Satyavan, Savithri and thali symbolism

We made a mistake on previous posts that Savithri tied a yellow string around her neck - she did not. It is the symbolism of Yama’s noose around Satyavan’s neck that the wife would want to prevent. Read on.

First of all, let’s look at the idea of thaali. A thaali is tied around the bride’s neck by the bridegroom on their wedding day to signify that they are now officially married. This practice of tying the thaali was originally not part of the actual Vedic wedding ritual; only the process of the couple walking around the fire altar was legitimate enough to signify their marriage status and their marriage vows (even today, thaali is not an integral part of northern Indian marriages). There’s no mention of thaali at all in the marriage of Rama and Sita.

The practice of tying thaali was fabricated from the story of Savithri, who saved her husband’s life from Yama, the demigod of death. Yama takes people’s lives by putting his rope around their necks; so, it is believed that a thaali in the form of a yellow thread around the wife’s neck has the power to counter Yama’s deadly rope on behalf of her husband. Thaali is an attempt to emulate Savithri, a woman who would not let her husband die before she herself dies. Thaali is an open challenge to Yama by wives, to put his rope around their necks first before putting it on their husband’s necks. So, thaali was introduced in south Indian marriages in hope that the wife would be willing to die first before her husband, just like Savithri was.

But bear in mind that nobody forced Savithri; Savithri decided, out of her own accord, she wouldn’t let her husband die. So, rightfully, it is the bride who should willingly tie the thaali herself around her own neck on her wedding day if she wants to challenge Yama. Just like many other rituals which are twisted and misused because of lack of understanding, this idea also got perverted into a practice in which the bridegroom would tie the thaali around the bride, symbolically making her agree to be prepared to die before he dies. This ritual very conveniently went in line with the Sati ritual of burning (another misunderstood and misused idea) as the wife would be made to fulfil the oath that was forced upon her on her wedding day by burning herself with her husband’s corpse. Then, when people started using their brains, they replaced the Sati ritual with the ritual of removing the thaali from the widow, to symbolize her failure to keep the oath she was made to take during her marriage ceremony.

Let’s look at the oath that is associated with the thaali. While the bridegroom is tying the thaali around the bride’s neck, the priest would chant a very famous verse on the bridegroom’s behalf (because the bridegroom doesn’t know Sanskrit): “Maanggalyam tantunaanenaa mama jeevana hetunaa, kandhe badhnaami shubhage twam jeeva sharadaa shatam” which means “This is a sacred thread which is essential for my long life. I tie this around your neck, O maiden of many auspicious attributes. May you live happily for 100 years”. So, basically, what this line very diplomatically says is: “O maiden, may you live happily for 100 years with this thaali around your neck, because as long as this thaali is around your neck, Yama wouldn’t dare take away my life”. Since to mention Yama or death during wedding is inauspicious, the second half of that sentence is changed to sound more auspicious.

Anbulla makkale, we’re not asking you to follow or reject these rituals; that’s totally up to you. But make sure you are well-aware what the rituals actually mean before you decide. Don’t pay hundreds of ringgits to some money-minded priest to perform rituals which you don’t understand and to utter unknown oaths on your behalf in a language that you don’t understand. It’s shameful and it’s simply stupid.