Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1
1. SAMSKARAS
[Purification of man to make him worthy of the Lord]
1.1 INTRODUCTION:
Samskara (sanskara) means improvement or refinement. Samskaarao sa yasmin
jate kascit padaartha yogyo bhavathi kasyacit arthasya it is that which, when
introduced, makes a certain product worthy of a specific purpose). Thus, it is the
process of purification of a thing to make it worthy of a noble purpose.
Hindus are generally religious and always believed in the God Principle as both the
intelligent and the material cause of the universe. That is, God not only caused the
world to be created, He became the world as well. Since everything has originated
from that God, they will have to go back to the source in due course. According to our
scriptures, this God pervades all and is inherent in them because the cause will have
to be present in the effects. But, at the same time, He is distinct from them and
untainted by them i.e. God is immanent and transcendent. Of course, there has
always been a difference of opinion as to whether this Universal God Principle can be
given a specific form or not. Since ordinary humans cannot conceive of the all
pervading Formless Omnicient God Principle, he was given the freedom to select one
or more Personal Forms to be used as a means to graduate to the formless. That is,
God with Form was to be used as a stepping stone to reach the one without form a
support to be used and then discarded after reaching the destination.
An illustration will make this clear. After laying down the foundation of the house, we
erect the load-bearing pillars on it. These have to be connected with a slab for which
we will have to first erect a strong scaffolding. These scaffoldings support the slab till
the cement-concrete settles down. When it has stabilized, these external supports are
dismantled and discarded. Saguna God is like the scaffolding which will not remain
with us permanently. It is to be used till the formless is understood and assimilated.
Since majority of people do not graduate beyond the form, the Hindu scriptures have
attempted a unique solution of super-imposing (sugar-coating) the fantastic qualities
of transcendence and immanence (vibhooties) of the universal consciousness on the
God with Form. This packaging is done very intelligently through Puranas which give
out stories of various Gods and Goddesses. There are thousands of such stories in the
18 Puranas, the most popular being the Bhagavatham with more than 500 inter-twined
illustrations. Teachers with special skill of articulation were specifically trained as story-
2
tellers to entertain the masses daily with these stories (exactly like todays prime time
TV soaps). Each of these stories contained a great tatwa (truth) intelligently hidden
which was explained by the teacher (Guru) using the form to illustrate the formless.
But, the stories are so interesting that the majority of people are lost in the colourful
container without really going deep into the contents to discover divinity.
Visualising the above normal human (mental) weakness, the intelligent gurus of yester-
years came out with a practical solution. They successfully imbibed the belief into the
trusting Hindu intellect that the ultimate destination of the created human (jeevaatma)
is that God Principle (Paramatma) whether it is with form or without. But, total
surrender to God, the ultimate destination, was necessary for freedom from samsara.
Bhagavatham recommended to these Saguna worshippers nine stages of dedication,
such as, sravanam (hearing Gods glories), kirtanam (chanting His names), smaranam
(remembering Him and His glories), padasevanam (serving at His feet), archanam
(worshipping Him), vandanam (prostrating to Him), dasyam (dedicating actions to Him),
sakhyam (treating Him as a friend-in-need) and finally atmanivedanam (surrendering
oneself). Thus, the grand finale of spirituality is self-surrender or offering oneself to
the Lord as oblation.
How this is applied in our daily life? The purpose of life, according to Hindu
philosophy, is to move to the final destination of self-realisation (moksha) which is
nothing but merger (total surrender) to the Paramatma (the source). For this self-
surrender, one has to be worthy (purified). That is why the Vedas (Veda-purva and
Veda-anta) prescribed various disciplines (sadhanas) throughout life. To make us
(body and mind) fit for the this atma-nivedanam (self-surrender) Vedas provide for
elaborate SAMSKARAS (purification processes) from CONCEPTION to CREMATION.
Vedically, entire lifestyle was a continuous process of self-improvement. By performing
rituals as prescribed therein (naimithika karmas), special positive energies are created
inside and the human being becomes fit for self-surrender. These ensure all-round
physical development, mental growth, intellectual sharpness and spiritual maturity to
become worthy of the Lord. While moksha purushartha was the aim, as side effects
we do get several mundane benefits (artha/ kama/ dharma) as well.
