Green Marriage: Concept, Practices, and its Environmental Importance.

 Sagar Saud

Key words: Green Marriage, Tree Marriage and Briksha Biwaha

Marriage, in general, is a process by which two people specially, male and female joins a bond to live and die together whole life. But can also be separated and divorced. It is a social and legal license for people to make their relationship socially acceptable and legally valid.

When a man and woman marry, they start family life. Family is a bond and responsibility for parents to their children and old age members living together as a group or unit. Marriage is a fundamental institution for the existence of family. Institutions like marriage and family have led human beings' reproduction process and development in a socially and legally acceptable way. It has a great role to maintain order in human society.

There are different types of marriages practiced by human societies according to their religion, culture, society, belief and necessity; but the practice of Briksha Biwaha or Green Marriage is different from them. But the question moves around the purpose of green marriage; from where, when and why did this concept and practice of marriage begin. And what are its perspectives of importance.

Concept and Practice of Green Marriage

Green Marriage is a marriage between a plant and a human, plant and plant and plant and other things. It is a symbolic marriage. It is also called Briksha Biwaha (Tree marriage). 

Human get married with a certain type of plant or tree. In such a marriage, either male is bridegroom and a plant or a tree is bride or female is bride and a plant or a tree is bridegroom and not only limited to this. This type of marriage is practiced in Hindu religious societies mostly in India and Nepal for certain psychological and supernatural beliefs and purposes.

Green Marriage is performed to end or reduce any astrological flaws in one's horoscope that are related to delay in marriage, after marriage life and family life. It is performed with full religious procedures just like a real marriage. It is believed that the marital flaws and problems have no more effects left or they become less effective after the tree marriage. In Hindu societies horoscope of a boy and girl is matched before marriage to find if there is any flaws. If flaws related to Mangalik Dosh (flaws related to Mars in horoscope which is considered to create problem in marriage and family life) are found, as a way of solution, Green marriage is performed. If such flaws found in boy's horoscope, Arka marriage and if in girl's, Peepal marriage is done. Green marriage is a kind of treatment to psychological doubts and fears.

The sources of Green Marriage (Briksha Biwaha/Tree marriage) marriage are the Hindu religious scriptures like Vedas, Purans, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Dharmasindhu and the mythological stories. Hindus mostly in India and Nepal follow the practice of Green marriage and its practice is becoming widespread day by day.

Types of Green Marriage

There are many types of Green Marriage. Some of them are related to marital relationship and some are related to religious, cultural and environmental values. The types of Green Marriage are as follow:

Tulasi marriage: Tulasi (Holy Basil) is a plant. In this marriage, Tulasi is ritually married to God Shaligram (Fossilized seashell stone) on Kartik Shukla Ekadashi. According to Hindu mythological story, Brinda, a maritorious woman was blessed to marry with Stone-form (Shaligram) Lord Bishnu, supreme lord of Hindu. But the condition was that Brinda would take the form of Tulasi- a plant. As the effect of the blessing, Tulasi marriage began in Hindu religious and cultural behavior. By performing the Tulasi marriage, it is believed that the marital problems are ended and there is happiness in marriage and family life. It solves the problem of very late marriage. There is a Tulasi Math (Monastry of Tulasi) in front of the house of Bhramin family in Hindu societies. The practice of Tulasi marriage symbolizes the human-nature relation.

Bar-Peepal marriage: Bar-Peepal (Banyan-Scared fig) marriage is a plant-plant marriage. According to the Hindu mythological stories, Peepal is embodied as goddess Laxmi and Bar as lord Bishnu. But in Gita Lord Shreekrishna declares that He is Peepal among trees. Bar and Peepal are worshipped as religious symbols of god. Hindus believe to earn saintly by planting, worshipping, and making marry between Bar and Peepal tree. Bar and Peepal are planted on the road side for shade. Another thing is that those people who have no children in life can plant Bar and Peepal adjoining. It is considered a good deed. The practice of Bar-Peepal marriage adds beauty to human beings' relation with environment. It indicates our reverence to our nature.

