Draupadi is married. Visiting Mahabharata 45

The wedding date was fixed. Relatives and friends, important people and distinguished brahmins of the city were invited. The arrangements were grand and the mantap decorated beautifully appeared like a clear night sky wherein stars shone like diamonds.

On the first day Draupadi and Yudhisthira had their auspicious bath and wore fine clothes and were decked with a lot of jewellery. They were married as they performed all the rituals with agni as their witness (agnisakshi). The next day it was Bhima and thus all the five were married, one wedding a day. Draupadi looked as fresh as ever on each day of the wedding!

Drupada gifted pandavas, with pleasure,  large amounts of gold, a hundred chariots each drawn by four horses adorned with golden chains and fitted with golden horseshoes, a hundred caparisoned elephants with gold ornaments, a hundred well dressed maids and clothes and jewelery. The Pandavas shone like Devendra in midst all this grandeur. Drupada felt strengthened with his new relationship with the Pandavas and thought 'I am not afraid even if devas attack me!'

Kunthi overjoyed blesses Draupadi with valiant sons with long life, many victories to enable her son to perform Ashwamedha yaga and urges her to follow her husbands like how goddess Lakshmi attends to Narayana. She is full of many such wishes and a lot of advice.

Sri Kishna sends them many precious ornaments and fine clothes, woolen blankets as well as chariots, horses, elephants; both male and female attendents and  large quantities of gold. Dharamaraja accepts all these gratefully to please Govinda.

Tempted to ask if any of you remember recent Indian weddings to equal this. Cannot remember?

Here are a few links just for fun.
http://weddings.iloveindia.com/indian-weddings/nri-wedding.html

http://www.grandhyattatlanta.com/indian-weddings


http://indianweddingsite.com/blog/2011/04/grand-indian-wedding-in-monaco/

http://www.wikiweddings.org/Indian_Weddings