It is worth reiterating that these sanskaras are only the means of purification of the
internal equipments and make them fit for the dawn of knowledge of Brahman. But
knowledge presupposes a systematic study of the scriptures for a length of time under
a qualified teacher and application of mind on what is taught. This was confirmed by
Sankaracharya in Vivekachoodamani when he said: Chittasya shuddaye karma na
vastu upalabadaye (Karmas are meant for self-purification and cannot by themselves
procure the Truth).
4
birth will be continued until they are purified. Lord Krishna has confirmed this in the
Bhagavad Geeta (VII/11): only after several births, a human being is able to know me
in the true sense.
For example, our scriptures not only prescribe satyam vada (talk the truth), they also
stipulate maduram vada (say it sweetly or appropriately). If the truth is capable of
causing hurt (which invariably it is) one should be careful while saying it. It has to be
done nicely without causing injury. Cruel words can cause more injury than brutal
actions and bad thoughts can cause damage not only to the receiver but also to the
giver. The vibrations of internal dirty thoughts, cause permanent damage to the
thinker too. Cultivation of moral and ethical values (such as honestly, non-violence,
purity of body / mind, non-possessiveness, concentration, faith in the scriptures, etc.)
as enumerated in most of the scriptures have the power of chipping away the
accumulated impurities and improving the quality of our internal equipment. These
have to be done systematically and consistently in a deliberate and calibrated manner
with a definite time-table.
The interesting part of the sanskara karmas are the vows taken by the person
performing the ritualistic sacremant in the presence of Gods, elders, relatives and
dignitaries present on these occasions which have tremendous effect. They help
5
develop self-discipline. Prompted by our conscience (nourished by these), he is
prevented from accumulating more dirt. Even a very cruel person, if he performs
regular sandhya-vandanam (morning/evening worship) and also regular chanting, etc.
he slowly gets mellowed and becomes softer over a period of time. The change will be
gradual in those cases where the cleaning is a massive job and much faster in those
where the accumulated impurities are comparatively less. But there is absolutely no
doubt that all benefit uniformly from the sanskaras. This assurance is supported by the
scriptures.
Performing the ritualistic samskaras (listed below) and the cultivation of the mental
moral and eithical qualities will continuously churn the mind and help us get rid of the
impurities and if the churning is continued through the study of scriptures then the mind
becomes SOFT LIKE BUTTER and will become fit for Lord Krishna who will snatch it
away.
Additional benefits in the form of dharma, artha and kama. While the main
benefit is moksha (freedom from samsara) there are several subsidiary benefits (side-
effects) flowing from the regular and sincere performance of the sanskaras. It helps
fulfill the duties (dharma) of the individual at all levels (as a student, as a householder
and as a matured individual), it helps satisfaction of our desires (physical, mental and
intellectual) and also help us accumulate sufficient material comforts to fulfill
aspirations to satisfy the intellect.
There are 41 samskaras in the yajur-veda grahya sutras. We will be dealing with the
more important ones elaborately and only list the others.
SOURCES OF SANSKARAAS
6
(driving a horse).
d) Concept of Mukti (freedom) as the final destination. Hindu Religion assures us that
each one can be liberated in ones own life time. The methods are elaborately discussed in
the Prasthana Trayam (Three Exit Literatures) viz. Brahma Sutras, Upanishads and
Bhagavat Geeta
Hindu Dharma believes that Samsakaras (refinements) are the only means for the human
beings to become fit for the above liberation (mukti) which is the objective. These are
detailed in the Vedas (Srutis) transmitted straight from the God (apaurusheya) and received
by the Rishis. Vedic teachings have been processed by the Great Ancient Masters to make
them useful to the common men. Their gigantic efforts have resulted in:
1. Sutras (Cryptic aphorisms by Rishis who picked these up from various parts of the
Vedas and categorized them. The important Sutras are the Brahma Sutras of Vyasa,
Dharma Sutras, Yoga Sutras of Pathanjali, and the Grahya (Shrauda) Sutras one for each
Veda.
