Phera
The circling of the sacred fire by the couple, four or seven times.
Also: pheras, fera, saat phere, mangal phera
In a phera, the couple walk around the sacred fire, tied together by a knot of their clothing, and each circuit carries a promise. In Gujarati and Punjabi weddings it is four rounds, with the bride leading in some of them and the groom in others, and in much of North India it is seven rounds, joined with the saptapadi. In Sikh weddings the equivalent circling is of the Guru Granth Sahib, and called lavan. Phera is also the usual name for the whole ceremony: to take the pheras is to be married.
Region: South Asia