Misplaced Pages

Kanyadana (Sanskrit: कन्यादान, romanized: Kanyādāna) is a Hindu wedding ritual. One possible origin of this tradition can be traced to 15th century stone inscriptions found in the Vijayanagara Empire in South India. There are different interpretations regarding kanyadana across South Asia.

The kanyadana ritual occurs before the sindoor ritual (sinduradana).

Part of a series on
Hinduism
Hindus Mythology
OriginsHistorical History Indus Valley Civilisation Vedic Hinduism Dravidian folk religion Śramaṇa Tribal religions in India Traditional Itihasa-Purana Epic-Puranic royal genealogies Epic-Puranic chronology
Sampradaya (Traditions) Major Sampradaya (Traditions) Vaishnavism Pancharatra Shaivism Kapalika Pashupata Pratyabhijña Shaktism Smartism Other Sampradaya (Traditions)
Deities Absolute Reality / Unifying Force Brahman Trimurti Brahma Vishnu Shiva Tridevi Saraswati Lakshmi Parvati Other major Devas / Devis Vedic Deities: Tridasha Adityas Rudras Vasus Ashvins Mahadevi Other Vedic Deities Post-Vedic: Avatar Dashavatara Durga Navadurga Mahavidya Kartikeya Ganesha Hanuman Radha Shakti Sita Devatas Vishvakarma Kubera
Concepts Worldview Cosmology Mythology Ontology Tattvas Subtle elements Panchikarana Gross elements Guṇas Purusha Prakṛti Supreme reality Brahman Nirguna Saguna Om Saccidānanda God Ishvara Devas / Devi Devatas God in Hinduism God and gender Puruṣārtha (Meaning of life) Dharma Artha Kama Moksha Āśrama (Stages of life) Brahmacharya Gṛhastha Vānaprastha Sannyasa Three paths to liberation Bhakti yoga Jnana yoga Karma yoga Liberation Mokṣa-related topics: Paramātman Maya Karma Saṃsāra Mind Ātman (self) Anātman (non-self) Sūkṣma śarīra (subtle body) Antaḥkaraṇa (mental organs) Prajña (wisdom) Ānanda (happiness) Viveka (discernment) Vairagya (dispassion) Sama (equanimity) Dama (temperance) Uparati (self-settledness) Titiksha (forbearance) Shraddha (faith) Samadhana (concentration) Arishadvargas (six enemies) Ahamkara (attachment) Ethics Niti śastra Yamas Niyama Ahimsa Achourya Aparigraha Brahmacharya Satya Damah Dayā Akrodha Arjava Santosha Tapas Svādhyāya Shaucha Mitahara Dāna Sources of dharma Epistemology Pratyakṣa (perception) Anumāṇa (inference) Upamāṇa (comparison, analogy) Arthāpatti (postulation, presumption) Anupalabdi (non-perception, negation) Śabda (word, testimony)
Practices Worship, sacrifice, and charity Puja Ārtī Prarthana Śrauta Temple Murti Bhakti Japa Bhajana Kīrtana Yajna Homa Tarpana Vrata Prāyaścitta Tirtha Yatra Tirthadana Matha Nritta-Nritya Dāna Sevā Yoga Exorcism Meditation Tapas Dhyana Samādhāna Nididhyāsana Yoga Sadhu Yogi Yogini Asana Sādhanā Hatha yoga Jnana yoga Bhakti yoga Karma yoga Rāja yoga Kundalini yoga Arts Bharatanatyam Kathak Kathakali Kuchipudi Manipuri Mohiniyattam Odissi Sattriya Bhagavata Mela Yakshagana Dandiya Raas Carnatic music Pandav Lila Kalaripayattu Silambam Adimurai Rites of passage Garbhadhana Pumsavana Pumsavana Simantonayana Simantonnayana Jatakarma Nāmakaraṇa Nishkramana Annaprashana Chudakarana Karnavedha Vidyāraṃbhaṃ Upanayana Keshanta Ritushuddhi Samavartanam Vivaha Antyesti Festivals Diwali Holi Maha Shivaratri Navaratri Durga Puja Ramlila Vijayadashami-Dussehra Raksha Bandhan Ganesh Chaturthi Vasant Panchami Rama Navami Janmashtami Onam Makar Sankranti Kumbh Mela Pongal Ugadi Vaisakhi Bihu Puthandu Vishu Ratha Yatra
Philosophical schools Six Astika schools Samkhya Yoga Nyaya Vaisheshika Mīmāṃsā Vedanta Advaita Dvaita Vishishtadvaita Achintya Bheda Abheda Shuddhadvaita Svabhavika Bhedabheda Akshar Purushottam Darshan Other schools Ājīvika Buddhism Jainism Charvaka