2. Smritis or recollections by Manu, Parasara, etc. earlier and Gaudapada,
Shankarachrya, etc. later. These great men have written many explanatory books
(prakarana granthas) on the contents of Vedas / Upanishads.
3. There are also 18 Puranas which illustrate through stories the importance of
spiritual and moral values.
4. There are also the two Ithihasas (recorded events) known as the Ramayana and
the Mahabharatha which contain spiritual instructions in a sugar-coated form.
Samskara Mantras are spread all over the above scriputres. These beautiful flowers are
carefully collected, systematically sorted out, diligently codified and put in a ready-to-use
garland form by the Rishis in the Grahya Sutras (Secrets for the Householders). There is
one Grahya Sutra for each Veda. This write up is mainly based on the Apasthamba Sutras
pertaining to the Yajur Vedis.
7
The impurities in a new-born are of two types: (1) Garbhikam associated with the
womb which the child was in occupation for 9+ months, and (2) Baijikam associated
with the beejam (seed) or the child itself. (The child is the seed which will grow into a
full-fledged human being). Sastras illustrate the importance of jaata karmas with the
extraction and purification process of metals. Even after the metal is extracted from the
ore it does contain some impurities. (Pure aluminium metal has 1 to 2% impurities
Certified Pure minted gold is only 99.9% pure!) Similarly, even though the child is
fully matured and delivered, still the new-born contains some inherent impurities of the
womb even after washing off all the waste materials. The baby has to be cleaned of all
these impurities, both physical and mental. Child is the khetram (field) which has to
be purified of the rocks and other irregularities to make it fit for crops. Some scriptures
compare the mother to the field (khetram) and father has sown the seed (as it were)
and the baby is the harvested plant which is cleaned thoroughly to make it
consumable. Similarly, the new-born has to be washed thoroughly to disconnect it
fully from the impurities associated with the womb (representing parents) and make it
worthy of the society. Jaata karmas are symbolic reminder that the child has an
individuality of its own and must not remain attached to the umbilical chord of the
mother (her over-powering influence must be separated). They remove these and
makes it free to start its own journey and develop into an independent spiritual person.
[These karmas are same whether the child is male or female].
Father to hold the baby in his lap first: This privilege is given to the father. After
Naandi, the father of the child, has to take the child in his lap and chant a special
prayer for the well being of the child. The long prayer means yu have come out of the
8
interaction of my own essence and the essence of your mother. I wanted you to be
born of my mind, of my own atma. Let you prosper. Hindu Scriptures believe that the
father is reborn as child and therefore he prays, along with all present, to all the Gods
for its long life. Heart felt prayers are always fulfilled. Particularly when so many pray
together it is very effective like multiple echoes.
Breathing into the nostril of the new-born: Chanting the above prayers, the father
will have to breathe into the nostril of the child. All the Brahmins present (the leading
lights of the Clan) also similarly breath into the babys nostril praying for long life
sharada shata (100 springs). Their prayers and chantings create positive vibrations
around the child. Their breathings come out of the spiritual heart and all the spiritual
powers of these wise men are passed on to the child. Thus the child starts with a
fantastic credit balance in its spiritual account. Scientifically also this blowing into the
nose helps clear the air passage of the child and it will be able to breathe freely.
Prayers chanted include statements like May you be strong like a stone not easily
affected by problems. May you be like an axe (parasu) intellectually sharp capable of
destroying your enemies particularly (those present inside you like) kaama and krodha
(lust and anger), your permanent enemies, which you have brought along with your
form your previous birth. They should be rooted out now without giving them any new
growth opportunities. Further, may you be like the gold (hiranyam) which cannot be
easily polluted. The baby is given a few drops of diluted curd, mixed with few drop of
ghee (an antidote for hysteria, whooping cough, epilepsy, liver problem) these help
its food-pipe. He is fed this using a golden spoon (nowadays a golden ring is used).
