{{short description|Rites of passage described in ancient Sanskrit texts}} {{about|the Hindu rituals|other uses|Samskara (disambiguation)}} {{Hinduism}} {{EngvarB|date=April 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}} thumb|260px|Samskaras are, in one context, the diverse rites of passage of a human being from conception to cremation, signifying milestones in an individual's journey of life in Hinduism. Above is ''annaprashana samskara'' celebrating a baby's first taste of solid food.
'''Samskara''' (Sanskrit: संस्कार, IAST: {{IAST|saṃskāra}}, sometimes spelled ''samskara'') are diverse ''rites de passage'' in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.<ref name=carlolson/><ref name=stephen/> <ref name=knipe>David Knipe (2015), Vedic Voices: Intimate Narratives of a Living Andhra Tradition, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199397693}}, page 52</ref><ref name=nayar>KE Nayar (2004), The Sikh Diaspora in Vancouver, University of Toronto Press, {{ISBN|978-0802086310}}, page 88</ref><ref name=benner>Dagmar Benner (2008), in ''Mathematics and Medicine in Sanskrit'' (Editor: Dominik Wujastyk), Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120832466}}, pages 122-123</ref> The word literally means "putting together, making perfect, getting ready, to prepare", or "a sacred or sanctifying ceremony" in ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts of India.<ref name=monierwilliams/>
In Hinduism, the ''samskaras'' vary in number and details according to regional traditions. They range from the list of 40 samskaras in the ''Gautama Dharmasutra'' from about the middle of the 1st millennium BCE,<ref name=patrick/> to 16 samskaras in the Grhyasutra texts from centuries later.<ref name=carlolson>Carl Olson (2007), The Many Colors of Hinduism: A Thematic-historical Introduction, Rutgers University Press, {{ISBN|978-0813540689}}, pages 93-94</ref><ref name=pandey23/> The list of samskaras in Hinduism include both external rituals such as those marking a baby's birth and a baby's name giving ceremony, as well as inner rites of resolutions and ethics such as compassion towards all living beings and positive attitude.<ref name=patrick/>
''Samskara in Indian philosophy'' or saṅkhāra (Buddhism) is also a concept in the karma theory of Indian philosophies,<ref name=carlolson/><ref name=knipe/><ref name=stephen/> referring to dispositions, characters or behavioural traits that exist as default from birth or developed by a person over one's lifetime, that exist as imprints on the subconscious according to various schools of Hindu philosophy such as the Yoga school.<ref name=stephen/><ref name=ian/> These perfected or default imprints of karma within a person, influences that person's nature, response and states of mind.<ref name=stephen>Stephen H. Phillips (2009), Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy, Columbia University Press, {{ISBN|978-0231144858}}, Chapter 3</ref>
==Etymology and meaning== ''Saṃskāra'' (Sanskrit: संस्कार) has various context-driven meanings, that broadly refer to "the putting together, accomplishing well, making perfect, a form of solemn recognition and getting ready, engaging in works and acknowledging the purification of body by cleansing or mind by education or an object by a process (such as polishing a gem or refining a metal)".<ref name=monierwilliams>[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/tamil/recherche saMskAra] Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany</ref> The term appears in the Śrutis, and in the Smritis of diverse schools of Hinduism as well as the texts of Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.<ref name=monierwilliams/><ref name=nayar/> The etymological roots of the word ''samskara'' when it refers to rites of passage, is also "preparation, purifying, perfecting" from one's past state to one's future state.<ref name=carlolson/>
The word ''samskara'' is rare in the oldest layer of Vedic literature, but its roots ''sam'' and ''kr'' occur often enough.<ref name=pvkane/> The word appears in Rig Veda hymns 6.28.4 and 8.33.9, as well as other Vedic texts, where the context suggests it simply means "purify, prepare". It appears in Jaimini Purvamimamsa-sutra (500-200 BCE) many times, where it again means "prepare, perfect, polish" something, either through action, speech or mind.<ref name=pvkane/><ref name=pandeydef>Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pages 15-16</ref> In sections 3.8.3, 9.3.25 and 10.2.49 of the Jaimini Purvamimamsa-sutra, the word ''samskara'' is used to describe actions of "washing the teeth, shaving the head, cutting nails, sprinkling water" as part of a ceremony.<ref name=pvkane>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n247/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VI], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 190-191</ref> Samskara is defined by ancient Indian scholar Shabara as, "that which prepares a certain thing or person fit for a certain purpose".<ref name=pandeydef/> Another ancient text Viramitrodaya defines ''samskara'', notes Kane, as "a peculiar excellence due to performance of certain actions which resides in the soul or the body of the actor".<ref name=pvkane/>
''samskara'' in Hindu traditions, states Kane, have been ceremonies, expressing outward symbols or signs of inner change, marking life events of significance. They served a spiritual, cultural and psychological purpose, welcoming an individual into a stage of life, conferring privileges to the individual(s), expecting duties from the individual, and impressing on the individual as well individual's social circle of their new role.<ref>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n249/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VI], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 192-193</ref>
''Sanskāra'', in modern usage, is sometimes used to mean "cultural, social or religious heritage".<ref>KK Sinha (2006), Social And Cultural Ethos Of India, {{ISBN|978-8126910199}}, pages 1-2</ref>
==''Rites de passage''== ''Samskaras'' in Hinduism are ''rites de passage'' that begin with one's birth, celebrate certain early steps in a baby's growth and their welcome into the world in the presence of friends and family, then various stages of life such as first learning day, graduation from school, wedding and honeymoon, pregnancy, raising a family, as well as those related to final rites associated with cremation.<ref name=husken>Jörg Gengnagel and Ute Hüsken (2005), Words and Deeds: Hindu and Buddhist Rituals in South Asia, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447051521}}, see Preface Chapter</ref> These rites of passage are not uniform, and vary within the diverse traditions of Hinduism. Some may involve formal ceremonies, yajna (fire) ceremonies with the chanting of Vedic hymns. Others are simple, private affairs involving a couple, with or without friends, other families or a religious person such as a priest or a ''pandit''.<ref name=husken/>
Samskaras are not considered as an end in themselves, but are means of social recognition as well as the passage of a person from one significant stage of life to another.<ref name=joyceflueckiger/> Various elements of ''samskaras'' and rituals of passage are mentioned in Vedas of Hinduism, one of the oldest known scriptures in the world. The most extensive, but divergent discussions of these rites of passage are found in the numerous Dharmasutras and Grhyasutras from the 1st millennium BCE.<ref name=joyceflueckiger>Joyce Flueckiger, Everyday Hinduism, John Wiley & Sons, {{ISBN|978-1405160117}}, pages 169-191</ref><ref>David Knipe (2015), Vedic Voices: Intimate Narratives of a Living Andhra Tradition, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199397693}}, pages 32-37</ref> Many of these rites of passage include formal ceremonies, with ritual readings of hymns, chants and ethical promises, aiming to orient the individual(s) to that which is considered part of dharma (right, good, just, moral, true, spiritual, responsible, duties to family members or society in general), and essential actions such as those associated with last rites and cremation, charitable works, or out of ''sraddha'' or items of faith.<ref name=joyceflueckiger/><ref name=maryhinduworld>Mary McGee (2007), Samskara, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Mittal and Thursby), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415772273}}, pages 332-356</ref>
