Shodasha Samskaaras

Posted by: whitephosphorous on: February 19, 2007

• In: Hinduism
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In Indian culture there are sixteen major samskaras (rites of passage) to be performed by or for an individual beginning with conception and continuing up to the last rites performed after death. These samskaras are meant to cultivate positive qualities which help purify the soul and ultimately lead it to Realization, or union with God.The literal meaning of the word Samskara is to purify or to refine.

There are forty samskaras prescribed of which sixteen, called the Shodasha samskaras, are in vogue today. There are a few samskaras which do not come under the classification above, but which are also widely performed like performing puja to the foundation stone of a building, the milk-boiling ritual before one starts living in a new house, etc.

The Shodasha samskaras are to be done in the five different stages of a human life i.e. – the prenatal years, the childhood years, the student years, the adulthood years and the old age or wisdom years. They are

1.     Garbhadana  – is performed by a married couple when conceiving a child. This important Samskara raises the act of conception to a sacred occasion, and is powerfully purifying and uplifting for the unborn child.

 2. Pumsavana – is usually performed between the second and fourth month of pregnancy. Its purpose is: first, to promote the birth of a male child (for perpetuation of the family line and tradition); second, to insure the good health of the foetus and the proper formation of its organs, regardless of gender.

3. Simantonnayana Samskara – In the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy, the mind of the foetus begins to develop. This is when Simantonnayana Samskara is performed. Its purpose is to protect the foetus–especially its newly forming mind–from all negative influences, and also to stimulate the development of the unborn child’s intellect.

4. Jatakarma – is the ritual performed at the birth of a child. It awakens the child’s intellect, gives it strength, and promotes long life for the child.

5. Namakarana  – On the eleventh day after the child’s birth, namakarana Samskara is performed. In this ceremony, the child receives its name.

 6. Nishkramana – The baby’s first outing into the world, beyond the confines of the home, is the occasion of nishkramana.

7. Annaprashana – The first feeding of solid food to the baby, usually in the sixth month after birth, is the occasion of Annaprashana

 8. Karnavedha Samskara – usually performed in the sixth or seventh month after birth, consists of the piercing of the baby’s ear lobes, so earrings may be worn.

 9. Chudakarana Samskara – At the end of the first year after birth, or during the third year, the child’s hair is shaved–all but a tuft on the top of the head. This ritual shaving of hair, performed with ceremony, prayers, and chanting of Vedic hymns, is chudakarana Samskara This Samskara is for both boys and girls.

 10. Aksharabhyaasa: begins a student’s primary education by ceremonially introducing the child to the alphabet

11. Upanayana Samskara – initiates the formal study of the Vedas. It is one of the most important and esteemed of the samskaras. Upon performance of Upanayana, a boy traditionally moves from home to live in the ashram of the guru. 

12. Samavartana Samskara – With samavartana Samskara the disciple graduates from his Vedic studies and returns from the house of his guru. Thereafter, the disciple will marry and raise a family, and so enter the stage of householder, grihasthashrama.

13. Vivaha – The traditional Hindu wedding ceremony is known as Vivaha Samskara It is considered by many to be the most important of all the samskaras.

14. Panchamahayagna – A married couple performs the panchamahayajna, or five great sacrifices, daily. In this Samskara, one honours, in turn, the rishis (ancient seers of Truth), the gods, the ancestors, humankind, and all created beings.

15. Vanaprastha Samskara – According to the Vedic tradition, vanaprastha is the third stage of life, following brahmacharya (Vedic student/disciple) and grihasta (householder). Here, a man leaves behind his life in the world and retires to the forest (with or without his wife), to live an ascetic life devoted to study of the scriptures and to meditation.

16. Antyeshti Samskara – The final sacrament, the funeral rites, are known as antyeshti Samskara