Peepal marriage: Peepal (Scared fig) is a holy tree worshipped by the Hindus. Marriage performed with Peepal tree is called Peepal Biwaha or Peepal marriage. In Peepal marriage, an unmarried girl is married to Peepal tree. It is also a symbolic marriage done before the real marriage, to reduce the problem of delay in marriage or other marital flaws in a girl's horoscope. Lord Shreekrishna in Gita has declared that he was Peepal among trees or in Sanskrit 'वृक्षानाम् साक्षात अश्वत्थोहम्ं'. But in daily practice, marriage with banana tree is also performed but it is not scriptural according to the Pundits.

Arka marriage: Arka (Gaint milkweed) is a plant. Marriage performed with this plant is called Arka Biwaha. It is also a symbolic marriage done before the real marriage to reduce the problem of delay in marriage or other marital flaws in a man's horoscope. An unmarried man is married to this plant. Arka marriage has been mentioned in the Hindu ritualistic book "Dharmasindhu" written by Kashinath Upadhayay some four hundred years ago in India. According to the story, the daughter of Sun is in the form of Arka plant in the human world- the earth.

Makai Biwaha (Corn Marriage): Corn seed is spread after corn marriage is performed. Before corn marriage, worship of nature, land, water, air, and local deities is done to gain enough production. It is done to reduce harms in grain farming by hailstones, rain, wild animals and birds. Corn marriage is based in Bon culture of Gorkha district of Nepal. It is performed according to Bon rituals by the Lapraki aboriginals.

Bael marriage: Bael (Golden apple or wood apple) is a plant native to Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Marriage done with the fruit of Bael tree is called Bael marriage. Bael marriage is practiced in Newar community and culture in Nepal. It is ritually done before a girl start her menstruation. It is also a symbolic marriage. If a girl is married to Bael, she is treated as married and she can put Sindur. Even if after the real marriage, if she loses her husband, she is not considered as a widow because she has been married to Bael. It is believed that the culture of Bael marriage was started to eradicate the Sati practice (Sati Pratha). Sati Practice was a historical Hindu practice in which a widow sacrifices herself sitting atop her deceased husband's funeral pyre.

Brides after Bael marriage, Silgadhi, Doti Photo: ©Sagar Saud

Environmental Importance of Green Marriage

The relation among Nature, Environment and Human being is interdependent. Betterment of human life lies in the fine balance between the human activities and environment. It is our responsibility to protect the environment, plants, trees, animals, waters, biodiversities and other natural aspects. If the Human-Nature interactions and behaviors do not go beautifully, they disturb whole development process and its result. As a result, we cannot achieve the goals of sustainable development and peace in the earth.

If we analyze above mentioned types of Green Marriage, we find human beings' reverence to environment and plants. People in Hindu societies respect and worship Bar, Peepal, Tulasi and Bael tree. They have deeper faith that there is god power in those trees. These religious and cultural ceremonies connected to nature, environment and plant indicate that there is deeper intimacy between human and nature. Bar and Peepal trees are not cut down. Rather they make marriage between Bar and Peepal symbolizing them as god and goddess. Arka Marriage suggests human beings that Arka plant should be protected. Bael tree has a religious and cultural value, so it should be conserved. These marriage practices are symbolic or representative practices that show the importance of plants and environment in human life. Human being is not and cannot be separate from nature. There must be a rhythm between human activities and nature.

Thus, Green marriage is a religious and cultural phenomenon practiced in Hindu societies. It is a symbolic marriage performed for solving certain psychological and astrological problems in man's life. It is not only limited to the reduction of faults in one's horoscope but also related to the protection of environment and plants. It presents the relation of human being to nature. So, Green marriage should not be confined to its scriptural subject area; rather it should be extended to environment conservation level.