===TPurpose=== Gautama Dharmasutra enumerates a large list of "forty outer karma samskaras" and "eight inner karma samskara (good qualities)", all of whom have the purpose of empowering a human being to discover, recognize and reach union with the Brahma-Atman (their Soul, Self, Highest Being).<ref name=pandeypurpose>Rajbali Pandey (1969, reprint 2003). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=iHG3mhGrKw4C The Hindu Sacraments (Saṁskāra)]'' in S. Radhakrishnan (ed.) ''The Cultural Heritage of India'', 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|81-85843-03-1}}, pages 31-33</ref> The ultimate purpose is to inculcate virtues, and samskaras are viewed in the Hindu tradition as means – not as ends – towards ripening and perfecting the human journey of life.<ref name=pandeypurpose/> The eight good qualities listed by Gautama Dharmasutra are emphasized as more important than the forty samskara rituals, in verses 8.21-8.25, as follows,
{{Quote| <poem> [...] (8.14-8.20) These are the forty ''sanskara'' (sacramentary rites). (8.21)
Next, the eight virtues of the self: (8.22) Compassion towards all creatures, patience, lack of envy, purity, tranquillity, having a positive disposition, generosity, and lack of possessiveness. (8.23) A man who has performed the forty ''sanskaras'' but lacks these eight virtues does not obtain union with Brahman. (8.24) A man who may have performed only some of the forty ''sanskaras'' but possesses these eight virtues, on the other hand, is sure to obtain union with Brahman. (8.25) </poem> |Gautama Dharma-sutras, Verses 8.14-8.25|Translated by Patrick Olivelle<ref name=patrick>Patrick Olivelle (2009), Dharmasutras - The Law Codes of Ancient India, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199555376}}, pages 90-91</ref>}}
===The 40 Samskaras=== The ''Gautama Dharmasutra'' list the following forty rituals as outer samskaras:<ref name=patrick/><ref>Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, page 20</ref> *Garbhadhana (conception), Pumsavana (rite celebrating the fetus), Simantonnayana (parting of pregnant woman's hair in 8th month), Jatakarman (rite celebrating the birth), Namakarana (naming the child), Annaprashana (baby's first feeding of solid food), Choulam (baby's first haircut, tonsure), and Upanayana (entry into school rite);<ref>Brian Smith (1986), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3270127 Ritual, Knowledge, and Being: Initiation and Veda Study in Ancient India], Numen, Vol. 33, Fasc. 1, pages 65-89</ref> *the four vows associated with Vedic study; *graduation ritual at the conclusion of school; *marriage sva-dharma rite; *five sacrifices to gods, ancestors, humans, spirits, and all knowledge; *seven remembrances and donations (sacrifices) using cooked food, in the form of ancestral offerings *seven remembrances and donations (sacrifices) in the presence of fire (yajna), to mark harvests, seasons and deities *seven kinds of Soma sacrifices: agnistoma, atyagnistoma, ukthya, sodasin, vajapeya, atiratra and aptoryama.
To obtain union with Brahman, one must also possess the eight virtues (compassion, patience, non-envy, purity of thought speech and body, inner calm and peace, positive attitude, generosity, and lack of possessiveness).
===The 16 samskaras=== There are diverse number of samskaras in Hinduism, varying by texts between 12 and 18 in the Grhyasutras (Kalpa sastras). Of these, 16 are referred to as "Shodasha Samskaras" ({{IAST|Ṣoḍaśa Saṃskāra}}).<ref name=pandey23>Rajbali Pandey (1969, reprint 2003). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=iHG3mhGrKw4C The Hindu Sacraments (Saṁskāra)]'' in S. Radhakrishnan (ed.) ''The Cultural Heritage of India'', 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|81-85843-03-1}}, page 23</ref>
====Intent to have a child ritual, Garbhadhana==== Garbhadhana (IAST: Garbhādhāna, Sanskrit: गर्भाधान), also called ''Garbhalambhanam'', literally means attaining the wealth of the womb.<ref name="pandeygarbha" /> It is a private rite of passage, marking the intent of a couple to have a child. It is a ceremony performed before conception and impregnation.<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput= garbhAdhAna&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 niSeka] Sanskrit - English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany</ref> In some ancient texts, the word simply refers to the rite of passage where the couple have sex to have a child, and no ceremonies are mentioned.<ref name="benner" /> Scholars trace this rite to Vedic hymns, such as those in sections 8.35.10 through 8.35.12 of the Rigveda, where repeated prayers for progeny and prosperity are solemnized,<ref name="pandeygarbha">Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pages 48-56 with footnotes</ref>
{{Quote| प्रजां च धत्तं द्रविणं च धत्तम्<br> bestow upon us progeny and affluence |Rig Veda 8.35.10 - 8.35.12, Translated by Ralph Griffith<ref>Sanskrit: [http://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_८.३५ ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं ८.३५] Wikisource;<br>English: Rigveda Mandala 8, Hymn 35 Ralph Griffith (translator), Wikisource</ref>}}
The Vedic texts have many passages, where the hymn solemnizes the desire for having a child, without specifying the gender of the child. For example, the Rigveda in section 10.184 states,<ref name="pandeygarbha" />
{{Quote| <poem> विष्णुर्योनिं कल्पयतु त्वष्टा रूपाणि पिंशतु । आ सिञ्चतु प्रजापतिर्धाता गर्भं दधातु ते <nowiki>॥१॥ गर्भं धेहि सिनीवालि गर्भं धेहि सरस्वति । गर्भं ते अश्विनौ देवावा धत्तां पुष्करस्रजा ॥२॥ हिरण्ययी अरणी यं निर्मन्थतो अश्विना । तं ते गर्भं हवामहे दशमे मासि सूतवे ॥३॥</nowiki> May Vishnu construct the womb, may Twashtri fabricate the member, may Prajapati sprinkle the seed, may Dhatri cherish thy embryo; Sustain the embryo Sinivali, sustain the embryo Saraswati, may the divine Aswins, garlanded with lotuses, sustain thy embryo; We invoke thy embryo which the Aswins have churned with the golden pieces of Arani (firewood), that thou mayest bring it forth in the tenth month. </poem> |Rig Veda 10.184.1 - 10.184.3, Translated by HH Wilson<ref>Sanskrit: [http://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.१८४ ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं १०.१८४] Wikisource;<br>English: [https://archive.org/stream/rigvedasanhitc06wils#page/410/mode/2up Rigveda Mandala 10, Hymn 184] HH Wilson (translator), Trubner London, pages 410-411</ref>}}
The desire for progeny, without mentioning gender, is in many other books of the Rigveda, such as the hymn 10.85.37. The Atharva Veda, similarly in verse 14.2.2, states a ritual invitation to the wife, by her husband to mount the bed for conception, "being happy in mind, here mount the bed; give birth to children for me, your husband".<ref name="pandeygarbha" /> Later texts, such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, in the last chapter detailing the education of a student, include lessons for his Grihastha stage of life.<ref name="deussen">Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, pages 534-539</ref> There, the student is taught, that as a husband, he should cook rice for the wife, and they together eat the food in certain way depending on whether they wish for the birth of a daughter or a son, as follows,<ref name="deussen" />
{{Quote| <poem> And if a man wishes that a learned daughter should be born to him, and that she should live to her full age, then after having prepared boiled rice with sesamum and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring.
