Om, Sri Gurubhyo Namaha

Vaidika Samskaras
Dr. S. Yegnasubramanian
(Sections and sub-sections are numbered in continuation from the previous article)

In the previous article in Volume 4 No. 1 (Some yogis perform sacrifices especially to
of Paramaartha Tattvam, we said that, propitiate deities; still others offer the Atman itself
as oblation in the fire of brahman)
l the samskaaras are a series of sacrements
performed by any one belonging to the l in all other offerings, the ego - ahamkAra: -
vedic tradition, which are meant for the is present. If one offers oneself to the Lord,
overall purification or overall refinement one must make sure that he/she is offer-
of the individual. able - in a fit condition.
l by overall refinement, we mean the l samskaara is that process by which one
physical, emotional, intellectual and makes oneself “samskrita jeevah:” (refined
spiritual development and maturity of the individual) to be offered to ISwarah:
personality at the total level. ISwara-nivedana-arhah: or yogyah: bhavati -
in the language of devotion, or
l the term samskaara has three meanings
AtmajnAnayogya: bhavati, in the language
1. the refinement itself
of vedaanta.
2. the ritual by which the refinement is
achieved, and l Since the impurities are accumulated over
3. the impressions - vAsanAs - created by innumerable number of births, the purifi-
oneself and the environment cation will take a long cleansing process
over the entire life - right from the very
l the purpose was not just material prosper-
conception onwards. If the purification
ity - which was incidental - but the moksha
becomes successful, one will be able to at-
purushArtha - based on which the entire
tain moksha in this life itself.
samskaras were developed. As side benefits,
one also gets dharma, artha and kaama l If not, the final rites- the cremation etc. ritu-
purushArthas. als - are performed and if one is born as a
human being, one can continue the perfor-
l before anything is offered to the Lord, the
mance of the samskaaras to become eli-
offering should be purified, and our sages
gible for moksha. As Sri Krishna says:
took the entire life as the greatest offering
of the individual - the jivaatmA - to the aneköjNmös’isi·” tto y;it pr;’gitmß.
paramAtman:
(having achieved purity through several births one
(SravaNam keertanam vishnoh: smaraNam can attain liberation)
pAdasevanam arcanam vandanam dAsyam
As was mentioned earlier, there are forty one
sakhyam Atmanivedanam)
samskaaras, starting from the conception of the
l the total life itself is an yajna. baby in the mother’s womb, till the cremation.
We will discuss each of these forty one
dwvmev;pre y_’ yoign” pyuRp;ste.
samskaaras in some detail in a series of
b[„;;Gn;vpre y_’ y_enwvopju‡it..
articles, starting from this number of the
(Srimad Bhagavadgita 4.25)

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Journal. The intent is not to give the mantras 4.1 Pre-natal samskaaras :
used in the rituals or the actual conduct of the There are three pre-natal samskaaras
rituals themselves, but to give a glimpse of the which are performed by the father before the
significance of the rituals along with some birth of the child, and they are:
peripheral details.
1. garbhAdhAnam - the conception ceremony;
4. Classification of samskaaras 2. pumsavanam - prayer for a male child;
The forty one samskaaras can be 3. seemantam or seemantonnayanam - parting
broadly classified in to nine groups: of the hair of the wife.
1. Pre-natal samskaaras (3) 4.1.1 garbhAdhAnam - the conception
2. Pre-educational samskaaras (4) ceremony:
3. Educational samskaaras (6)
There are two schools of thought regarding this
4. Marriage
ceremony.
5. Five mahAyajnas
6. Seven pAka yajnas l Purification of the mother - to make her
7. Seven havir yajnas eligible to conceive the baby through the
8. Seven soma yajnas spiritual cleansing of the womb - =e]ös’Sk;r”
9. Final Rites l Purification of the seed - bIjös’Sk;r”
The concept is that, by the time a person l How do the interpretations affect the
completes all the forty samskaaras, he may conduct of this samskaara? If it is =e]ös’Sk;r”,
become qualified for jnAnam - so all through then there is no need to repeat it for every
the life, going through each of the aaSramas conception. But if it is bIjös’Sk;r”, then it
(stages - brahmacarya aaSrama, grihasthASrama, has to be performed for each child.
vAnaprastha aaSrama and sannyAsa aaSrama), Popularly, the latter is accepted even though
the person becomes yogya: (qualified) to study the ritual itself is performed once only for
vedaanta s o t h a t t h e k n o w l e d g e aham the first child.
brahmAsmi will be realized. Once the person
What is garbhaadhaanam? The word garbha:
gains this knowledge, then there is no need
has two meanings:
for any further samskaaras. However, this
realization may not be possible for most a) the womb of the mother, and
because of the thickness of the impurity b) the baby itself - the embryo or fetus -
accumulated over several cycles of birth and g&RSy ixxu”.
so even after death, the individuality
l Here we take the second meaning, the jeeva
continues. The person has to be purified
and the term aadhaanam means the transfer
further and so, after death, the final samskaara,
or placement of the jeeva in the womb of
known as antyeshTi: (the 41st samskaara), is
the mother.
performed (by one’s son or close relative), with
the hope that the person will become qualified g&RSy ixxo” a;/;nmßö> g&R;/;nmß.
for a better birth next time!
As a picture becomes clearer and clearer by l The jeeva is not created afresh; it already
each stroke that the artist draws , each of the exists in the father, and is only transferred
samskaaras makes the jeeva more and more to the mother! The jeeva (jIv”) is anaadi -
refined, to become yogyah for moksha. never created and when present in the

