Nishekam is the ritual associated with first

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...

among

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

married couples.

Rituals

The veracity of this ritual is yet to be determined. In popular practice, the bride and the groom have a special arrangement where they engage in

sexual activity Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) t ...

on the very first night at a pre-determined auspicious time. It depends upon which

Grhya Sutras Kalpa () means "proper, fit" and is one of the six disciplines of the Vedānga, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism. This field of study is focused on the procedures and ceremonies associated with Vedic r ...

the locality and family follows. Majority of the

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

ns follow

Shukla Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' (, , from यजुस्, "worship", and वेद, "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism'' (Edito ...

, so they do it on 4th day after

Vivaha A Hindu wedding, also known as (, ) in Hindi, () in Marathi language, Marathi, () in Bhojpuri language, Bhojpuri, () in Bengali Language, Bengali, () or () in Odia language, Odia, () in Tamil language, Tamil, () in Telugu language, Te ...

m (marriage).

Consummation The consummation of a marriage, or simply consummation, is the first officially credited act of sexual intercourse following marriage. In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the definition usually refers to penile–vaginal p ...

is allowed only on the night of the 4th day after

m (marriage). Whereas other kalpasutras mention it just after ''Griha Pravesham'', which occurs next day of marriage in many areas. After Griha Pravesha and before Nishekam the couple is not allowed to talk or see each other. The bride is kept in a company of ladies up to Nisheka.

Garbhadhana

It is similar to the preparatory ritual for Garbhadhana ceremony in many aspects as it allows the couple to prepare for begetting a child. Hindu wedding rituals

References

{{Hinduism-stub