And if a man wishes that a learned son should be born to him, and that he should live his full age, then after having prepared boiled rice with meat and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring. </poem> |Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 6.4.17 - 6.4.18, Translated by Max Muller<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/218/mode/2up Brihadaranyaka Upanishad VI Adhyaya 4 Brahmana 17 and 18] Max Muller (translator), Oxford University Press, pages 219-220</ref>}} According to Shankaracharya, rather than meat the inner pulp of two fruits is cooked with rice.{{Citation needed|date=December 2025}}
The different Grhyasutras differ in their point of view, whether the garbhadhana is to be performed only once, before the first conception, or every time before the couple plan to have additional children.<ref name="pandeygk">Rajbali Pandey (1969), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0396-1}}, pages 56–58</ref> To answer this question, the medieval era texts of various schools discussed and offered diverse views on whether the ritual is a rite of passage for the baby's anticipation in the womb (''garbha''), or for the wife (''kshetra'').<ref name="pandeygk" /> A rite of passage of the baby would imply that ''Garbhadhana'' samskara is necessary for each baby and therefore every time the couple intend to have a new baby, while a rite of passage of the wife would imply a one time ritual suffices.<ref name="pandeygk" />
====Nurturing the fetus rite, Pumsavana==== Pumsavana (IAST: puṃsavana, Sanskrit: पुंसवन) is a composite word of ''Pums'' + ''savana''. ''Pums'' as a noun means "a man, a human being, a soul or spirit", while ''savana'' means "ceremony, rite, oblation, festival".<ref>[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/tamil/recherche puMs and savana] Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany</ref> Pumsavana literally means "rite for a strong or male baby", usually translated as "nurturing a male fetus, bringing forth a male baby".<ref>Mary McGee (2007), Samskara, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Mittal and Thursby), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415772273}}, page 335</ref> It is a ritual conducted when the pregnancy begins to show, typically in or after the third month of pregnancy and usually before the fetus starts moving in the womb. The ceremony celebrates the rite of passage of the developing fetus, marking the stage where the baby begins to kick as a milestone in a baby's development.
The roots of the ''pumsavana'' ritual are found in section 4.3.23 and 4.6.2 of the Atharva Veda, wherein charms are recited for a baby boy.<ref name="mauriceb">Maurice Bloomfield, {{Google book|voQ5AQAAMAAJ|Hymns of the Atharva Veda}}, Oxford University Press, pages 97-99</ref> The Atharva Veda also contains charms to be recited for the birth of a child of either gender and the prevention of miscarriages, such as in section 4.6.17.<ref name="mauriceb" />
The ritual is performed in diverse ways, but all involve the husband serving something to the expectant wife. In one version, she is fed a paste mixture of yoghurt, milk and ''ghee'' (clarified butter) by him.<ref>Ute Hüsken, Will Sweetman and Manfred Krüger (2009), Viṣṇu's Children: Prenatal Life-cycle Rituals in South India, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447058544}}, page 123</ref> In another version, the ''pumsavana'' ritual is more elaborate, done in the presence of yajna fire and vedic chants, where the husband places a drop of Banyan leaf extract in the wife's right nostril for a son, and her left nostril for a daughter, followed by a feast for all present.<ref>Helene Stork (Editor: Julia Leslie), Roles and Rituals for Hindu Women, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120810365}}, pages 92-93</ref><ref>B Rama Rao, {{Google books|A5lNAQAAIAAJ|Bulletin of the Indian Institute of History of Medicine}}, Vol. 33-34, page 153</ref>
The time prescribed for the ''pumsavana'' differs in different Grhyasutras, and can be extended up to the eighth month of pregnancy, according to some.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}
====Parting hair and baby shower, Simantonnayana==== Simantonnayana (IAST: Sīmantonnayana, Sanskrit: सीमन्तोन्नयन), also called ''Simanta'' or ''Simantakarana'', literally means "parting the hair upwards".<ref name="pvkanesiman">PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n279/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VI], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 222-224</ref><ref name="pandeysimanta">Rajbali Pandey (1969), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0396-1}}, pages 64-65</ref> The significance of the ritual is to wish a healthy development of the baby and safe delivery to the mother.<ref name="marymcgeesiman">Mary McGee (2007), Samskara, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Mittal and Thursby), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415772273}}, page 341</ref>
''Simantonnayana'' ritual is described in many Gryhasutra texts, but Kane states that there is great divergence in details, which may be because the rite of passage emerged in more a recent era, before it receded into the background.<ref name="pvkanesiman" /> The texts do not agree on whether this rite of passage was to be celebrated before or after ''pumsavana'', early or late stage of pregnancy, or the nature of ritual celebrations.<ref name="pvkanesiman" /> The texts also disagree whether ''Simantonnayana'' was a rite of passage of the baby or of the pregnant woman, the former implying it must be repeated for every baby while the latter implying it was to be observed once for the woman with her first pregnancy.<ref name="pvkanesiman" /><ref name="pandeysimanta" />
The common element was the husband and wife getting together, with friends and family, then he parts her hair upwards at least three times. In modern times, the "parting hair" rite of passage is rarely observed, and when observed it is called ''Atha-gulem'' and done in the 8th month, with flowers and fruits, to cheer the woman in the late stages of her pregnancy.<ref>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n283/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VI], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, page 226</ref> The ritual has more commonly evolved into a ritual that shares characteristics of a baby shower, where the friends and relatives of the woman meet, acknowledge and satisfy the food cravings of the expectant woman, and give gifts to the mother and the baby in the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy.<ref name="marymcgeesiman" /><ref>James B. Robinson (2004), Hinduism, {{ISBN|978-0791078587}}, page 83</ref> Yåjñavalkya Smriti verse 3.79 asserts that the desires of the pregnant woman should be satisfied for healthy development of the baby, to prevent miscarriage and her health.<ref name="marymcgeesiman" /> After the ''Simantonnayana'' ritual or in the last months of the pregnancy, the woman is expected to not overexert herself, her husband is expected to be by her and not to travel to distant lands.<ref name="marymcgeesiman" /> This rite of passage is regionally called by various names, such as ''Seemant'', ''Godh bharai'', ''Seemantham'' or ''Valaikaapu''.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/Pregnant-Kanica-Maheshwari-to-have-a-real-godh-bharai-on-her-TV-show/articleshow/45809651.cms Pregnant Kanica Maheshwari to have a real godh-bharai on her TV show] The Times of India</ref>
====Childbirth ceremony, Jatakarman==== Jātakarman literally means "rite of a new-born infant".<ref>[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/ jAtakarman], Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, (2008 revision), Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany</ref><ref name="apte">[http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/search3advanced?dbname=apte&query=jAtakarman&matchtype=exact&display=utf8 jAtakarman] Apte Sanskrit English Dictionary, University of Chicago</ref> It is a rite of passage that celebrates the birth of the baby.<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=jAtakarman&direction=SE&link=yes&choice=yes jAtakarman] Cologne Sanskrit Digital Lexicon, Germany</ref> It is the first post-natal rite of passage of the new born baby. It signifies the baby's birth, as well as the bonding of the father with the baby.<ref name="kathyjackson">Kathy Jackson (2005), Rituals and Patterns in Children's Lives, University of Wisconsin Press, {{ISBN|978-0299208301}}, page 46</ref> In Hindu traditions, a human being is born at least twice – one at physical birth through mother's womb, and second at intellectual birth through teacher's care, the first is marked through ''Jatakarman'' samskara ritual, the second is marked through ''Vidyarambha'' or ''Upanayana'' samskara ritual.<ref name="maryhinduworld" /> During a traditional ''Jātakarman'' ritual, the father welcomes the baby by touching the baby's lips with honey and ghee (clarified butter), as Vedic hymns are recited. The first significance of the hymns is ''medhajanana'' (Sanskrit: मेधाजनन), or to initiate the baby's mind and intellect in the womb of the world, after the baby's body formation has completed in the womb of the mother. The second part of the hymns wish the baby a long life.<ref name="kathyjackson" />