Gurus, Rishi, Philosophers Ancient Saptarshi Vashistha Kashyapa Atri Jamadagni Gotama Vishvamitra Bharadwaja Agastya Angiras Aruni Ashtavakra Jaimini Kanada Kapila Patanjali Pāṇini Prashastapada Raikva Satyakama Jabala Valmiki Vyasa Yajnavalkya Medieval Abhinavagupta Adi Shankara Akka Mahadevi Allama Prabhu Alvars Basava Chaitanya Ramdas Kathiababa Chakradhara Chāngadeva Dadu Dayal Eknath Gangesha Upadhyaya Gaudapada Gorakshanatha Haridasa Thakur Harivansh Jagannatha Dasa Jayanta Bhatta Jayatīrtha Jiva Goswami Jñāneśvar Kabir Kanaka Dasa Kumārila Bhaṭṭa Madhusūdana Madhva Matsyendranatha Morya Gosavi Mukundarāja Namadeva Narahari Tirtha Narasimha Saraswati Nayanars Nimbarkacharya Srinivasacharya Prabhākara Purandara Dasa Raghavendra Swami Raghunatha Siromani Raghuttama Tirtha Ram Charan Ramananda Ramanuja Ramprasad Sen Ravidas Rupa Goswami Samarth Ramdas Sankardev Satyanatha Tirtha Siddheshwar Sripada Srivallabha Sripadaraja Surdas Swaminarayan Śyāma Śastri Tukaram Tulsidas Tyagaraja Vācaspati Miśra Vadiraja Tirtha Vallabha Valluvar Vedanta Desika Vidyaranya Vyasaraja Modern Aurobindo Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Bhaktivinoda Thakur Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Chinmayananda Dayananda Saraswati Jaggi Vasudev Krishnananda Saraswati Mahavatar Babaji Mahesh Yogi Narayana Guru Nigamananda Nisargadatta Maharaj Prabhupada Radhakrishnan R. D. Ranade Ramakrishna Rama Tirtha Ramana Maharshi Ravi Shankar Ramdas Samarth Sathya Sai Baba Shirdi Sai Baba Shraddhanand Satyadhyana Tirtha Siddharameshwar Maharaj Sivananda Trailanga U. G. Krishnamurti Upasni Maharaj Vethathiri Maharishi Vivekananda Yogananda
Texts Sources and classification of scripture Śruti Smṛti Ācāra Ātmatuṣṭi Scriptures Timeline of Hindu texts Vedas Rigveda Yajurveda Samaveda Atharvaveda Divisions Samhita Brahmana Aranyaka Upanishads Upanishads Rigveda: Aitareya Kaushitaki Yajurveda: Brihadaranyaka Isha Taittiriya Katha Shvetashvatara Maitri Samaveda: Chandogya Kena Atharvaveda: Mundaka Mandukya Prashna Vedangas Shiksha Chandas Vyākaraṇa Nirukta Kalpa Jyotisha Other scriptures Bhagavad Gita Agamas (Hinduism) Itihasas Ramayana Mahabharata Puranas Vishnu Purana Bhagavata Purana Devi Bhagavata Purana Naradiya Purana Vāmana Purana Matsya Purana Garuda Purana Brahma Purana Brahmanda Purana Brahma Vaivarta Purana Bhavishya Purana Padma Purana Agni Purana Shiva Purana Linga Purana Kūrma Purana Skanda Purana Varaha Purana Markandeya Purana Upavedas Ayurveda Dhanurveda Gandharvaveda Sthapatyaveda Shastras, sutras, and samhitas Dharma Shastra Artha Śastra Shilpa Shastras Kama Sutra Brahma Sutras Samkhya Sutras Mimamsa Sutras Nyāya Sūtras Vaiśeṣika Sūtra Yoga Sutras Pramana Sutras Charaka Samhita Sushruta Samhita Natya Shastra Panchatantra Naalayira Divya Prabandham Tirumurai Ramcharitmanas Yoga Vasistha Swara yoga Panchadasi Stotras, stutis and Bhashya Kanakadhara Stotra Shiva Stuti Vayu Stuti Tamil literature Tirumurai Naalayira Divya Prabandham Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai Tiruppukal Kural Kamba Ramayanam/Ramavataram Five Great Epics Eighteen Greater Texts Eighteen Lesser Texts Athichudi Iraiyanar Akapporul Abirami Antati Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam Vinayagar Agaval Other texts
Hindu Culture & Society Society Varna Brahmin Kshatriya Kayastha Vaishya Shudra Dalit Jāti Gotra Dvija Dasa Hindu Art Hindu art Hindu iconography Shilpa Shastras Rasa (aesthetics) Indian aesthetics Yantra Hindu Architecture Hindu architecture Hindu temple architecture Vastu shastra Talamana Hindu Music Hindu music Shruti (music) Svara Alankāra Tala (music) Raga Rasa (aesthetics) Sangita Vadya Natya Shastra Food & Diet Customs Ahimsa Diet in Hinduism Sattvic diet Mitahara Jhatka Vrata Time Keeping Practices Hindu units of time Hindu calendar Panchangam Vikram Samvat Shaka era Hindu Pilgrimage Pilgrimage sites Other society-related topics: Discrimination Persecution Nationalism Hindutva Organisations Reform movements
Other topics Hinduism by country Greater India Balinese Hinduism Caribbean Shaktism Template:Hindu scriptures and texts Hinduism & Other Religions Hinduism and Jainism / and Buddhism / and Sikhism / and Judaism / and Christianity / and Islam Other Related Links (Templates) Hindu Scriptures & Texts Hindu Philosphy Sampradayas (Traditions) Shaivism Vaishnavism Shaktism
Glossary Outline Hinduism portal
v t e

