Samskara (rite of passage)

[1][2][3] 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.

[8] 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)".

[10][11] 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.

[11] 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".

[10] samskara in Hindu traditions, states Kane, have been ceremonies, expressing outward symbols or signs of inner change, marking life events of significance.

[18][19] 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.

[21] 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.

[30] 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).

[citation needed] Simantonnayana (IAST: Sīmantonnayana, Sanskrit: सीमन्तोन्नयन), also called Simanta or Simantakarana, literally means "parting the hair upwards".

[39] 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.

[39][41] 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.

[46] 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,[28] 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 !

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.

[51] 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.

[51][61] 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.

[62] 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.

[63] 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.

[62][63] It includes a prayer to goddess Saraswati and deity Ganesh,[62] 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.

[71] Several texts such as Sushruta Sutrasthana, however, also include Sudras entering schools and the formal education process,[72] stating that the Upanayana samskara was open to everyone.

[69][73] 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.

[76] 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).

[76] 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).

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.

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.

[103] 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.

[112] 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.

[110][112] The roots of this belief are found in the Vedas, for example in the hymns of Rigveda in section 10.16, as follows, 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.

[110] 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.

[117][120] It includes rituals described above, such as those associated with conception, birth, name giving, ear piercing, baby's first haircut, studentship, wedding and death.