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, in the last chapter detailing lessons for Grihastha stage of life for a student, describes this rite of passage, in verses 6.4.24 to 6.4.27, as follows,<ref name="deussen" /> thumb|A new born's Namakarana ceremony. The grandmother is whispering the name into the baby's ear, while friends and family watch. {{Quote| <poem> When a child is born, he prepares the fire, places the child on his lap, and having poured ''Prishadajya'' of ''Dahi'' (yoghurt) and ''Ghrita'' (clarified butter), into a metal jug, he sacrifices the mix into the fire, saying: "May I, as I prosper in this my house, nourish a thousand ! May fortune never fail in its race, with offspring and cattle, Svah ! I offer to thee [the baby] in my mind the vital breaths which are in me, Svah ! Whatever in my work I have done too much, or whatever I have done too little, may the wise Agni make it right, make it proper, Svah !" </poem> |Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 6.4.24<ref name=deussen/><ref name=maxmullerjatakarama>Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/222/mode/2up Brihadaranyaka Upanishad VI Adhyaya 4 Brahmana 24], Oxford University Press, pages 222-224 with footnotes</ref>}}
The Upanishad includes prayer to deity Saraswati during this rite of passage, the goddess of knowledge and wisdom in Hindu tradition. It also includes the threefold repetition of "Speech Speech" with the assertion to the baby, "You are the Vedas! so, live a hundred autumns", into the baby's ear by the father.<ref name="kathyjackson" /><ref name="maxmullerjatakarama" /> At the end of the ritual pronouncements by the father, he gives the baby to the mother's breast for feeding.<ref name="deussen" /><ref name="maxmullerjatakarama" />
While the earliest Dharmasutras list Jatakarma and Namakarama as two different samskara, they evolve into one in many Gryhasutra texts. By Pantanjali's time, these two rites of passage had merged into one, and completed within the first two weeks of the baby's birth, usually about the tenth day.<ref>Hermann Oldenberg, Friedrich Max Müller, {{Google book|_X9KAAAAYAAJ|Sankhayana Grihya Sutra}}, in The Grihya-sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, pages 51-52</ref>
====Naming the baby ritual, Namakarana==== Namakarana (IAST: Nāmakaraṇa, Sanskrit: नामकरण) literally means "ceremony of naming a child".<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=nAmakaraNa&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 nAmakaraNa] Cologne Sanskrit Digital Lexicon</ref> This rite of passage is usually done on the eleventh or twelfth day after birth, and sometimes the first new moon or full moon day after the tenth day of birth.<ref name="kanenama" /> On the day of this samskara, the infant is bathed and dressed in new garments.<ref name="marynama" /> His or her formal name, selected by the parents, is announced. The naming ritual solemnizes the child as an individual, marking the process by which a child is accepted and socialized by people around him or her. The Satapatha Brahmana verse 6.1.3.9 asserts that the naming ceremony is a cleansing ceremony for the baby. The rite of passage also includes a gathering of friends and relatives of the new parents, where gifts are presented, and a feast follows.<ref name="marynama">Mary McGee (2007), Samskara, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Mittal and Thursby), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415772273}}, pages 342-343</ref>
The ancient Sanskrit texts provide numerous and divergent guidelines to the parents for choosing names.<ref name="kanenama" /> Most recommend that the boy's name be two or four syllables, starting with a sonant, a semivowel in the middle, and ending in a visarga. A girl's name is recommended to be an odd number of syllables, ending in a long ''ā'' or ''ī'', resonant and easy to pronounce.<ref name="kanenama">PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n295/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VI], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 238-254</ref> Unpleasant, inauspicious, or words that easily transform into bad or evil words must be avoided, state the Gryhasutras, while the preferred names are those affiliated with a deity, virtues, good qualities, lucky stars, constellation, derivatives of the name of the father, or mother, or the place of birth, or beautiful elements of nature (trees, flowers, birds).<ref name="kanenama" /><ref name="marynama" />
====Baby's first outing, Nishkramana==== Nishkramana (IAST: Niṣkrāmaṇa, Sanskrit: निष्क्रम) literally means "going out, coming forth",<ref>[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/mwquery/ niSkrama] Monier Williams</ref> is the rite of passage where the parents take the baby outside the home and the baby formally meets the world for the first time.<ref name="marynama" /><ref name="kanenish" /> It is usually observed during the fourth month after birth. On this ritual occasion the newborn is taken out and shown the sun at sunrise or sunset, or the moon, or both. Alternatively, some families take the baby to a temple for the first time.<ref name="marynama" /> The rite of passage involves bathing the baby and dressing him or her in new clothes. The baby's outing is accompanied by both the mother and the father, siblings if any, as well some nearby loved ones, such as grandparents and friends.<ref name="kanenish" /><ref>Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pages 315-321</ref>
[[File:Choroonu 02.jpg|thumb|Annaprashanam is the rite of passage where the baby is fed solid food for the first time. The ritual has regional names, such as Choroonu in Kerala.]] The significance of ''Niskramana'' and showing the baby heavenly bodies is derived from their significance of Sun, Moon and nature in the Vedic literature.<ref name="kanenish" /> At the time the baby is present before the sunrise or moon, it is the father who holds the baby and recites a hymn that means, "the brilliant sun has risen in the east, he is like the ''hamsa'' (swan) of the pure worlds, let us salute him, because he dispels darkness".<ref name="kanenish" /> When the baby is in presence of the moon, the father says, "O Moon, thou whose hair is well parted, let this child come to no harm, nor torn from the mother".<ref name="kanenish">PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n311/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VI], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 255-256</ref>
====Baby's first solid food, Annaprashana==== Annaprashana (IAST: Annaprāśana, Sanskrit: अन्नप्राशन) literally means "feeding of food", and the rite of passage marks the first time a baby eats solid food, typically containing cooked rice.<ref name="marynama" /> Most Gryhasutras recommend this ritual in the sixth month, or when the child shows the first teeth, with slow weaning of the baby from breast feeding to other sources of food.<ref name="marynama" /><ref name="kaneanna" /> Some texts recommend continued breast feeding of the child, as the child adapts to the various foods. The ritual is usually celebrated with cooked rice, in a paste of honey, ghee and curd.<ref name="kaneanna" /><ref>Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pages 89-94</ref> Sankhyayana Gryhasutra recommends that fish, goat or partridge meat gravy be added to the solid food that baby tastes for the first time, while Manava Gryhasutra is silent about the use of meat.<ref name="kaneanna" /> The mother eats with the baby, the same food. The father sits with them and participates in the rite of passage. The rite of passage, in some texts, include charity and feeding of the poor, and ceremonial prayers by both parents.<ref name="kaneanna">PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n313/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VI], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 256-258</ref>
====Baby's first haircut, Chudakarana==== thumb|A baby's first haircut is called ''choulam'' samskara. Chudakarana (IAST: Cūḍākaraṇa, Sanskrit: चूड़ाकरण) (literally, rite of tonsure), also known as ''choulam'', ''caula'', ''chudakarma'', ''mundana'' or "mundan sanskar" is the rite of passage that marks the child's first haircut, typically the shaving of the head.<ref name="marynama" /> The mother dresses up, sometimes in her wedding sari, and with the father present, the baby's hair is cut and the nails are trimmed.<ref name="kanechou" /> Sometimes, a tuft of hair is left to cover the soft spot near the top of baby's head.<ref name="marynama" /><ref name="kanechou" />
