Samskara (rite of passage)
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Samskara (
In the context of karma theory, samskaras are dispositions, characters or behavioural traits that exist as default from birth or prepared and perfected by a person over one's lifetime, that exist as imprints on the subconscious according to various schools of Hindu philosophy such as the Yoga school.[3][5] These perfected or default imprints of karma within a person, influences that person's nature, response and states of mind.[3]
In another context, Samskara refers to the diverse sacraments in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.[2][6][7] In Hinduism, the samskaras vary in number and details according to regional traditions. They range from the list of 40 samskaras in the Gautama Dharmasutra from about the middle of the 1st millennium BCE,[8] to 16 samskaras in the Grhyasutra texts from centuries later.[1][9] The list of samskaras in Hinduism include both external rituals such as those marking a baby's birth and a baby's name giving ceremony, as well as inner rites of resolutions and ethics such as compassion towards all living beings and positive attitude.[8]
Etymology and meaning
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)".[4] The term appears in the Śrutis, and in the Smritis of diverse schools of Hinduism as well as the texts of Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.[4][6] The etymological roots of the word samskara when it refers to rites of passage, is also "preparation, purifying, perfecting" from one's past state to one's future state.[1]
The word samskara is rare in the oldest layer of Vedic literature, but its roots sam and kr occur often enough.[10] The word appears in Rig Veda hymns 6.28.4 and 8.33.9, as well as other Vedic texts, where the context suggests it simply means "purify, prepare". It appears in Jaimini Purvamimamsa-sutra (500-200 BCE) many times, where it again means "prepare, perfect, polish" something, either through action, speech or mind.[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.[10] Samskara is defined by ancient Indian scholar Shabara as, "that which prepares a certain thing or person fit for a certain purpose".[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. They served a spiritual, cultural and psychological purpose, welcoming an individual into a stage of life, conferring privileges to the individual(s), expecting duties from the individual, and impressing on the individual as well individual's social circle of his or her new role.[12]
Sanskāra, in modern usage, is sometimes used to mean "cultural, social or religious heritage".[13]
Samskara as a psychological concept
In the context of karma theory, Samskara are dispositions, character or behavioral traits either as default from birth (previous lives in some schools of Hinduism), or Samskara are behavioral traits perfected over time through Yoga, through conscious shaping of inner self, one's desire, sense of moral responsibility and through practice.[3][5] In some schools of Hinduism, the psychological concept of samskara is also known as vāsanā.[14][15]
These are viewed as traces or temperament that evolves through the refinement of an individual inner consciousness and expressed personality, and is a form of "being-preparedness" in Vedantic psychology.[3] In Samkhya and Yoga schools, samskara – also spelled as Samksara – are impressions or residues that affect an individual's Gunas (behavior attributes). In Nyaya school of Hinduism, not all Samskara are psychological.[3] In these schools of Hinduism, rites of passage, other actions, studies, diligent preparation and inner resolutions trigger impressions or dispositions in the psyche of an individual. These influences determine how the individual acts, perceives themselves, and responds to or accepts karmic circumstances and the future.[16]
Samskara as sacraments
Samskaras in Hinduism are sacraments that begin with one's birth, celebrate certain early steps in a baby's growth and his or her welcome into the world in the presence of friends and family, then various stages of life such as first learning day, graduation from school, wedding and honeymoon, pregnancy, raising a family, as well as those related to final rites associated with cremation.[17] These rites of passage are not uniform, and vary within the diverse traditions of Hinduism. Some may involve formal ceremonies, yajna (fire) ceremonies with the chanting of Vedic hymns. Others are simple, private affairs involving a couple, with or without friends, other families or a religious person such as a priest or a pandit.[17]
Samskaras are not considered as an end in themselves, but are means of social recognition as well as the passage of a person from one significant stage of life to another.