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 father, it is called reta: ( ret” or pu™WöbIjmß ). l The birth of the child protects one’s family
This reta: is called garbha: after transfer to lineage - kula-paramapara.
the mother. l Also, from the spiritual angle, any person
l From where did the father get this jeeva? It is born with three debts - 1) to the devas
is an elaborate process in which the jeeva is (deva-RuNam), 2) to the Rishis (Rishi-
believed to go through five stages before RuNam), and 3) to the ancestors (pitru-
coming to human form, the last stage being RuNam). Among these, the third debt is
the mother’s womb. According to Mundaka removed by getting an offspring. So the son
Upanishad (II.i.6) is called RuNa-mocaka: (the remover of debt)
who can perform srAddha etc. rituals.
tSm;tß aiGn” sim/o ySy sUyR”
l It is believed that, even if the father had
som;TpjRNy aoW/y” pOiqVy;mß.
committed some sins and has to go to
pum;nß ret” is’cit yoiWt;y;’
naraka,called put-naraka: ( putß-nrk” ), he
b‡I” p[j;” pu™W;tß s’p[sUt;”..
will be saved by the performance of
(From Him emerges the fire (i.e. heaven) of srAddhas. The name putra: for the son came
which the fuel is the Sun. From the moon from the statement: puNn;Mn” nrk;tß ];yte Eit
emerge clouds, and (from clouds) the herbs on pu]”.
the earth. A man sheds the semen in to the
l Getting a child is indirectly perpetuating
woman. From the Purusha have originated
oneself. The child is nothing but one’s own
many creatures.)
flesh and blood. Aitereya Upanishad says
What are these five stages? that the father only is reborn as the child;
1. After leaving previous birth, the jeeva enters every organ is made of one’s own organs
the pitru loka: (or «uölok”) etc.

2. From there enters the clouds - pjRNy” Time of conception:

3. From clouds, enters the plants - aoW/y” The scriptures prescribe the time of conception
4. From plants, enters the father based on various considerations.
5. From the father, enters the mother’s womb. l Physical health of the parents: For example,
l The transfer of jeeva from one stage to the if the parents are not healthy at the time of
other is considered a yajna. In other words, conception, the child may be affected.
the jeeva comes to this world as a result of l The mental condition of the parents will
five yajnas! In each of these yajnas, the jeeva influence the child. If the parents are
is offered as the oblation. focused on artha, kAma (material or sensual
pleasure) only, the child also will be artha,
Thus, the conception is considered as the
kAma oriented. The scriptures prescribe
greatest yajna, which brings a human life into
m a r r i a g e f o r b e g e t t i n g dharma-prajA
existence, and so it is given a lot of importance.
(righteous offspring) only.
The ritual by which the mother conceives the
baby is garbhaadhaanam l The astrological time - position of planets,
ùg&R’ s’/;yRte yen ttß g&R;/;nmßú. stars etc - is considered very important.
Conception during the day- time is never
This can be viewed from various angles:
prescribed.

