Mantra Mangalya: Simple marriage ritual designed by Kannada poet Kuvempu more relevant than ever Premium

Kadidal Manjappa was the Chief Minister of Karnataka for a brief period in 1956. All through his political career, he must have faced several protests, but the one he faced in his native village ahead of the marriage of his two nieces was unique.

Kadidal Manjappa was the Chief Minister of Karnataka for a brief period in 1956. All through his political career, he must have faced several protests, but the one he faced in his native village ahead of the marriage of his two nieces was unique.

Among those who exhibited black flags and raised slogans against him were Poornachandra Tejaswi, a noted writer himself and son of Kannada’s acclaimed poet Kuvempu, N.D. Sundaresh and Kadidal Shamanna, both of whom are founders of Raitha Sangha. And the issue of protest was simple marriage. Manjappa had planned the marriage of his two nieces as per the conventional customs that involved rituals conducted under the guidance of a Brahmin priest. The members of the Samajavadi Yuvajana Sabha (to which the three belonged) were against grand ceremonies involving large gatherings and rituals.

The former Chief Minister, even after holding one simple marriage in the family earlier, had gone back to the conventional system, probably to meet the expectations of the grooms’ families. Hence, he had to face the protest in front of his house by the youths, a majority of whom were his relatives. In this case, the two brides were in favour of a simple marriage but hesitant to express their wish before the elders of the family. That warranted the intervention of the young socialists.

The driving force behind this idea was Kuvempu, also a native of Thirtahahlli. He started this mode of unostentatious marriage ceremony -- which later became popular as Mantra Mangalya -- in his own family before preaching it to others. It was on November 27, 1966, when his son Poornachandra Tejaswi married R. Rajeshwari at Chitrakoota, a farm house in Chikkamagaluru district.

In the handwritten letter that Kuvempu sent to his friends and relatives then, the poet informs about the simple ceremony and suggests they visit Chitrakoota any day of their convenience and bless the newlywed. His objective was to ensure the ceremony remained simple, with the gathering not exceeding 200 people. For the occasion, Kuvempu wrote a text that serves as a wedding oath. The text, later called Mantra Mangalya, is read by someone in the form of an oath to the bride and groom. After Tejaswi’s marriage, many of his friends followed the example. Kadidal Shamanna, N.D. Sundaresh, and many others succeeded in convincing their family members and had Mantra Mangalya.

Shamanna in his autobiography Kaada Thoreya Jaadu, narrated by Akshatha K., shares the experience in detail. He and his friend Sridevi had decided to marry the Manthra Mangalya way. The ceremony was scheduled in Shivamoggga on March 2, 1970. Prof.K. Prabhushankar, who also played a role in popularising Mantra Mangalya, was invited to administer the oath. As per the conditions of the ceremony, the gathering should not exceed 200.

Unaware of the conditions, Shamanna’s mother, Nagavenamma invited all the villagers for dinner as part of the reception after the marriage ceremony. As soon as Shamanna learnt about his mother’s invitation to the villagers, he went to each family to tell them that there would not be any dinner as it was a simple marriage and they needed not take the trouble to visit his house on the day. This left his mother deeply unhappy. She could not digest the fact that she was not allowed to offer dinner to friends and relatives in the village on the occasion of her son’s marriage. But Shamanna, who is considered the “unofficial ambassador of Mantra Mangalya,” was not ready to dilute the essence of Mantra Mangalya.