The purpose
Gautama Dharmasutra enumerates a large list of "forty outer karma samskaras" and "eight inner karma samskara (good qualities)", all of whom have the purpose of empowering a human being to discover, recognize and reach union with the Brahma-Atman (his or her Soul, Self, Highest Being).[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.[21] The eight good qualities listed by Gautama Dharmasutra are emphasized as more important than the forty samskara rituals, in verses 8.21-8.25, as follows,
[...] (8.14-8.20)
These are the forty sanskara (sacramentary rites). (8.21)
Next, the eight virtues of the self: (8.22)
lack of possessiveness. (8.23)
A man who has performed the forty sanskaras but lacks these eight virtues does not obtain union with Brahman. (8.24)
A man who may have performed only some of the forty sanskaras but possesses these eight virtues, on the other hand, is sure to obtain union with Brahman. (8.25)— Gautama Dharma-sutras, Verses 8.14-8.25, Translated by Patrick Olivelle[8]
The 40 Samskaras
The Gautama Dharmasutra list the following forty rituals as outer samskaras:[8][22]
- Garbhadhana (conception), Pumsavana (rite celebrating the fetus), Simantonnayana (parting of pregnant woman's hair in 8th month), Jatakarman (rite celebrating the birth), Namakarana (naming the child), Annaprashana (baby's first feeding of solid food), Choulam (baby's first haircut, tonsure), and Upanayana (entry into school rite);[23]
- the four vows associated with Vedic study;
- graduation ritual at the conclusion of school;
- marriage sva-dharma rite;
- five sacrifices to gods, ancestors, humans, spirits, and all knowledge;
- seven remembrances and donations (sacrifices) using cooked food, in the form of ancestral offerings
- seven remembrances and donations (sacrifices) in the presence of fire (yajna), to mark harvests, seasons and deities
- seven kinds of Soma sacrifices: agnistoma, atyagnistoma, ukthya, sodasin, vajapeya, atiratra and aptoryama.
To obtain union with Brahman, one must also possess the eight virtues (compassion, patience, non-envy, purity of thought speech and body, inner calm and peace, positive attitude, generosity, and lack of possessiveness).
The 16 samskaras
There are diverse number of samskaras in Hinduism, varying by texts between 12 and 18 in the
Intent to have a child ritual, Garbhadhana
प्रजां च धत्तं द्रविणं च धत्तम्
bestow upon us progeny and affluence— Rig Veda 8.35.10 - 8.35.12, Translated by Ralph Griffith[26]
The Vedic texts have many passages, where the hymn solemnizes the desire for having a child, without specifying the gender of the child. For example, the Rigveda in section 10.184 states,[24]
विष्णुर्योनिं कल्पयतु त्वष्टा रूपाणि पिंशतु । आ सिञ्चतु प्रजापतिर्धाता गर्भं दधातु ते ॥१॥
गर्भं धेहि सिनीवालि गर्भं धेहि सरस्वति । गर्भं ते अश्विनौ देवावा धत्तां पुष्करस्रजा ॥२॥
हिरण्ययी अरणी यं निर्मन्थतो अश्विना । तं ते गर्भं हवामहे दशमे मासि सूतवे ॥३॥
May Vishnu construct the womb, may Twashtri fabricate the member, may Prajapati sprinkle the seed, may Dhatri cherish thy embryo;
Sustain the embryo Sinivali, sustain the embryo Saraswati, may the divine Aswins, garlanded with lotuses, sustain thy embryo;
We invoke thy embryo which the Aswins have churned with the golden pieces of Arani (firewood), that thou mayest bring it forth in the tenth month.— Rig Veda 10.184.1 - 10.184.3, Translated by HH Wilson[27]
The desire for progeny, without mentioning gender, is in many other books of the Rigveda, such as the hymn 10.85.37. The Atharva Veda, similarly in verse 14.2.2, states a ritual invitation to the wife, by her husband to mount the bed for conception, "being happy in mind, here mount the bed; give birth to children for me, your husband".
And if a man wishes that a learned daughter should be born to him, and that she should live to her full age, then after having prepared boiled rice with sesamum and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring.
And if a man wishes that a learned son should be born to him, and that he should live his full age, then after having prepared boiled rice with meat and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring.— Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 6.4.17 - 6.4.18, Translated byMax Muller[29]
According to Shankaracharya, rather than meat the inner pulp of two fruits is cooked with rice.
