Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India

encyclopedia

RELIGIONS

HINDU CEREMONIES AND RITUALS

Appropriate rites have been prescribed for every stage in the

life of a Hindu, covering the pre-natal state, birth, growth, adoles-

cence, marriage, renunciation and death.

The ritual practices at all levels are holistic and reflect the

Indian conception of the cosmos as a continuum and the individuals

as a universe in miniature. The chief goal of ritual worship is to

merge the self with the whole, to feel the interrelation of all phe-

nomena, to make the transition from an egocentric to a cosmocentric

outlook.

The individual comes into being, develops, dies and is reborn.

The funeral ceremony is a rite of passage. The course of the next

life is determined by the

Karma

in the present one, until liberation is

achieved from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Indian ritual art

is an experience which, through repetition, leads towards integra-

tion and to an expansion of consciousness which gives rise to a

perception of the whole.

The history of Indian ritual begins with the Vedic period (1500

B.C.). The building of the fire altar of bricks, the timing of the rites,

the ceremonies of the kindling of the sacred fire and the pouring of

libations, the mythology that gives the ritual its numerous dimen-

sions of meaning — all. came into being at the time of the Rig Veda.

Ritual and mythology were amplified in the period of the Brahmanas

(900-700 B.C.) There are texts in which various groups of sages

supply commentaries on the Vedic hymns, describing and schema-

tising the sacrificial ceremonies and recording the histories and

meanings of the observances. The Grihya-Sutras and the

Samhitas (ritual handbooks) are the earliest texts concerned with

domestic ritual observance. The texts give rules for the religious

conduct of the household, specifying rites marking the different

stages of life.

The number of Samskaras in the

Grihya sutras

fluctuate be-

tween 12 and 18. In course of time 16 became the classical number

comprising the following:

Garbhadhaana

(conception)

Punsaavana

(engendering a male issue),

Simantonnayana

(parting the hair)

Jaatakarman

(natal rites)

Naamakarana

(naming)

Nishkramana

(first outing)

Annaprashana

(first eating with boiled rice)

Chudakarma

(tonsure)

Kama-veda

(piercing the earlobes)

Aksharaambha

(learning the alphabet)

Upanayana

(holy thread ceremony)

Vedaarambha

(first study of the Vedas) •

Keshaanta

(shaving the beard)

Samavartana

(graduation)

Vivaaha

(marriage)

Antyeshti

Garbhadhaana

literally

(funeral rites),

means placing the child in the womb.

Fulfilment of the sacred duty of procreation entailed physical fit-

ness and psychological willingness of the couple and selection of a

proper time.

After conception is ascertained the child in the womb is con-

secrated by the second

samskaara

called

punsaavana

performed in the

third or fourth month when the moon is in a male constellation which

is symbolic of a male child. The third rite is called

simmantonnayana

in which the hair of a pregnant woman is ceremoniously parted. Under

this samsara, generally performed in the fifth month when the mental

formation of the child starts, detailed rules of eugenics and hygiene are

prescribed for the pregnant woman and her husband. One of these rules

relates to

dohada

which means fulfilling the wishes of the pregnant

wife.

The

jaatakarman

ceremony is performed before the severing of

the umbilical cord. It is made up of the uttering of several formulas to

bless the child with longevity, intelligence and strength.

The name-giving ceremony

naamakarana

comes next, ordinar-

ily performed on the 10th or 12th day after the birth of the child.

Nishkramana

is taking the child for the first time out of the

house. A square area in the courtyard and from where the sun can

be seen is plastered with cowdung and clay, the sign of the

swas-

tika

is marked on it and over it grains of rice are scattered by the

mother. The child is brought out and the father makes the child look

at the sun to the accompaniment of the chanting of Vedic hymns and

the blowing of conch shells.

Annapraashana

is the first feeding of the child with solid food.

It marks the weaning of the child from the mother at the proper time.

A pellet of honey and ghee is introduced in the child’s mouth. This is

intended to produce mental and bodily strength.

Chudakarana

(tonsure) is the eighth

samskaara, the

purpose of

which is the achievement of long life and beauty for the recipient.

According to the

Grihya

sutras, this ceremony should take place at the

end of the first year or before the end of the third. The most distinguish-

ing feature of this rite is the arrangement of the hair tuft (

cuda

shikha).

The vital connection between shikha and life is explained by

Sushruta : “Inside the head near the top is the joint of shiva (artery) and

Sandhi

(critical juncture). There in the eddy of hairs is the vital spot

called

adhipati

(overlord). Any injury to this spot causes sudden

death." In course of time

shikha.

became a universal symbol of Hindu-

ism.

Karnavedha

is the ceremony connected with the boring of

the ear between the first and fourth year of the child. This was

done for the wearing of ornaments but Sushruta prescribes the

boring of the ears for preventing hydrocele and hernia.

Vidyaarambha

also known as

akshararambha

marks the begin-

ning of study or the learning of the alphabet. It is performed, on an

auspicious day, when the Sun is in the northern hemisphere. It is

prohibited during the rainy season when the Sun who gives light is

supposed to be asleep.

Vidyaramba

marks the beginning of primary

education.

Upanayana

is the beginning of secondary education. A

Brahmana is to be initiated at the age of eight since he has to spend

the longest period in studentship as he was to master the Vedic lore

which the other vamas are not expected to do. A Kshatriya is

initiated at eleven and Vaishya at twelve. The

Upanayana

is to be

performed in a specified season. A Brahmana is initiated in the

spring, a Kshatriya in summer, a vaishya in autumn and a shudra in

the rainy season. The choice of a season is related to the tempera-

ment of the three vamas respectively — calm, hot and pliable.

Vedaarambha

(beginning of Vedic study) forms the 12th

samskara. Though the

Upanayana

marked the beginning of secon-

dary education it did not synchronise with Vedic study because of