Ayurveda listing the beneficial qualities of gold, states that byconstantly wearing gold
and eating with it introduces micro-traces of gold into our system which help
enhancing the reproductive capacity. Along with the feeding, the pranava (om), the
vyahrithi and gayatri mantras are chanted. Gayatri Mahamantra helps development of
intellect (medha shakthi) to understand the subtle spiritual ideas. Thus, the purpose of
these Vedic rituals is to desire wisdom (memory), prajna (grasping), long life (ayur)
and arogyam (health) for the child. [For a detailed discussion on the Gayatri
Mahamantra please see Annexure].
First formal naming of the child: (This is different from the Nama-karana-
samskaras or naming ceremony for transactional purposes which will be discussed
later.) Every child (whether male or female) is named Veda by declaring You are
Veda (Vedosi). Since this is not of any practical use, the child is given another formal
name usually associated with the particular nakshatra (star) under which it is born. For
example: Ashwati Kumara., etc. This name is secretly whispered into the right ear of
the child. This is the first word it hears. But this name is kept secret. This official
name is for Deva-vyavaharam (Divine account-keeping). Devas speak only Sanskrit
and hence a Sanskrit name is given which is known only to the family.
9
There are two justifications for this ritual. One, the name of the jeeva varies from birth
to birth. So, as soon as a new birth has happened, a new account is to be opened on
a new Ledger Leaf of the Divine Super Computer. Jeevas previous account was
closed when the body died. That balance is now carried forward in the new leaf.
Another reason for keeping this official star-name secret is to ensure that no black
magic etc. is practiced. Most of these, to be effective, need use of star (nakshatra).
So the nakshatra of the child is not revealed until the first birthday.
Vedas glorify the birth of a son. Drishtwa pitra putrasya jaatsya pasyet jeevato mukham
pita wrinamaat sannayati amritatwam gachaati [Only when the father sees the face of his
son, does he become relieved of his debt to continue the karma for his forefather (which
liability is now passed on to the child to be matured when he marries)]. One of the important
Vedic responsibility of every man is to perform shrarda and tharpana for the forefathers
(thanking the three generations of males who have preceded him). So when he gets a son,
the parents are relieved because they are sure of the continuance of this paramparik
sanskaras after their death. A daughter is to be married into some other family. Even if she
remains unmarried she does not get the right to perform the shrardha ritual. Further, it is
believed that the role of a girl is complementary. Her responsibility is to facilitate her (future)
husband to perform the Vedic rituals. That is why female children were not traditionally
preferred. This does not mean a girl was discriminated against. She was trained from
childhood to take up the responsibility of managing and administering all family affairs and
bring up the children which are onerous responsibilities. She was rewarded by being born as
a man in her next birth.
Ceremonial cutting of the umbilical (naval) chord: This was the only support
system through which the mother was nourishing and supporting the child. The
separation of this indicates the formal separation of the child from its mother and
establishing its own individual existence. There are mantras addressed to the
knife/scissors used for this purpose seeking its grace not to cause any infection and
harm the child. When the cord is cut the father gets the asaucam and he cannot
perform any karmas for the next 10 days. That is why for some reasons if the
ceremonies are not performed they are postponed to 11 th day. Scientifically also, the
umbilical chord contains lots of impurities which are harmless inside the atmosphere of
the womb. But when they are exposed to atmosphere they can cause infections etc.
Nature takes 10 days to heal the wound and neutralize these impurities.
First Formal Suckling: Thereafter the child is allowed to suckle (for the first time).
Care is taken to ensure that it starts with the right nipple of the mother. Here also a
prayer is addressed to the Saraswati Devi who is invoked on the breast and residing
there She will bless the breast. Being the Goddess of Knoweldge (vidya) Her grace is
most important for the child as it starts with total ignorance and has o learn so many
things. The prayer invoking the Goddess states: Oh! Gddess Saraswati! You are
10
nourishing the whole world with your beautiful breast-milk, please now grace this
mother and bless the child through her breast and give it jnana-dugdam (milk of
knowledge). This ensures that the child is not a stupid or dumb but highly intelligent.
