Director: N. Chandra Writers: N. Chandra (writer) Kamlesh Pandey (writer) Release Date: 11 November 1988 (India) http://shivallibrahmins.com/articles/customs-and-classes-of-hinduism/ Rituals of Sanatana Dharma can be seen as two different phases. The Vedic religion of the earlier period used sacrifice (Yajna, Yaga) as their basic rites. Later period Hinduism used worship (puja) as the mode of their basic rites. The god is worshipped as an icon (archa) and the devotee is the archaka. The rite performed is archana. It is believed that the archa (icon, idol) is divine once special rites have sanctified it. The divine that resides in the icon is prayed to daily in a ritual. He is then decorated and dressed. He is honored with flower garlands, incense and sandalwood paste. Swinging lamps are circled (arati) in front of the god twice a day to the sound of bells and blowing conch. He is offered rice and fruits, of which he eats the subtle part, leaving the rest to the worshippers. Temple is also used as a community hall to arrange group discourses and recitals of the epics or puranas. Sixteen such rituals are collectively called Shodasha Samskara. Samskara denotes purification ritual. Starting from the time when the child is in the womb, these sixteen rituals end in the final journey of the body into the afterlife. They can be divided into those performed during five different stages of life i.e. prenatal, childhood, student, adult life and old age or wisdom years. Forty rituals are discussed but sixteen are still in practice. 1. Garbhadana samskara: 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 samskara: 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 fetus and the proper formation of its organs, regardless of gender. 3. Simantonoyana samskara: In the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy, the mind of the fetus begins to develop. This is when simantonoyana samskara is performed. Its purpose is to protect the fetus -- especially its newly forming mind -- from all negative influences, and also to stimulate the development of the unborn child's intellect. 4. Jatakarma samskara 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 samskara: On the 11th day after the child's birth, namakarana samskara is performed. In this ceremony, the child receives its name. 6. Nishkramana samskara: The baby's first outing into the world, beyond the confines of the home, is the occasion of nishkramana samskara. 7. Annaprashana samskara: The first feeding of solid food to the baby, usually in the sixth month after birth, is the occasion of Annaprashana samskara. 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, 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 Vedic chanting is for both boys and girls. 10. Vidyarambha samskara: This samskara 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. (See later) 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 samskara: The traditional Hindu wedding ceremony. It is considered by many to be the most important of all the samskaras. 14. Panchamahayajna samskara: A married couple performs these five great sacrifices daily. In this samskara, one honors, in turn, the rishis (ancient seers of Truth), the gods, the ancestors, humankind and all created beings. (See later for details) 15. Vanaprastha samskara: According to the Vedic tradition, vanaprastha is the third stage of life, following brahmacharya (Vedic student/disciple) and grihastha (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.

• published: 20 Jul 2010
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