moment of joining hands.
Written by Shastri Ji Manishbhai Pandya. Last reviewed . Hindu practice varies between regions, communities, families and sampradayas; this guide explains a widely recognised form and is not a ruling on how any family should observe it.
A question is always welcome
Planning a Gujarati wedding?
Tell us the date and venue if you have them, and whether your family keeps a muhurat. The order of the vidhi is worked through with you well before the day.