BREAST FEEDING
Scriptures advise that mothers milk is the best food for the child. The first milk contains all
the anti-bodies required in right quantities to protect the child from infections which the
mother had suffered. Breast milk is also at the right temperature for the child and at the
right dilution. Psychologically, the child has just come out of the security of the silent and
sterile womb and is suddenly exposed to bright lights, loud noises and uncomfortable
humidity. Thesel cause stress and it needs to be comforted. So, when the child
embraces the mother and instinctively suckles her, it feels secure. The scriptures advice:
Baby should be breast-fed every 3 hours.
Breast feeding is discouraged during night. (Progressively to be discontinued).
Breast-feeding to be continued for at least 6 six months.
For the first 4 months the child should be given only breast-milk and nothing else.
Even water should not be given. After 4 months it should be slowly weaned away.
After 6 months the breast milk should only be supplementary.
Breast-feeding to be stopped completely after 9 months.
There are other interesting justifications for breast feeding. When the child is primarily
nourished on breast-milk, the hormonal secretion of the mother ensures that she does not
conceive during the suckling. Further, according to Sigmund Freud, the suckling provides
enough sexual satisfaction to the mother to keep her away from sexual intercourse.
As part of the jaata karma, a prayer is addressed to Earth saying: Oh! Reverend
Mother Earth! The child is going to walk on you. He may stumble and fall upon you
several times. He may even eat some of your mud. Please be kind enough not to hurt
him. You should not make the child cry. Protected by the power of this prayer, young
children never get hurt or their bones broken even though they fall on the ground
several times. Even if they are hurt, they get cured very fast all because of the
grace of Goddess Mother Earth.
2.1 PUNYAAHA-VACANAM
(Purification of the new born)
This formal purification of the new born is done on the 11th day. The mother and the
child are given formal bath with warm water and she is moved from the separate
specially prepared labour room (out-house) or quarantine to the normal residence to
11
the normal house. (For the first 10 days of birth, there was asaucam (impure or
unhygienic) the atmosphere being full of bacteria etc.] As a prelude, the house is
cleaned by sprinkling ceremonially purified water with the chanting of mantras. The
whole house is sprinkled with Holy water and Panchagavyam (a paste of cows ghee,
milk, curd, urine, and cowdung in proper proportions). A thread dipped in turmeric tied
to a gold amulet containing a piece of the umbilical cord is tied around the waist of the
child. This is believed to sustain the link between mother and child and is believed to
protect the child. According to Ayurveda, this piece of the umbilical cord (containing
dried stem cells) prevents diseases like bone marrow, leukemia etc. The vastu devatas
are invoked along with other deities.
This ritual has social significance as well. The activities of the household had come to
a standstill for 10 days due to the child-birth and activities surrounding that occasion.
So the household routine was neglected even cooking was not properly attended to.
Now, on the 11th day onwards regular routine activites will be resumed starting with a
sumptuous meal (feast) for the members of the household.
IMPORTANT: All the following rituals will be emphasizing males. It does not mean that
girls were neglected. But our sanskaras are intended for the moksha of the male. The
female is expected to become a wife and actively facilitate the self-realisation process of
her husband by associating herself with the yajnas and other karmas. Her duty is to
look after the household duties (including the bringing up of the children) so that her
man can concentrate on his own self-development. A girl who fullfills this self-less
responsibility is born as a man in her next birth and becomes eligible for spiritual path.
12
Popular (pet) name: In addition to formal name for transactions with the world,
another name can be given to be used in the house. Similar to a pet name. A name
Shankarasubramanian will be difficult to use, so he can be called Subbu or Mani.
It is customary to add a suffix after the name depending upon his Ashramam.
Sharma for Brahmin (Sharma means ananda); Varma for Khatriyas (meaning armour);
Gupta for Vysya (secretive); Dasa for a shudra. [Popular words like iyer rao garu
etc. refer to an educated respectable person and not indicative of a family or title.]
Later titles are added depending upon ones achievements. He becomes a
DIKSHITA (if he is authorized to perform yajnas and takes formal diksha) or a SASTRI
when he studies sastras. On his proficiency (yogyata) then titles like CHATURVEDI
(Master of 4 Vedas), TRIVEDI (Knowing three Vedas) or DWIVEDI (Expert in 2 Vedas)
etc. are given. Every educated person is supposed to know at least his Veda.