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l Several interesting details are given (And, he who desires a son of tawny or brown
regarding the time/day of conception. complexion, to be versed in two vedas and having
Certain ideal time is prescribed, called Rutu- the full span of life, should eat rice cooked in
kAlam and sixteen days are given. If curd mixed with ghee, with his wife. (Then they)
conceived on even days (2nd, 4th etc. days), would be able to give birth (to such a son).
the child will be a boy and, if conceived on
aq y ECzeTpu]o me Xy;mo loiht;=o j;yetÚ
odd days, will be a girl. (yuGm;su pu];” j;yNte
i–y” ayuGm;su) ]INved;nnub[uvItÚ svRm;yuiry;iditÚ
¯d;wdn’ p;ciyTv; sipR-mNtmXnIy;t;mß
l Further differences are also mentioned: for
ERXvr;w jniytvw .
example, a male child born on the
p 4th day, will be poor and short lived (And, he who desires a son of dark complexion
p 6th day, will be a mediocre child with red eyes, to be versed in three vedas and
p 8th day, will be prosperous having the full span of life, should eat rice boiled
p 10th day, will be wise in water, mixed with ghee, with his wife. (Then
p 12th day, will be best all round they) would be able to give birth (to such a son).
p 14th and 16th days, will be spiritual
aq y ECzedßduiht; me pi<@t; j;yetÚ
l Similarly, a female child born on the
svRm;yuiry;iditÚ itl;wdn’ p;ciyTv;
p 5th day, will give birth to girls only
sipR-mNtmXnIy;t;mßë ERXvr;w jniytvw .
p 7th day, will have no children
p 9th day, will be very auspicious (And he who desires a daughter with learning, to
p 11th day, will be irreligious live a full term of life, should eat rice cooked in
p 13th day, will be an evil person sesame seeds, mixed with ghee, with his wife.
p 15th day will get male children (Then they) would be able to give birth (to such a
girl)
l For getting children of certain types and
qualities, brihadAraNyaka upanishad gives l After conception, throughout the course of
several mantras: (Ch. 6, Sec 4: 14-16) pregnancy, there was the awareness that the
physical and mental conditions of the child
s y ECzeTpu]o me xuKlo j;yetÚ
are influenced by the environment and a
vedmnub[uvItÚ svRm;yuiry;iditÚ
spiritual environment was desired.
=Ir;wdn’ p;ciyTv; sipR-mNtmXnIy;t;mß
ERXvr;w jniytvw . 4.1.2 pumsavanam - ceremony for getting
a male off-spring:
(He who wishes “a son of fair complexion, to be
The second pre-natal samskAra is
versed in one veda having the full span of life”,
pumsavanam. The term pu' s ß (pums) means
“should eat rice cooked in milk mixed with ghee,
“male” and the term svnmß (savanam) refers to
along with his wife.” (Then they) would be able
the birth. Hence, the birth of a male child is
to give birth (to such a son)
pumsavanam. For the sake of the propagation
aq y ECzeTpu]o me kipl” ip³lo j;yetÚ of one’s paramparA, it has been the desire,
»;w ved;vnub[uvItÚ svRm;yuiry;iditÚ from the beginning. So the ritual is known as:
d?yodn’ p;ciyTv; sipR-mNtmXnIy;t;mß pum;nß p[sUyte yen kmR,; ttß pu’svnmß.
ERXvr;w jniytvw .
yen kmR,; - by which rite; pum;nß p[sUyte - a male

15
child is given birth. and so the mind should be fit for sAstra-
vicAra, Atma-jnAna and so, the samskAra is
According to the sAstras, the rite is
performed right at the time of formation of
supposed to be performed in the third month
this faculty.
after conception. Sushruta, the Ayurveda
expert says that the formation of the child It is also a symbolic ritual where the
takes place only in the third month. According husband makes a boundary in the head of the
to him, the development of the child happens wife by parting the hair. sIm; - boundary; aNt”
as follows: - end and so, the limiting line is called
seemanta:. ¯Nnynmß - making or parting (of the
Month Development hair in the head). The purpose of this ritual
1 still in liquid form; no formation can be seen from various angles:
2 a vague solidified mass l the mind is formed at this time and can be
3 sense organs and veins are formed influenced by the subtle forces around -
4 head, hands and legs are formed especially negative forces - like yakshas,
rAkshasas etc. The prayers recited during
5 bones, fingers, hair, and the mind
the ritual act as an armor.
are formed
l These prayers invoke mahAlakshmI in the
6 intellect seemanta: line (so kumkum is applied there)
7 prANa and nervous system l The husband asks mahAlakshmI to ward off
8 &9 capacity to experience pleasure/ all evils and make the child pure, and give
pain prosperity.
l Certain warnings were also given to the
Based on the sAstras, a time is chosen pregnant mother - do’s and don’ts - for a
when the moon is in a male constellation and careful conduct of life; movements are
prayers are offered for the birth of a healthy, restricted; noble and pious thoughts are
fully developed male child. There is also a imparted.
ritual where the husband pours a drop of the l Husband also takes the responsibility and
juice from the sprout of the banyan tree and offers to do everything for her, including
milk, in the right nostril of the wife. This ritual dressing her hair (symbolically to show that
is meant to give birth to a healthy male child. he will do whatever she needs)
4.1.3 seemantam or seemantonnayanam - With this, the discussion on the three pre-natal
parting of the hair of the wife. samskaras is concluded. We will continue with
the post-natal samskaras from the next article
The third pre-natal saskAra is seemanta:
of this series.
which is performed at the 5th or 6th month of
pregnancy. The mind and intellect (essentially, Source Material:
the subtle personality) of the baby is supposed 1. Hindu Samskaras, Rajbali Pandey, Motilal
to develop around this time. Our sAstras Banarasidass, Delhi, 1998.
clearly acknowledged the fact that, 2. The Book of Samskaras, Prema Rasa Dasa,
Bhakti Vedanta Book Trust International,
l a person’s superiority is not based on the
1977.
physical body, but by the viveka-Sakti.
3. Lectures by Swami Paramarthananda,
l moksha has to be attained by the mind alone Madras.

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