A black-and-gold beaded necklace tied around a bride's neck during the wedding ceremony — literally 'the auspicious thread,' worn afterward as an ongoing sign of marriage.
धारण · Dharan
Tied by the groom during a specific moment of the wedding ceremony, the mangalsutra's exact design, black beads on a gold chain in most traditions, though the pattern and pendant vary by region, is considered to hold protective significance for the marriage itself, not only symbolic value.
Regional equivalents carry different names and forms, the thaali in Tamil Nadu, the mangalsutra more broadly across the west and north, but the underlying practice, a marker tied at marriage and worn continuously after, holds across most of these regional variants.