The significance of this rite of passage is the baby's cyclical step to hygiene and cleanliness.<ref>Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pages 94-95</ref> The ritual is seen as a passage of purity. It is typically done about the first birthday, but some texts recommend that it be completed before the third or the seventh year.<ref name="kanechou" /> Sometimes, this ritual is combined with the rite of passage of Upanayana, initiation to formal schooling.<ref name="marynama" /> The ritual may include recitation of prayers for the child's long life and happiness.<ref name="kanechou">PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n317/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VI], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 260-265</ref>
====Baby's earlobe piercing rite, Karnavedha==== thumb|A Hindu girl after her Karnavedha rite of passage (ear piercing) Karnavedha (IAST: Karṇavedha, Sanskrit: कर्णवेध) literally means "ear-piercing".<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=karNavedha&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning= karNavedha] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon</ref> This is a minor rite of passage that is not mentioned in most Gryha-sutras.<ref name="marynama" /><ref>Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pages 102-105</ref> Those that mention it state different schedules, with some suggesting the ritual within the first four weeks after birth, others suggesting within the first year.<ref name="marynama" /><ref name="kanekarna">PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n311/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VI], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 254-255</ref> The purpose of this optional ritual is primarily an ornamentation of the body, and it is part of the baby's socialization process and culture emersion. The piercing is usually done with a clean gold thread, or silver needle.<ref name="marynama" /><ref name="kanekarna" />
For a baby boy, the right earlobe is pierced first.<ref name="marynama" /> For a baby girl, the left earlobe is. In case of girls, the left nostril may also be pierced during this ritual.<ref name="marynama" /><ref name="kanekarna" /> The piercing of the earlobes symbolically reminds the child, as he or she grows up, of beauty and social presence, of the importance of hearing and speech in the wisdom of the Vedas.<ref name="marynama" />
====Child's commencement to knowledge, Vidyarambha==== Vidyarambha (IAST: Vidyāraṃba, Sanskrit: विद्यारम्भ) literally means "beginning of study". It is also known as ''Akshararambha'', ''Aksharaabhyaasa'', or ''Aksharasvikara''. It is a ritual that celebrates as a milestone, the child's formal attempt to learn means of knowledge.<ref name="kanevidya">PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n323/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VI], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 266-267</ref> This includes steps where the child, helped by the parents and other family members, does one or more of the following: writes letters of the mother-tongue, draws mathematical numbers or shapes, and plays a musical instrument.<ref name="pandeyvidya" />
The oldest texts that describe rites of passage, such as the Dharmasutras, make no mention of ''Vidyarambha'' and go direct to ''Upanayana'' ritual at the eighth year.<ref name="kanevidya" /> The later texts, such as the ''Samsakara Prakasha'', from the first centuries of 1st millennium CE, mention ''Vidyarambha'' as a rite of passage in the fifth year of a child's life, suggesting that the process of learning started shifting to an earlier age of a child with time. The ceremony is observed on the same day for all children in their fifth year, on the day of Vijayadasami which is on the tenth of the Hindu month Ashvin (September–October).<ref name="kanevidya" /><ref name="pandeyvidya" /> It includes a prayer to goddess Saraswati and deity Ganesh,<ref name="kanevidya" /> a teacher is invited or the parents themselves work with the child to write ''Lipi'' (letters of the alphabet), draw ''Samkhya'' (numbers) or pictures, and sometimes play with an instrument.<ref name="pandeyvidya">Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pages 106-108</ref><ref>RK Mookerji (2011), Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120804234}}, page 173-174</ref> In modern times, parents mark this rite of passage in the third year of the child.<ref>James Lochtefeld, "Vidyarambha", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0823931798}}, page 750</ref>
====Child's entrance into school, Upanayana==== thumb|Upanayana samskara ceremony in progress. Typically, this ritual was for eight-year-olds in ancient India, but in the 1st millennium CE it became open to all ages.<ref name="haroldcoward">Harold Coward et al (1997), Religious Dimensions of Child and Family Life, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, {{ISBN|978-1550581041}}, page 67</ref> Upanayana (IAST:Upanayana, Sanskrit: उपनयन) literally means "the act of leading to or near".<ref name="mmwupa">[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/tamil/recherche upanyana] Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, Cologne Sanskrit Digital Lexicon, Germany</ref> It is an important and widely discussed samskara in ancient Sanskrit text.<ref name="kaneupan" /> The rite of passage symbolizes the leading or drawing towards the self of a child, in a school, by a teacher.<ref name="mmwupa" /> It is a ceremony in which a Guru (teacher) accepts and draws a child towards knowledge and initiates the second birth that is of the young mind and spirit.<ref name="kaneupan" />
Upanayana was an elaborate ceremony, that included rituals involving the family, the child and the teacher. During this ceremony, a boy receives a sacred thread called ''Yajñopaveetam'', that he wears. ''Yajñopavita'' ceremony announced that the child had entered into formal education.<ref name="kaneupan2" /><ref>Ram Chandra Prasad (1997), The Upanayana: The Hindu Ceremonies of the Sacred Thread, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120812406}}, pages 119-131</ref> In the modern era, the Upanayana rite of passage is open to anyone at any age.<ref name="haroldcoward" />
Rajbali Pandey compares the Upanayana rite of passage to Baptism in Christianity where the person is born again unto spiritual knowledge, in addition to it being the ancient Indian rite of passage for the start of formal education of writing, numbers, reading, Vedangas, arts and other skills.<ref name="pandeyupan">Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pages 111-117</ref> The ''Upanayana'' rite of passage was also important to the teacher, as the student would therefrom begin to live in the ''Gurukul'' (school).<ref name="kaneupan">PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n325/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VII], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 268-287</ref> Many medieval era texts discuss Upanayana in the context of three ''Varnas'' – Brahmins, Kshtreyas and Vaishyas.<ref name="pandeyupan" /> Several texts such as ''Sushruta Sutrasthana'', however, also include Sudras entering schools and the formal education process,<ref>RK Mookerji (2011), Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120804234}}, pages 270-271</ref> stating that the Upanayana samskara was open to everyone.<ref name="kaneupan2">PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n345/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VII], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 288-300</ref><ref>Hartmut Scharfe (2007), Handbook of Oriental Studies, Brill Academic, {{ISBN|978-9004125568}}, pages 102-103, 197-198, 263-276</ref> The upanayana ceremony extended to women, in ancient Sanskrit texts, and the girls who underwent this rite of passage then pursued studies were called ''Brahmavadini''.<ref name="pvkaneyajnow" /> Those who did not performed upanayana ceremony at the time of their wedding. Instead of sacred thread, girls would wear their robe (now called sari or saree) in the manner of the sacred thread, that is over her left shoulder during this rite of passage.<ref name="pvkaneyajnow">PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/HistoryOfDharmasastraancientAndMediaevalReligiousAndCivilLawV.2.1/Kane_A-History-of-Dharmasastra-v2-1_1941#page/n349/mode/2up History of Dharmasastra] Volume 2.1, 1st Edition, pages 293-295</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/grihyasutrasrule02olde#page/44/mode/2up Grihya sutra of Gobhila] Verse 2.1.19, Herman Oldenberg & Max Muller (Translator), The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 30, Part 2, Oxford University Press, page 44</ref>