Etymology

Kanyadana is made of the Sanskrit words kanyā (maiden) and dāna (giving away), referring to the tradition of a father giving his daughter in marriage to a groom. symbolizing the transfer of responsibility and care from one family to another.

Kanyadana songs

The wedding ritual may be accompanied by a variety of kanyadana songs. These songs may include the parents lamenting the loss of their daughter. Other songs focus on the groom, sometimes comparing him to Rama, portrayed in the Ramayana as the "ideal groom".

See also

• Vivaha
• Marriage in Hinduism

References

1. Enslin, Elizabeth. "Imagined Sisters: The Ambiguities of Women’s Poetics and Collective Actions". Selves in Time and Place: Identities, Experience, and History in Nepal. Ed. Debra Skinner, Alfred Pach III, and Dorothy Holland. Lanham; Boulder; New York; Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1998 (269-299).
2. Mahalingam, T.V (1940). Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar. University of Madras. pp. 255-256.
3. Hunt, Stephen (15 May 2017). Religions of the East. Routledge. p. 213. ISBN 978-1-351-90476-6.
4. Henry, Edward O. "Folk Song Genres and Their Melodies in India: Music Use and Genre Process". Asian Music (Spring-Summer 2000). JSTOR. 20 February 2008.

Further reading

• Gutschow, Niels; Michaels, Axel; Bau, Christian (2008). The Girl's Hindu Marriage to the Bel Fruit: Ihi and The Girl's Buddhist Marriage to the Bel Fruit: Ihi in Growing up - Hindu and Buddhist Initiation Ritual among Newar Children in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, Germany. ISBN 3-447-05752-1. pp. 93–173.

• Hindu wedding rituals