The different Grhyasutras differ in their point of view, whether the garbhadhana is to be performed only once, before the first conception, or every time before the couple plan to have additional children.[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).[30] A rite of passage of the baby would imply that Garbhadhana samskara is necessary for each baby and therefore every time the couple intend to have a new baby, while a rite of passage of the wife would imply a one time ritual suffices.[30]
Nurturing the fetus rite, Pumsavana
The roots of the pumsavana ritual are found in section 4.3.23 and 4.6.2 of the Atharva Veda, wherein charms are recited for a baby boy.[33] The Atharva Veda also contains charms to be recited for the birth of a child of either gender and the prevention of miscarriages, such as in section 4.6.17.[33]
The ritual is performed in diverse ways, but all involve the husband serving something to the expectant wife. In one version, she is fed a paste mixture of yoghurt, milk and ghee (clarified butter) by him.[34] In another version, the pumsavana ritual is more elaborate, done in the presence of yajna fire and vedic chants, where the husband places a drop of Banyan leaf extract in the wife's right nostril for a son, and her left nostril for a daughter, followed by a feast for all present.[35][36]
The time prescribed for the pumsavana differs in different Grhyasutras, and can be extended up to the eighth month of pregnancy, according to some.[citation needed]
Parting hair and baby shower, Simantonnayana
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.[37] The texts do not agree on whether this rite of passage was to be celebrated before or after pumsavana, early or late stage of pregnancy, or the nature of ritual celebrations.[37] The texts also disagree whether Simantonnayana was a rite of passage of the baby or of the pregnant woman, the former implying it must be repeated for every baby while the latter implying it was to be observed once for the woman with her first pregnancy.[37][38]
The common element was the husband and wife getting together, with friends and family, then he parts her hair upwards at least three times. In modern times, the "parting hair" rite of passage is rarely observed, and when observed it is called Atha-gulem and done in the 8th month, with flowers and fruits, to cheer the woman in the late stages of her pregnancy.[40] The ritual has more commonly evolved into a ritual that shares characteristics of a baby shower, where the friends and relatives of the woman meet, acknowledge and satisfy the food cravings of the expectant woman, and give gifts to the mother and the baby in the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy.[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.[39] After the Simantonnayana ritual or in the last months of the pregnancy, the woman is expected to not overexert herself, her husband is expected to be by her and not to travel to distant lands.[39] This rite of passage is regionally called by various names, such as Seemant, Godh bharai, Seemantham or Valaikaapu.[42]
Childbirth ceremony, Jatakarman
Jātakarman literally means "rite of a new-born infant".[43][44] It is a rite of passage that celebrates the birth of the baby.[45] It is the first post-natal rite of passage of the new born baby. It signifies the baby's birth, as well as the bonding of the father with the baby.[46] In Hindu traditions, a human being is born at least twice – one at physical birth through mother's womb, and second at intellectual birth through teacher's care, the first is marked through Jatakarman samskara ritual, the second is marked through Vidyarambha or Upanayana samskara ritual.[20] During a traditional Jātakarman ritual, the father welcomes the baby by touching the baby's lips with honey and ghee (clarified butter), as Vedic hymns are recited. The first significance of the hymns is medhajanana (Sanskrit: मेधाजनन), or to initiate the baby's mind and intellect in the womb of the world, after the baby's body formation has completed in the womb of the mother. The second part of the hymns wish the baby a long life.[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 ! May fortune never fail in its race, with offspring and cattle, Svah !
I offer to thee [the baby] in my mind the vital breaths which are in me, Svah !
Whatever in my work I have done too much, or whatever I have done too little, may the wise Agni make it right, make it proper, Svah !"