The education of a student was not limited to ritual and philosophical speculations found in the Vedas and the Upanishads. They extended to many arts and crafts, which had their own but similar rites of passages.<ref name="stella">Stella Kramrisch (1958), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/538558 Traditions of the Indian Craftsman], The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 71, No. 281, pages 224-230</ref> Aitareya Brahmana, Agamas and Puranas literature of Hinduism describe these as ''Shilpa Sastras'', and they extend to all practical aspects of culture, such as the sculptor, the potter, the perfumer, the wheelwright, the painter, the weaver, the architect, the dancer, and the musician. Ancient Indian texts assert that the number of the arts is unlimited, but each deploy elements of 64 ''kala'' (कला, techniques) and 32 ''vidyas'' (विद्या, fields of knowledge).<ref name="stella" /> The training of these began from childhood, and included studies about dharma, culture, reading, writing, mathematics, geometry, colors, tools, as well as traditions (trade secrets). The rites of passage during apprentice education varied in the respective guilds.<ref>Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120802223}}</ref><ref>Heather Elgood (2000), Hinduism and the religious arts, {{ISBN|978-0304707393}}, Bloomsbury Academic, pages 32-134</ref>
====Vedarambha==== Praishartha (or Vedarambha) is the rite of passage that marked the start of learning the Vedas and Upanishads in ''Gurukulam'' or ''Pathashala'' (school). It was a fire ritual (''yajna''), where the teacher and the student sat together, with the teacher reciting initiation hymns and the student following. This ritual is missing in older texts, and Pandey suggests that the later tradition recognized the difference between getting accepted in a school, and the actual start of Veda studies when the student is ready to learn those texts.<ref>Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, page 142</ref> In ancient India, the student's preparation involved helping with school chores, living a simple life, going to villages and towns to seek donations of food (''Bhiksha''), collect and bring water, collect fuel sticks for cooking, general maintenance of the school and share the food he and others collect with his teacher and the student community. These were on-going rituals of living at living, and not considered as a distinct rite of passage.<ref>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n365/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VII], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 308-312</ref> Prior to the initiation of the Veda study, the student learnt the vocabulary, grammar and other basic studies. The emphasis of the stage where the student started Veda study was both the memorization and know the meaning of each hymn, verse or mantra.<ref>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n413/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VII], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 356-357</ref> Vedarambha marked the actual start of the Veda study.<ref>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n377/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VII], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 321-334</ref>
Some texts describes two rituals each academic period (school year), one marking the start of Vedic studies each year, called Upakarma or ''Upakarana''. The other ceremony was held at the end of each academic period, called ''Utasarjanam'' or ''Utsarga'' or ''Samapana'', and marked the suspension of the Veda studies for a certain period of the year.<ref name="kaneupak">PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/HistoryOfDharmashastras-PVKaneVol2Part2#page/n109/mode/2up Upakarana, Chapter XXIII], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part II, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 807-811</ref> The start of school ceremony, the Upakarma was observed in the month of Sravana (August) every year.<ref name="kaneupak" /> It was held in the morning, and attended by the students, the teacher, people in the Grihastha stage (householders, parents) and Vanaprastha stage of life (retired, grandparents).<ref name="kaneupak" /> The ''Utsarga'', closing the study year, was held in the month of Magha (about February).<ref>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/HistoryOfDharmashastras-PVKaneVol2Part2#page/n117/mode/2up Upakarana, Chapter XXIII], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part II, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 815-818</ref>
====Keshanta and Ritusuddhi==== thumb|A Tamil Hindu girl (center) in 1870 wearing a half-saree, flowers and jewelry from her ''Ritu Kala samskara'' rite of passage Keshanta (IAST: Keśānta) (literally, getting rid of hairs) is the first shave of a youth's facial hair. This was typically observed about age sixteen, and the emerging beard and moustache were shaved. The ceremony included gift giving such as to the barber and the teacher at his school.<ref name="pandeykesh">Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pages 143-145</ref> The coming of age ceremony ended with the student reciting his vow of chastity and the code of Brahmacharya.<ref name="pandeykesh" />
Ritusuddhi, also called as ''Ritu Kala Samskara'', is the corresponding coming of age ceremony for girls, after menarche or first menstruation. This milestone in a girl's life is observed by her family and friends, with gifts and her wearing a sari for the ritual.<ref>[http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=4043 Sacred Samskaras] Rajbali Pandey, Hinduism Today, May/June 2001</ref><ref>Heidi Munan (2012), Hindu Puberty Rites in CultureShock! Malaysia: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette, {{ISBN|978-1558680708}}, page 74</ref> The rite of passage is celebrated{{Among whom|date=December 2025}}, in modern times, as a "half-saree party" where the female relatives and friends of the girl gather, and she receives and wears a half-saree and other gifts. Thereafter, at ceremonious events, she wears the half-sarees, until her marriage when she puts on a full ''Sari''.<ref>Lene Jensen (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Human Development and Culture, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199948550}}, page 328</ref>
====Graduation ceremony, Samavartana==== Samavartana (IAST: Samāvartana), or ''Snana'', is the ceremony associated with the end of formal education and the Brahmacharya asrama of life. This rite of passage includes a ceremonial bath.<ref>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n461/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VII], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 405-408</ref> This ceremony marked the end of school, but did not imply immediate start of married life. Typically, significant time elapsed between exiting the Brahmacharya stage of life and the entering of Grihastha stage of life.<ref>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n465/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VII], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, page 408</ref>
Anyone who had complete this rite of passage was considered a ''Vidyasnataka'' (literally, bathed in knowledge, or showered with learning), and symbolized as one who had crossed the ocean of learning.<ref>Kathy Jackson (2005), Rituals and Patterns in Children's Lives, University of Wisconsin Press, {{ISBN|978-0299208301}}, page 52</ref> This ceremony was a gathering of students and teacher. The student asked the teacher for any gift (''guru-dakshina'') he desired, which if specified was the student's responsibility to deliver over his lifetime.<ref>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n463/mode/2up Snana or Samavartana, Chapter VII], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 406-409</ref> Then, after a recitation of a graduate's dharma (snataka-dharma)<ref>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n469/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VII], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 412-417 (note: link has missing pages)</ref> and a fire ritual, the graduate took a bath. The ceremony occurred after completion of at least 12 years of school, that is either about age 21 or later.
Taittiriya Upanishad describes, in the eleventh anuvaka of Shiksha Valli, the ''snataka-dharma'' recitation emphasized by the teacher to a graduate at this rite of passage.<ref name="ssastri1112" /><ref name="pauldeussentu1112" /> The verses ask the graduate to take care of themselves and pursue Dharma, Artha and Kama to the best of their abilities. Parts of the verses in section 1.11.1, for example, state<ref name="ssastri1112" /> {{Quote| <poem> Never err from Truth, Never err from Dharma, Never neglect your well-being, Never neglect your health, Never neglect your prosperity, Never neglect ''Svādhyāya'' (study of oneself) and ''Pravacana'' (exposition of Vedas). </poem> |Taittirĩya Upanishad, I.11.1<ref name=ssastri1112>[https://archive.org/stream/AitareyataittiriyaUpanishadsWithShankaraBhashya-English/05AitareyataittiriyaUpanishadsWithShankaraBhashya-English#page/n93/mode/2up Taittiriya Upanishad] SS Sastri (Translator), The Aitereya and Taittiriya Upanishad, pages 89-92</ref><ref name=pauldeussentu1112>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, pages 229-231</ref>}}
