# Anand Karaj, the Sikh Marriage Ceremony

> Anand Karaj, meaning the joyful union, is the Sikh marriage ceremony, in which the couple is married by circling the Guru Granth Sahib four times as the four Laavan composed by Guru Ram Das are sung. The marriage is to the Guru's word rather than by contract: the ceremony is conducted in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib and the sangat, and is completed when the fourth Laav ends.

- **Ritual:** Anand Karaj
- **Place:** [Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple)](https://sevahey.com/gurudwaras/golden-temple/) — Amritsar, Punjab
- **Administered by:** The gurudwara where the ceremony is to be held. In the United Kingdom, India and elsewhere, individual gurudwara committees set their own requirements, and in some countries a separate civil registration is also needed
- **Official booking portal:** none — see below
- **This page:** https://sevahey.com/rituals/anand-karaj/

## What Sevahey does not do

Sevahey does not arrange marriages. It does not book Anand Karaj ceremonies, does not approach gurudwara committees on anyone's behalf, does not supply a granthi or ragis, and has no role in the civil registration a marriage may also require. This page exists to explain the ceremony, not to sell any part of it, an Anand Karaj is arranged with a gurudwara, directly, by the families concerned.

## Booking Anand Karaj at Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple)

1. Approach the gurudwara directly. There is no central booking system for Anand Karaj anywhere in the world, each gurudwara's committee decides its own availability, requirements and conditions, and speaking to them is the only way to arrange it.
2. Ask what the gurudwara requires. Committees differ on documentation, on whether both parties must be Sikh, and on whether they will conduct the ceremony for couples from outside their sangat. These are decisions for the committee, and they are not uniform.
3. Check the civil position separately. In several countries the religious ceremony does not by itself constitute a legal marriage, and a civil registration is required in addition. This is a legal question for your jurisdiction, not a religious one.
4. Agree the date and the morning slot. Anand Karaj is held in the morning, and gurudwaras are heavily booked in the wedding season.
5. Read the Sikh Rehat Maryada's section on Anand Karaj. It sets out the form and is explicit that the occasion should not be burdened with dowry or display.

**Timing.** Held in the morning, in a gurudwara or wherever the Guru Granth Sahib has been installed with proper respect.

**Booking ahead.** Gurudwaras are heavily booked through the wedding season, so approach the committee well in advance of the date you have in mind.

**Cost.** Set by each gurudwara, and many make no charge for the ceremony itself while asking a contribution toward langar and the use of the hall. We print no figure: there is no standard rate, and it is a question for the committee.

**Before you pay anyone.** Be cautious of any service offering to arrange an Anand Karaj as a package. A gurudwara committee decides who it will marry and when, and no intermediary can commit that on its behalf. Where a gurudwara requires documentation or has conditions, those are the committee's to set and not something a third party can waive.

## About Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple)

The heart of Anand Karaj is the Laavan, four stanzas composed by Guru Ram Das and found in the Guru Granth Sahib in Raag Suhi. Each is read, then sung, while the couple walks around the Guru Granth Sahib, the bride following the groom, both holding the palla, the length of cloth that joins them. The four describe a progression: from duty, to longing, to detachment from the world, and finally to union.

What the form makes plain is that the marriage is witnessed by the Guru. There is no exchange of vows spoken by the couple and no officiant with the power to marry them; the sangat is present as witness, and the ceremony concludes with ardas, a hukamnama, and karah prasad.

The ceremony is held in the morning, in a gurudwara or wherever the Guru Granth Sahib has been installed with proper respect. The Sikh Rehat Maryada sets out the form and is explicit that it should not be burdened with dowry, ostentation, or practices drawn from elsewhere.

## What a Sevak can do instead

The Sevak attends the gurudwara you name, gives your name and gotra to the granthi so the ardas is offered in your name, receives the hukamnama read after it, and captures proof, a photograph inside the darbar sahib where the gurudwara permits, the hukamnama, the timing, and a handwritten note.

- **Seva:** Ardas & Hukamnama
- **From:** ₹251 (a full seva is ₹899; booked in the Sevahey app)
- **Performed by:** a verified, named Sevak
- **Proof:** GPS-tagged photos, short video, audio where it applies, handwritten note — usually same day

**Who books this.** Families marking a wedding anniversary from another country, relatives who could not travel for an Anand Karaj and want an ardas offered on the day, and couples asking for an ardas at an ancestral gurudwara before or after their marriage.

**Proof.** Many gurudwaras restrict photography inside the darbar sahib. Where that is so, the proof takes another form (the hukamnama, the timing, and the Sevak's note) rather than the rule being broken.

## Questions

### What is Anand Karaj?

Anand Karaj, meaning the joyful union, is the Sikh marriage ceremony. The couple is married by circling the Guru Granth Sahib four times as the four Laavan composed by Guru Ram Das are sung, and the marriage is complete when the fourth Laav ends.

### What are the four Laavan?

Four stanzas composed by Guru Ram Das, found in the Guru Granth Sahib in Raag Suhi. Each is read and then sung while the couple walks around the Guru Granth Sahib, the bride following the groom and both holding the palla. The four describe a progression from duty, to longing, to detachment from the world, and finally to union.

### Who conducts an Anand Karaj?

There is no officiant with the power to marry the couple, and no vows are spoken by them. The ceremony is conducted in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib with the sangat as witness, and concludes with ardas, a hukamnama and karah prasad. The marriage is to the Guru's word rather than by contract.

### How do I arrange an Anand Karaj?

Through a gurudwara directly. There is no central booking system anywhere in the world, each gurudwara's committee sets its own availability, documentation requirements and conditions, including whether it will conduct the ceremony for couples from outside its sangat. Gurudwaras are heavily booked in the wedding season, so approach the committee well ahead.

### Is an Anand Karaj a legal marriage?

Whether an Anand Karaj is a legal marriage depends on your jurisdiction. In several countries the religious ceremony does not by itself constitute a legal marriage and a separate civil registration is required. This is a legal question for where you live rather than a religious one, and worth checking independently of the gurudwara.

### When is Anand Karaj held?

In the morning, at a gurudwara or wherever the Guru Granth Sahib has been installed with proper respect. The Sikh Rehat Maryada sets out the form of the ceremony and is explicit that it should not be burdened with dowry, ostentation, or practices drawn from elsewhere.

### Can Sevahey arrange an Anand Karaj?

No. Sevahey does not arrange marriages, does not book ceremonies, does not approach gurudwara committees for anyone, and has no role in civil registration. This page explains the ceremony rather than selling any part of it. What a verified Sevak can do is entirely separate: offer an ardas in your name at a gurudwara, which families often ask for on a wedding anniversary, or when they could not travel for the day itself.

Sevahey is a service platform. It does not promise a spiritual, medical, financial, legal, or personal outcome from any prayer, seva, or ritual.