Ghanapaadi, Jata Vallabha, etc. are titles added showing the expertise of the
person in a specific type of chanting of the Vedas.
[Thus, the boy has 3 names. One formal name given immediately on birth for
purposes of Gods accounting of its papas/punyas and is usually kept secret. The
second name is the formal (official) one used for all transactions with the society. Then
there is the informal (pet) name with which he is addressed by his relations, close
friends and neighbors. That is why in most marriage invitations you will find two names
one within brackets and one outside. One in brackets is usually very long and
difficult to pronounce. For example Cheenu (Srinivasan) etc.]
2.3 NISH-KRAMANAM
(First formal outing of the child)
During the first three months of its birth, usually the child is not taken out of the house
mainly out of fear of it being subjected to infections. Our scriptures recommend first
outing after the 3rd month when it has developed sufficient immunity. For its first formal
outing, the child is usually carried by the father or uncle with whom child would have
become familiar. An auspicious date (after consulting the Astrologer) is selected for its
first exposure to the Sun. The house is decorated and a swastika mark is
conspicuously put on the floor outside the front door as a symbol of purity and to ward
off evil eyes of the inquisitive on-lookers particularly from the ladies of those
households which are child-less. Involuntarily, they will be emitting negative vibrations
because of their own emptiness.
13
The child is not allowed to be taken out during the night till it is at least 4 months old
because the evil forces are more predominant at night. Again an auspicious time is
selected when the child is exposed to the moon which influences its tender mind.
Thus, the child is exposed first to the Sun and then to the moon (Surya Chandra
darshanam). These simbolise Vishwaroopa darshanam that is the child is exposed to
the fact that we are part of the great universe pervaded by the God-principle. Feast is
served for the members of the household, the neibours and the elders of the Clan.
Poor-feeding is an important part of the ritual.
Several mantras to propitiate the dik Devatas (Dieties in charge of various directions)
are chanted. The mantra repeated during this occasion is the Maha Mrityunjaya
Mantram dedicated to Lord Shiva seeking his blessing to ensure long life and
protection against all ills particularly premature death (akala maranam).
Thrayambakam Yajamahe
Sugandhim pushti-vardhanam
Oorvarihamiva bhandanan mrityoho
Mukhshiya mamritaat.
Meaning: Oh! The three-eyed Lord, the one who emits pure smell and who protects all
the creatures, please accept our prayer and deliver us from the bondage of the fear of
death like a ripe cucumber, but not from our objective of self-realisation.
[This great mantra has much deeper intent. For a complete discussion on the meaning
and significance of Mritunynjaya Mantram, please see the Annexure.]
2.4 ANNAPRASANAM
(Weaning Food)
th
After the 4 month, the child must be weaned away from mothers milk slowly through
semi-solid foods much before the formal ritual of annaprasanam (food cooked with
salt). This is essential both for the child and the mother. As the child grows his daily
requirement of nourishment increases and mothers milk cannot fulfill them neither
quantitatively nor qualitatively. Weaning is to started after the 3rd month (depending
upon the childs growth) with diluted cows milk to which a small quantity of sugar is
added. Sold food (popularly called cereal) is introduced by the end of 4th month.
Annaprasanam is the formal introduction of the baby to food cooked using salt. Ideal
time for this is the 6th month for boys and 7th month for girls (even and odd
respectively). Sushruta (Ayurveda Sastra) this to be done when the child gets his teeth.
14
If he is not introduced to solid food, then he will bite into his mothers breasts! This is
Natures way to demonstrate that babys internal equipment cam digesting solid food.
Being an important social occasion, an auspicious day is selected and all the family
members assemble in an important temple. The child is formally fed with cooked rice,
ghee, honey, curd mixed with some little salt. [Even the rich should perform this ritual
in a temple to show their respect and attitude of surrender to the Lord.]