The eleventh anuvaka of ''Shiksha Valli'' list behavioral guidelines for the graduating students from a ''gurukul'',<ref name="roberthume" /><ref>Original: मातृदेवो भव । पितृदेवो भव । आचार्यदेवो भव । अतिथिदेवो भव । यान्यनवद्यानि कर्माणि तानि सेवितव्यानि । नो इतराणि । यान्यस्माकँ सुचरितानि तानि त्वयोपास्यानि । नो इतराणि ॥ २ ॥; [http://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद् Taittiriya Upanishad (Sanskrit)], Wikisource</ref> {{Quote| <poem> Be one to whom a mother is as god, be one to whom a father is as god, Be one to whom an ''Acharya'' (spiritual guide, scholars you learn from) is as god, Be one to whom a guest is as god.<ref name=roberthume>[https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n301/mode/2up Taittiriya Upanishad] Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Robert Hume (Translator), pages 281-282</ref> Let your actions be uncensurable, none else. Those acts that you consider good when done to you, do those to others, none else. </poem> |Taittirĩya Upanishad, I.11.2<ref name=ssastri1112>[https://archive.org/stream/AitareyataittiriyaUpanishadsWithShankaraBhashya-English/05AitareyataittiriyaUpanishadsWithShankaraBhashya-English#page/n93/mode/2up Taittiriya Upanishad] SS Sastri (Translator), The Aitereya and Taittiriya Upanishad, pages 89-92</ref><ref name=pauldeussentu1112>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, pages 229-231</ref>}}
The third section of the eleventh anuvaka lists charity and giving, with faith, sympathy, modesty and cheerfulness, as ethical precept for the graduating students at the ''Samavartana'' rite of passage.<ref name="pauldeussentu1112" />
====Vivaha==== [[File:Hindu wedding ceremony fire.jpg|right|thumb|A rite of passage with yajna ceremony often marks a Hindu wedding.]] Vivaha (IAST: Vivāha, Sanskrit: विवाह) is the rite of passage and rituals associated with marriage.<ref name="bbc2009">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/ritesrituals/weddings.shtml BBC News article on Hinduism & Weddings], Nawal Prinja (24 August 2009)</ref><ref name="rjb1969">Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, Rajbali Pandey (1969), see Chapter VIII, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pages 153-233</ref> While there are many rituals in Hinduism, ''vivaha'' (wedding) is the most extensive personal ritual an adult Hindu undertakes in his or her life.<ref>Rajbali Pandey (1969), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0396-1}}, see Chapter VIII, pages 153–233</ref><ref>James G. Lochtefeld (2001), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, Rosen Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-8239-3179-8}}, page 427</ref>
The wedding rites and ceremonies begin with the engagement of a couple, and extend to rites of passage after the completion of wedding. They are typically very colorful, and celebrations may extend for several days.<ref name="ft2008">[https://www.ft.com/content/7498e59c-2233-11dd-a50a-000077b07658 Sari nights and henna parties], Amy Yee, The Financial Times, 17 May 2008</ref> The detailed rituals and process in a Hindu wedding vary. Nevertheless, there are a few key rituals common in Hindu weddings - ''Kanyadana'', ''Panigrahana'', and ''Saptapadi'', which are respectively, giving away of daughter by the father, voluntarily holding hand near the fire to signify union, and taking seven steps with each step includes a vow/promise to each other before fire. The Vivaha samskara is essentially a Vedic yajna ritual, with recitation of Vedic hymns. The primary witness of a Hindu marriage is the Vedic fire-deity ''Agni'', in the presence of family and friends.<ref name="historyindia2011">Bajpai, Shiva (2011). ''[http://www.himalayanacademy.com/media/books/the-history-of-hindu-india/the-history-of-hindu-india.pdf The History of India - From Ancient to Modern Times]'', Himalayan Academy Publications (Hawaii, USA), {{ISBN|978-1-934145-38-8}}; see pages 4, 73-74</ref>
Post-wedding rites of passage include ''Grihapravesha'' – the welcoming of the bride to her new home by groom's mother, father, brother(s), or sister(s), and other relatives. ''Chaturthikarma'' – literally, "the rite performed on the fourth day after wedding", is the rite where the first domestic fire is lit marking the food-related householder life of the new couple.<ref>Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pages 224-225</ref>
The act of first sexual intercourse after the wedding, is known as ''nishekam''.<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=niSeka&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 niSeka] Sanskrit - English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany</ref><ref>Jörg Gengnagel and Ute Hüsken (2005), Words and Deeds: Hindu and Buddhist Rituals in South Asia, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447051521}}, pages 155-156</ref>
====Vratas==== Vrata literally means a vow or practice, any pious observance, act of devotion or austerity such as fasting.<ref>[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/tamil/recherche vrata] Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany</ref> These were cyclical rites of passage of those in Grihastha (householder) stage of life, typically as reminder of some pious action, reflective, spiritual side of life. Most Gryhasutras and several Smritis include four Veda-vratas as samskara after graduation, as means of continuing self-education.<ref name=kanevrata/> The four ''Vratas'' includes Sukriya (study Rigveda), Sakvara, Vratika and Upanishad Vrata. The rite of passage ceremony for each of these marked the start of the self study by the householder, which lasted between 1, 3, 6 or 9 years each.<ref name=kanevrata>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n427/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VII], History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 370-375</ref>
===Cremation ritual, Antyeshti=== Antyesti (IAST: Antayeṣṭi, Sanskrit: अन्त्येष्टि) (literally, last rites or last sacrifice), sometimes referred to as ''Antima Samskaram'', ''Antya-kriya'', ''Anvarohanyya'', or ''Vahni samskara'', are the rituals associated with funeral.<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=funeral+&trans=Translate&direction=AU Antayesti] Cologne Sanskrit Digital Lexicon, Germany</ref> This samskara is not mentioned in the lists of samskaras in most of the grhyasutras and other texts that discuss samskaras. The details and procedures of this rite are given in separate texts,{{which|date=April 2015}} dealing only with this topic.
A dead adult Hindu is mourned with a cremation, while a dead child is typically buried.<ref name=olsonant/><ref name=fowler>J Fowler (1996), Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices, Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1898723608}}, pages 59-60</ref> The rite of passage is performed in harmony with the sacred premise that the microcosm of all living beings is a reflection of a macrocosm of the universe.<ref name=terje>Terje Oestigaard, in The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Death and Burial (Editors: Sarah Tarlow, Liv Nilsson Stut), Oxford University Press, ISBN, pages 497-501</ref> The soul (Atman, Brahman) is the essence and immortal that is released at the ''Antyeshti'' ritual, but both the body and the universe are vehicles and transitory in various schools of Hinduism. They consist of five elements: air, water, fire, earth and space.<ref name=terje/> The last rite of passage returns the body to the five elements and origins.<ref name=olsonant>Carl Olson (2007), The Many Colors of Hinduism: A Thematic-historical Introduction, Rutgers University Press, {{ISBN|978-0813540689}}, pages 99-100</ref><ref name=terje/> The roots of this belief are found in the Vedas, for example in the hymns of Rigveda in section 10.16, as follows, [[File:Bagamati cremation.jpg|thumb|A Hindu cremation rite in Nepal. The samskara above shows the body wrapped in saffron on a pyre.]] {{Quote| <poem> Burn him not up, nor quite consume him, Agni: let not his body or his skin be scattered, O all possessing Fire, when thou hast matured him, then send him on his way unto the Fathers. When thou hast made him ready, all possessing Fire, then do thou give him over to the Fathers, When he attains unto the life that waits him, he shall become subject to the will of gods. The Sun receive thine eye, the Wind thy ''Prana'' (life-principle, breathe); go, as thy merit is, to earth or heaven. Go, if it be thy lot, unto the waters; go, make thine home in plants with all thy members. </poem> |Rigveda 10.16<ref>Sanskrit: [http://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.१६ ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं १०.१६] Wikisource;<br>[https://archive.org/stream/rigvedasanhitc06wils#page/38/mode/2up Sukta XVI - Rigveda], English Translation: HH Wilson (Translator), pages 39-40;<br>Wendy Doniger (1981), The Rig Veda, Penguin Classics, {{ISBN|978-0140449891}}, see chapter on Death</ref>}}
The final rites of a burial, in case of untimely death of a child, is rooted in Rig Veda's section 10.18, where the hymns mourn the death of the child, praying to deity Mrityu to "neither harm our girls nor our boys", and pleads the earth to cover, protect the deceased child as a soft wool.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/rigvedasanhitc06wils#page/46/mode/2up Sukta XVIII - Rigveda], English Translation: HH Wilson (Translator), pages 46-49 with footnotes;<br>Wendy Doniger (1981), The Rig Veda, Penguin Classics, {{ISBN|978-0140449891}}, see chapter on Death</ref>
