Service
Vivah muhurat, and the ceremony itself
The advantage of a matchmaker who is also a pandit: the person who read the kundali can also choose the date and conduct the wedding.
What is a vivah muhurat?
A vivah muhurat is the auspicious date and time chosen for a Hindu wedding. It is selected by checking the panchang — tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karana — against the birth charts of the bride and groom, while avoiding periods in which marriages are traditionally not held. Pandit Sahil Sharma selects muhurat for families across Palampur and the Kangra valley, and performs the vivah sanskar himself.
Why the date is chosen from the charts, not a list
A printed list of auspicious dates tells you when the panchang is favourable in general. It does not tell you whether that particular week is favourable for these two people. The running dasha of both charts matters, and so does the position of the Moon relative to each birth nakshatra.
In Himachal families routinely shift a wedding by several weeks to land on a properly chosen date. That is worth doing — but only if the date has actually been chosen for them.
Working with two families from different districts
Customs vary considerably between Kangra, Mandi, Chamba and Hamirpur. Where the two households follow different sequences, the practical answer is to agree the order in advance rather than negotiate it on the morning of the wedding. Sharma Ji does this routinely and will sit with both sides beforehand.
Ceremonies
What Sharma Ji performs
Muhurat selection
Auspicious dates and timings for roka, sagai, vivah and griha pravesh, chosen from both charts rather than from a generic panchang list.
Ganesh puja & havan
The opening rituals of the wedding, performed at the family home as per pahari custom.
Kul devta observances
Ancestral deity rituals, which remain central to weddings across Himachal and vary considerably between valleys.
Vivah sanskar
The wedding ceremony itself — panigrahan, kanyadaan, saptapadi and sindoor daan — conducted with the mantras explained as they go.
Griha pravesh
The bride's first entry into her new home, and the associated puja.
Post-wedding ceremonies
Satyanarayan katha, naming ceremonies and the observances families come back for in the years afterwards.
Questions