Gayatri Mahamantra (Pranava, Vyakriti and Gayatri mantras) along with other mantras
are chanted invoking the blessings of the God to keep away evil eyes. Special prayers
to Oshadhi (plants) and Water (Aapa) are chanted seeking their protection from
diseases. [There is a popular saying: If we take care of food and water for the first 25
years, they will take care of us for the next 75!] The child is first formally fed by the
father and other family members using a golden ring (in place of a golden spoon).
The Grahya Sutras state that duringthe 6th and 7th month, the childs inherent vasanas
(individual peculiarities) will start manifesting. Child will be exhibiting its aptitude through its
preference. It is the responsibility of an intelligent and inquisitive parent to recognize them
and help his development in those lines.This can be confirmed by making it play with
musical instruments, iron & other instruments, wooden pieces, or brush, colours, etc. This
is very important because, when we select the Guru for his future development from 5th to
18th year, its aptitude and preferences can be explained to the Guru who will help them
develop further and correctly identify the profession which will be suitable to him. If we put
him in the wrong Gurukulam he will waste himself and also make the guru and the parents
unhappy.
2.5 CHAUDAM
(SHAVING OFF HAIR)
This ceremonial shaving off the hair of the baby leaving behind only a tuft (shika) is
compulsory for male children belonging to the three upper castes. This is usually
performed when the child is 3 years old. The scriptures do provide an option to
perform this along with Yajnopavidam (Upanayanam) which is performed when the boy
is more than 5 years old and is departing for Gurukulam for Vedic studies.
15
and not to hurt the tender body of the child. These prayers ensure there is no infection.
Barber represents the Surya Devata who is the Official Barber of the Devas like Indira,
Agni, Varuna, etc. (Like the Sun, the barber gives a shine to the head through shaving
off the hair.) Therefor a prayer is addressed by the father to the Barber requesting him
thus: Please give effulgence to my boy like Surya deva gives to the devas. Please be
careful not to injure the tender skin of my child. There are also separate prayers
addressed to the knife requesting its favour thus: O! Honourable Knife! You are sharp
and you are going to remove the impurities and add effulgence. Please be careful so
that you will not harm my child. [Theese prayers ensure that there are no infections.]
There are clear rules regarding the process of shaving off. The barber will have to start
with East, then South, West and then North side. He has to keep a darba grass and
also porcupine fin along with the knife and complete the job. (Dharba stands for inner
purification. And the porcupine fin for outer sharpness.) Prayers addressed to the
Directional Deities (Dik-Devatas) seeking health from East, longivity from South, fame
from West and intelligence from North side. (All these have scientific justification.
Exposure to early morning Sun from East ensures health; South is the direction of
Yama, incharge of Time who ensures long life; the magnet in North helps the brain,
etc). There is a prayer thanking the barber. He is to be given a liberal dakshina (fees)
and also sumptuous food.
There are clear rules of disposal of cut hair. They cannot be just thrown anywhere (as
we are doing now). They have to be mixed with cow dung and buried under uduthara
tree which is usually grows wild outside most Indian villages. This ensures bio-
degradation of the hair. There is another reason for disposing of the hair far away. In
those days black magic was common and for this some part of the child was to be
used such as hair, nail, etc. (DNA of the child).
After this ritual, the child is given a bath in luke-warm water. There are rules how to
mix cold and hot water. Hot water must be mixed with cold and not the other way round
to have full effect. Ayurveda supports this. Again prayers are addressed to all the
deities seeking long and healthy life without untimely accidental deaths. .
A new-born child enters this world with hair which represents accumulated papas and
punyas carried forward from the previous birth. They are the results of inherent individual
likes and dislikes (raga/dwesha). He must have committed millions of good/bad deeds both
during waking and while dreaming (knowingly and unknowingly) during several previous
births. Shaving off 50% of hair in the front half of the head indicates purifying all the papas
to start on a clean slate and the tuft represents balance of punyas. Katopanishad compares
the body to a chariot and the tuft as a protection from rain etc. The tuft protects the most
important part of the brain from the bad external influences. According to Sushruta
16
(Ayurvedic Scholar) there is a junction of vital arteries and nerve-ends at the back (near
the top) of the head (medulla ablongketa) which need to be protected from the sun (masta
abhyantara uparishatat shika). This is the junction of shiram and sandhis of blood vessels.
