One would have noticed a yoke being placed on the bride’s head during a wedding, while a mantra is chanted. The significance of the yoke is often misunderstood as indicating that the woman now has to shoulder the burdens of family life. But this is not the right interpretation, said V.S. Karunakarachariar, in a discourse. The mantra entreats Indra to cure the bride as he cured Apala.
Apala was afflicted with a skin disease, when she attained marriageable age. She prayed to Indra that she should be cured. Indra appeared before her in his huge chariot. He slid her between the spokes of the wheel of his chariot, and one third of her disease exited in the form of a porcupine. He then placed Apala on his chariot, and another one-third of her disease exited her body, in the form of a monitor lizard. He then passed her through the hole in the yoke of his chariot. Now the remaining portion of her disease left her in the form of a chameleon. On the surface it seems an absurd story. It evokes a sense of disbelief in one. How can a disease exit in the form of animals and reptiles? But the story is not to be seen superficially, but symbolically.
Rudeness is also a disease. So the reference to the porcupine is to suggest the disease of rudeness. In case the bride has a tendency to be rude, this rudeness should be cured by Indra. Once the monitor lizard grips something, it is hard to make it let go. The monitor lizard is referred to, so that Indra may cure the bride of any obstinacy she may have. The chameleon changes colour, and people who are undependable are often referred to as being like a chameleon. So the prayer in the marriage mantra is to make the bride a straightforward person, not one who is whimsical. Marriage mantras are rich in meaning, and show how man and woman are to see each other as friends. They are equal partners, and each of them has to contribute to the success of the marriage.
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