Shodasha Samskara or the Sixteen Sacraments

Hindu Rituals at Various Life Stages like Birth, Marriage and Death

Feb 28, 2010 Harsh Nevatia

Religious rituals have significance at different levels. This article discusses sixteen of the most important "samskaras" or sacraments in a Hindu's life.

   

Shodasha means sixteen and Samskara (also written as Sanskar) means sacrament or rite of passage. The Vedas prescribe several samskaras to be performed during ones lifetime. Later scriptures have highlighted the importance of sixteen of them thus giving rise to Shodasha Samskara.

The primary purpose of samskaras is to attain spirituality and help realize moksha or the ultimate union with the divine. It is very clear that merely performing these sacraments cannot and will not lead to moksha. However not performing these samskaras may make it impossible to attain moksha. At a secondary level the samskaras are cultural events that provide occasions for family and friends to get together and bond. And it is this bonding that forms the basis for a peaceful life. At yet another level they provide an identity to the individual and link him to the society in which he or she lives. They enable the individual to understand the gravity of the various life stages and therefore live a more responsible life.

 

Prenatal Samskaras

The samskaras begin before the birth of the child. Garbhadhan, meaning conception, should be performed before conception. Different scriptures prescribe different rituals and also different times when the garbhadhan samskara is to be performed. The underlying importance is two-fold. According to Hindu belief, the creation of a new life should be done in accordance with the scriptures. The parents should realize that bringing a child into this world is an act of responsibility.

Two other samskaras are performed before childbirth. The pumsavana samskara is performed around the third month of pregnancy. This was originally prescribed to promote the birth of a son. The husband feeds the wife with a special food preparation and asks her why she is eating it. To this she replies "pumsavana," which means for getting a male child.

 Today, the purpose is often stated as to beget a healthy child. Simantonnayana samskara is performed later with the objective of warding off evil spirits and keeping the mother-to-be in good humor so that the child develops normally.

Samskaras Performed in Childhood

The jatakarma samskara is performed at the birth of the child. The first important sacrament after birth is the namakaran samskara or christening. After the religious rituals are over the child's horoscope is written and blessed by the presiding deity. The child is then placed on the father's or maternal uncle's lap who whispers the child's given name in the right year. Usually the name is recited through a cone made of betel leaf so that it is focused in the ear.

In the Shodasha Samskara list the next sacrament is nishkramana samskara. The child's first outing away from home is blessed. It usually takes place during the fourth month after birth when the child is capable of discerning the changes around him. Apart from the religious importance, this samskara makes the event a pleasurable one for the child. In today's hectic life this samskara has been abandoned by many.

Annaprashana samskara is an important one and followed by most Hindu families. Till this ritual the child is fed only milk, juice, soup and such foods. During annaprashana grain based food is given to the child for the first time. Usually the child is fed with kheer, a concoction of rice and milk. The eldest relative of the child performs the ceremony. Importance is given to this samskara because the starting of solid food not only provides a more complete diet but also helps to develop speech.

Karnavedha samskara is the ear piercing ceremony. Traditionally it was performed on both male and female children. But because of the western influence in the last two centuries this ritual has been largely discontinued for males.

The religious significance cited in some scriptures is that karnavedha, at least symbolically, makes the ear more receptive to the scriptures. Today, it has become a rite of passage for girls. Chudakarana samskara or tonsuring of the head is performed when the child is between the age of one and three years. Today families have settled far from their native places. But most Hindus travel to their home towns and have the chudakarana samskara performed at the temple that houses their family deity.

Thus nine of the sixteen sacraments are performed by the time a child is three years old. The remaining seven samskaras relate to education, adulthood and the final funeral rites.

Read more at Suite101: Shodasha Samskara or the Sixteen Sacraments: Hindu Rituals at Various Life Stages like Birth, Marriage and Death