102 couple enter into wedlock at Dharmasthala

As many as 102 couple tied nuptial knots at the 48th mass marriage organised by Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala on Wednesday.

The mass marriage was held at Godhuli Lagna at 6.48 pm at Amritavarshini Sabha Bhavana.

Earlier in the day, Dharmadhikari D Veerendra Heggade handed over a saree, a blouse to brides and a shawl and a dhothi to grooms. The brides and grooms were taken out in a procession at the temple in the evening before entering the hall for marriage.

The marriage rituals were held as per the customs of the respective castes of the brides and the grooms. The brides and grooms exchanged the garlands at 6.48 pm.

The mass marriage was started in 1972 with 88 couple entering into wedlock. Till last year, a total of 12,160 couple had entered into wedlock at the mass marriage in Dharmasthala.

Among 102 couples who entered into wedlcok, 19 are intercaste marriages, 20 hail from SC, two ST, two Mogera, nine Marati Naika, three Malekudiya, six Vokkaliga Gowda, five Veerashaiva and four hail from Vishwakarma community.

Among the couples, 18 hail from Udupi, 11 from Shivamogga, seven from Chikkamagaluru, four from Kodagu, six from Uttara Kannada, four from Mandya, six from Tumakuru, six from Hassan, five from Mysuru and four from Bengaluru.

The mass marriage was registered as per the government rules. Health Minister Shivananda Patil, Actor Shivarajkumar and his wife Geetha Shivarajkumar participated in the mass marriage ceremony.