The last rites are usually completed within a day of death. The body is washed, wrapped in white cloth if the dead is a man or a widow (red if her husband is still alive),<ref name=fowler/> the two toes tied together with a string, a ''Tilak'' (red mark) placed on the forehead.<ref name=olsonant/> The dead adult's body is carried to the cremation ground near a river or water, by family and friends, and placed on a pyre with feet facing south.<ref name=fowler/> The eldest son, or a male mourner, or a priest then bathes before leading the cremation ceremonial function.<ref name=olsonant/><ref name=carrie>Carrie Mercier (1998), Hinduism for Today, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199172542}}, page 58</ref> He circumambulates the dry wood pyre with the body, says a eulogy or recites a hymn in some cases, places sesame seed in the dead person's mouth, sprinkles the body and the pyre with ghee (clarified butter), then draws three lines signifying ''Yama'' (deity of the dead), ''Kala'' (time, deity of cremation) and the dead.<ref name=olsonant/> The pyre is then set ablaze, while the mourners mourn. The ash from the cremation is consecrated to the nearest river or sea.<ref name=carrie/> After the cremation, in some regions, the immediate male relatives of the deceased shave their head and invite all friends and relatives, on the tenth or twelfth day, to eat a simple meal together in remembrance of the deceased. This day, in some communities, also marks a day when the poor and needy are offered food in memory of the dead.<ref>Colin Parkes et al (2015), Death and Bereavement Across Cultures, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415522366}}, page 66-67</ref>
{{Jainism}}
==Samskara in Jainism== Similar to Hinduism, samskara serve as a rite of passage into a new phase of life in different sects of Jainism.<ref name=kristiwiley/><ref>Caroline Humphrey and James Laidlaw (1994), The Archetype Actions of Ritual - A Theory of Ritual Illustrated by the Jain Rite of Worship, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0198279471}}, pages 193-208</ref>
In the Digambara school, all 16 Hindu samskaras (see above) were incorporated by Jinasena in the ''Adipurana'' as part of 53 ''kriyas'', of which 23 rites of passage are described for the Jain householder, with the last culminating in renunciation of household life.<ref name=kristiwiley/><ref>Padmanabh S. Jaini (2014), The Jaina Path of Purification, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120815780}}, pages 291-300</ref> For those who skip the householder stage of life, the equivalent rite of passage was the 11th ''pratima'', and called ''diksha'' (initiation into mendicancy).<ref name=kristiwiley/>
In the Śvētāmbara school, 16 samskaras similar to the Hindu rites of passage are described, for example, in the ''Acara-Dinakara'' of Vardhamana.<ref name=kristiwiley/><ref>Alexander von Rospatt (2005), Words and Deeds: Hindu and Buddhist Rituals in South Asia (Editors: Jörg Gengnagel and Ute Hüsken), Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447051521}}, pages 199-200</ref> It includes rituals described above, such as those associated with conception, birth, name giving, ear piercing, baby's first haircut, studentship, wedding and death.<ref name=kristiwiley>Kristi L. Wiley (2009), A to Z of Jainism, {{ISBN|978-0810868212}}, pages 186-187</ref>
There are some differences between symbolism associated with samskara rites in Hinduism and Jainism. The fire ceremony has Vedic significance in the former, while it symbolizes the ''Tirthankaras'', ''Ganadharas'' and ''Kevalins'' in Jainism. The mantras are often derived from Vedic texts in Hinduism, while they are derived from Jain texts such as Ratnatraya in Jainism. The oaths in some rites of passage include the vow of ahimsa (non-violence, non injury to all human beings and living beings) in both, but is of exclusive significance in Jainism.<ref name=kristiwiley/>
==Sanskars in Sikhism== {{Sikh practices}} {{Main|Naam Karan|Amrit Sanskar|Anand Karaj|Antam Sanskar}} Although Sikhs may individually recognise many rites of passage, four are universally important in Sikh religious life. They are the four main ''sanskars'':<ref>{{cite web |title=The Sikhs and Their Way of Life - Sikh Ceremonies and Festivals |url=https://www.sikhmissionarysociety.org/sms/smspublications/thesikhsandtheirwayoflife/chapter6/ |website=www.sikhmissionarysociety.org}}</ref>
# '''Naam Karan''', "Naming a Child" ― the rite of naming a newborn at the Gurdwara; traditionally, it is during this rite that male Sikhs take the middle name Singh and female Sikhs take the middle name Kaur alongside their given first name. # '''Amrit Sanskar''' (also called ''Amrit Sanchar''), "Ambrosia Rite" ― the Sikh rite of initiation (sometimes described as the 'Sikh baptism'); converts to Sikhism may take the traditional middle name of Singh or Kaur after receiving ''amrit'' although this is not a requirement. # '''Anand Karaj''', "Blissful Union" ― the Sikh rite of marriage. # '''Antam Sanskar''', "Final Rite" ― the Sikh funeral rites; traditionally, Sikhs are cremated during the funeral ceremony and the ashes are collected and immersed in a body of water.
Other rites of passage such as '''Dastar Bandhi''', the first tying of the Dastar (the traditional Sikh turban), may also be celebrated.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Sikh Ceremonies |url=https://www.allaboutsikhs.com/sikh-way-of-life/sikh-ceremonies/the-sikh-ceremonies/ |website=Gateway to Sikhism |date=30 November 1999}}</ref>
==Samskara as a philosophical concept== {{main|Samskara (Indian philosophy)|l1=Samskara in Indian philosophy|Saṅkhāra|l2=Saṅkhāra in Buddhist philosophy}}
In the context of karma theory, Samskara are dispositions, character or behavioral traits either as default from birth (previous lives in some schools of Hinduism), or Samskara are behavioral traits perfected over time through Yoga, through conscious shaping of inner self, one's desire, sense of moral responsibility and through practice.<ref name=stephen/><ref name=ian>Ian Whicher (1999), The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga, SUNY Press, {{ISBN|978-0791438152}}, pages 100-102</ref> In some schools of Hinduism, the psychological concept of samskara is also known as vāsanā.<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=vAsanA&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 vAsanA] Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionary, Germany</ref><ref>Stephen Philips (2014), Epistemology in Classical India: The Knowledge Sources of the Nyaya School, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-1138008816}}, page 134</ref>
These are viewed as traces or temperament that evolves through the refinement of an individual inner consciousness and expressed personality, and is a form of "being-preparedness" in Vedantic psychology.<ref name=stephen/> In Samkhya and Yoga schools, samskara – also spelled as Samksara – are impressions or residues that affect an individual's Gunas (behavior attributes). In Nyaya school of Hinduism, not all Samskara are psychological.<ref name=stephen/> In these schools of Hinduism, rites of passage, other actions, studies, diligent preparation and inner resolutions trigger impressions or dispositions in the psyche of an individual. These influences determine how the individual acts, perceives themselves, and responds to or accepts karmic circumstances and the future.<ref>Stephen Philips (2014), Epistemology in Classical India: The Knowledge Sources of the Nyaya School, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-1138008816}}, pages 7-46, 134, 163-170</ref>
==See also== * Hindu genealogy registers at Haridwar *Dharmasutras *Kalpa (Vedanga) *Vedas *Dharma *Kama *Artha
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==Further reading== *[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323144083_CRITICAL_ANALYSIS_OF_CHILDHOOD_SANSKARAS_SACRAMENTS_IN_LIGHT_OF_CONTEMPORARY_SCIENCE Critical analysis of childhood samskaras (sacraments) in light of contemporary science] Deepshikha and Rai Amit Kumar (2014), Int. Journal Ayur. Pharma Research, 2(2), pp. 95–100. *[https://direct.mit.edu/desi/article-abstract/21/4/41/69656/Culture-as-the-Designer Culture as the Designer], Lalit Das (2005), Design Issues, MIT Press, 21(4), pp. 41–53. *[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3269551 The Existential, Social, and Cosmic Significance of the Upanayana Rite], Carl Olson (1977), Numen, Vol. 24, Fasc. 2, pp. 152–160. *Thomas N. Siqueira, ''The Vedic Sacraments'', Thought, Volume 9, Issue 4, March 1935, pp. 598–609, {{doi|10.5840/thought1935945}}.
==External links== {{commons category|Samskara}}
{{Hindu samskaras|state=collapsed}} {{Worship in Hinduism}} {{Death in Hinduism}} {{Hindudharma}} {{Brahmanda}} {{HinduMythology}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samskaram}} Category:Samskaras Category:Ceremonies Category:Hindu rituals Category:Rites of passage