This marma staanam (vital point) is called roma avarta and it is believed that the life-force
is stored there. If that is damaged maranam (death) is assured. According to medical
science also Medula Ablankata controls bodily functions and is to be protected. As shika
was used as the Natural God-given Helmet no attempt was made to discover hats or
helmets in Ancient India!
According to the Sastras, shika is necessary for many rituals like yajnopavitam,
agnihotram etc. where anganyasa/karanyasa (touching parts of the body with
specific mantras) are involved. Shika is an angam which is involved in many rituals.
It is also prescribed that without a tuft the rituals will become nishphalam (waste).
Further, after every bath, shika-udakam (water from the tuft) is offered to the
forefathers (pitrs) who could be in the trees, plants, creepers, etc.That is why all the
pitrs present themselves at the chauda ceremony looking forward to the daily
shikodakam from him. That is why Sastras insist that under no condition shuld a
shika be removed. Even when visiting temples etc. where hair is offered, shaving
off of tuft is not permitted. If for some reasons the shika is to be removed (diseases,
etc.) one should keep dharba symbolically on the head. Only when a person
formally takes up sanyasam the tuft is taken off as a ritual chanting of mantras.
This is justified as the sansyasis are exempted from all fire rituals.
Incidentally naked bathing is prohibited in the scriptures. A single vastra (at least)
is compulsory while taking bath. When that is changed, the vastra-udakam (water
from the dress) is to be ceremonially put on the plants around as an offering for
bhootas.
This is now-adays conducted when the child is at least 1 year old along with its first
birthday probably to save expenditure. But accoding to the scritpures, ideal time to
perform this ritual is when the child is at least 3 years old. Since the ear is very tender
before this age, the piercing is not advised early the hole will move away from the
centre. In olden days, this was done by the Goldsmith using a golden needle which
was allowed to remain in the ear. (They used betel leaf juice as local anesthetic and
also as disinfectant). This is purely a social function where Brahmins and elders of the
family are always involved because their blessings are important. For a male child
also karna vedha is compulsory before Upanayanam. According to Ayurveda, this
ensures good health. Charaka Samhita states that the Suns rays passing through the
ear hole ensures mental balance. A metal passed through the ear-lobe can prevent
hernia and hydrosil in later years.
17
This ritual is practiced round the world and was very popular amongst the African tribes
as well. Weaing of ornaments handing from the ears was considered necessary in
ancient cultures it was not so much to add beauty but had scientific justification.
However, with the advent of the modern times, this ritual has gone out of fashion. No
worthwhile scientific research has been done to find out the benefits (if any) from this.
In India, it is compulsory for girls to wear ear-rings or other ornaments particularly if she
is married. This is considered a sign of a sumangali happily married woman. Along
with the sindhoor (vermillion placed between the eye-brows) this is believed to bring
her good luck.
[According to our scriptures our mind is divided into 4 distinct parts: (1) manas (mind) that part
which is connected to the outside world through the five sense organs of perception such as
the capacity to see, hear, taste, touch and smell and which collects and collates all the
information and presents both sides, (2) buddhi (intellect) the internal side of the mind which
decides; (3) chitta (storehouse) where all the information is stored and which is available as a
ready-reference-library both to the mind and the intellect and instructs the five sense organs of
18
action (hands, legs, tongue, excretory and reproductory organs) to carry out the decision; and
(4) ahamkara (I-sense) or popularly called Ego which supervises and ensures that the process
of absorption and action are co-ordinated.]
The future guru of the child is formally invited to witness the function. The priest/elder
member of the family holds the hand of the child and using a gold pen writes on a plate
of sand. Nowadays, instead of sand (where is sand in a city?) rice is spread and using
the fore-finger of the child and names of deities like Ganapathy, Saraswati, Kula
Devata and others are written and their blessings are sought. Naturally mantras are
chaned to appease these Gods. This is an important social function (particularly for a
Brahmin) and the family members are invited along with the close relations and
neigbours and served rich food. Poor feeding is also a must.
19