Garbhadana Jatakarma Namakarana Annaprasna And Mundan Form The Main Hindu Birth Rituals As Per Vedas

It is the responsibility of the Hindu priest or the Pundit to conduct special ceremonies for the welfare of the mother and the child. Hindu dharma recognizes the birth of a child as a religious activity. A number of Samskaras are associated to celebrate the birth of a child in Hinduism, but the most common ones include Garbhadhana or conception, Jatakarma or childbirth, Namakarana or naming the child, Annaprasana which refers to giving the child solid food preferably rice for the first time and Mundan meaning shaving the head of the baby.

The element of spirituality is imbibed right from Garbhadana or the moment the husband places his seed in his wife. Marriage is permissible among the spiritual aspirants as per the Vedic culture because marriage in this culture means union of two souls and mutual help towards progress in the spiritual life and thus marriage is not simply limited to being a license for sexual pleasure.

The religious duties of the parents also include giving birth to spiritually enlightened children for the benefit of the society as a whole. The Garbhadana Samskara as specified by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad- Gita goes far above the ordinary material aspect of a sexual activity and establishes itself as a spiritual activity that brings godly children on this Earth.

To welcome the baby on this Earth, the Hindus conduct the Jatakarma ceremony. The ceremony is centered on the father placing honey and ghee on his child’s tongue whispering the name of God in the baby’s ear. Feeding the baby with honey and piercing his ear is supposed to bring an enhancement to the memory of the child. This is followed by the chanting of Mantras by the Brahmins and praying for a healthy and long life of the child

The child is given a name by which the world would recognize him in all the spheres of activities. Namkarana refers to the naming of a child and the child is to be given a meaningful name that will remind him about the goal of his life and would inspire the child to achieve it. The ceremony is celebrated by distribution of sweets to everybody invited and this is followed by organizing a feast.

The Annaprasana samskar is performed on the 6th, 8th and 10th month for the male child and 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th month for the female child. By this ceremony the priests chant Vedic prayers to pray for digestive powers, good thoughts and talent for the child and to obtain blessings from the Gods. Normally the child is offered solid food by this ceremony when the child is six months old and even Susruta has prescribed this age to be the perfect weaning time.

People pray to the Gods to bless the child with the fulfillment of the senses. The child is fed by his father with a little sweet food smeared with gold that ensures to prevent ill- health. Properly cleaned and cooked rice is mixed with ghee in appropriate quantity during the cooking process after which the rice is placed on Homasthali or the tray of Homa. From this tray, the Yajmana and the Purohita receive the rice in small containers and the chanting of Mantras continues.

This is then followed by the performance of Agnyadhan and Samidadhana by the child’s father. The oblation of the cooked rice offered to the Yajmana and the Purohita are offered with prayesr from both Rig Veda and Yajur Veda. This is followed by the mixing of curd, honey and ghee with the rice remaining after the oblations. This rice is then fed to the baby in minute quantity and accompanied with the chanting of hymns from the Yajur Veda.

By Mundan Vidhi, the baby is given his first hair cut. Proper implementation of the Vedic Method is destined to remove any deficiency in the child that has developed before childbirth. It is also believed that the shaving of the hair stimulates proper growth and development of the brain and the nerves. The hair collected from the head are wrapped in between two puris or fried Indian breads before being offered to the holy waters of the Ganges, the Yamuna or any other sacred river. iskcon