The Upanishad includes prayer to deity Saraswati during this rite of passage, the goddess of knowledge and wisdom in Hindu tradition. It also includes the threefold repetition of "Speech Speech" with the assertion to the baby, "You are the Vedas! so, live a hundred autumns", into the baby's ear by the father.[46][47] At the end of the ritual pronouncements by the father, he gives the baby to the mother's breast for feeding.[28][47]
While the earliest Dharmasutras list Jatakarma and Namakarama as two different samskara, they evolve into one in many Gryhasutra texts. By Pantanjali's time, these two rites of passage had merged into one, and completed within the first two weeks of the baby's birth, usually about the tenth day.[48]
Naming the baby ritual, Namakarana
The ancient Sanskrit texts provide numerous and divergent guidelines to the parents for choosing names.[50] Most recommend that the boy's name be two or four syllables, starting with a sonant, a semivowel in the middle, and ending in a visarga. 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.[50] Unpleasant, inauspicious, or words that easily transform into bad or evil words must be avoided, state the Gryhasutras, while the preferred names are those affiliated with a deity, virtues, good qualities, lucky stars, constellation, derivatives of the name of the father, or mother, or the place of birth, or beautiful elements of nature (trees, flowers, birds).[50][51]
Baby's first outing, Nishkramana
The significance of Niskramana and showing the baby heavenly bodies is derived from their significance of Sun, Moon and nature in the Vedic literature.[53] At the time the baby is present before the sunrise or moon, it is the father who holds the baby and recites a hymn that means, "the brilliant sun has risen in the east, he is like the hamsa (swan) of the pure worlds, let us salute him, because he dispels darkness".[53] When the baby is in presence of the moon, the father says, "O Moon, thou whose hair is well parted, let this child come to no harm, nor torn from the mother".[53]
Baby's first solid food, Annaprashana
Baby's first haircut, Chudakarana
The significance of this rite of passage is the baby's cyclical step to hygiene and cleanliness.[58] The ritual is seen as a passage of purity. It is typically done about the first birthday, but some texts recommend that it be completed before the third or the seventh year.[57] Sometimes, this ritual is combined with the rite of passage of Upanayana, initiation to formal schooling.[51] The ritual may include recitation of prayers for the child's long life and happiness.[57]
For a baby boy, the right earlobe is pierced first.[51] For a baby girl, the left earlobe is. In case of girls, the left nostril may also be pierced during this ritual.[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.[51]
Child's commencement to knowledge, Vidyarambha
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.
Child's entrance into school, Upanayana
Upanayana was an elaborate ceremony, that included rituals involving the family, the child and the teacher. During this ceremony, a boy receives a sacred thread called Yajñopaveetam, that he wears. Yajñopavita ceremony announced that the child had entered into formal education.[69][70] In the modern era, the Upanayana rite of passage is open to anyone at any age.[66]
Rajbali Pandey compares the Upanayana rite of passage to Baptism in Christianity where the person is born again unto spiritual knowledge, in addition to it being the ancient Indian rite of passage for the start of formal education of writing, numbers, reading, Vedangas, arts and other skills.[71] The Upanayana rite of passage was also important to the teacher, as the student would therefrom begin to live in the Gurukul (school).[68] Many medieval era texts discuss Upanayana in the context of three Varnas – Brahmins, Kshtreyas and Vaishyas.[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.[74] Those who did not performed upanayana ceremony at the time of their wedding. Instead of sacred thread, girls would wear their robe (now called sari or saree) in the manner of the sacred thread, that is over her left shoulder during this rite of passage.[74][75]
The education of a student was not limited to ritual and philosophical speculations found in the Vedas and the Upanishads. They extended to many arts and crafts, which had their own but similar rites of passages.[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). The rites of passage during apprentice education varied in the respective guilds.[77][78]
Vedarambha
Some texts describes two rituals each academic period (school year), one marking the start of Vedic studies each year, called
Keshanta and Ritusuddhi
Graduation ceremony, Samavartana
Anyone who had complete this rite of passage was considered a Vidyasnataka (literally, bathed in knowledge, or showered with learning), and symbolized as one who had crossed the ocean of learning.[91] This ceremony was a gathering of students and teacher. The student asked the teacher for any gift (guru-dakshina) he desired, which if specified was the student's responsibility to deliver over his lifetime.[92] Then, after a recitation of a graduate's dharma (snataka-dharma)[93] and a fire ritual, the graduate took a bath. The ceremony occurred after completion of at least 12 years of school, that is either about age 21 or later.
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.[94][95] The verses ask the graduate to take care of themselves and pursue Dharma, Artha and Kama to the best of their abilities. Parts of the verses in section 1.11.1, for example, state[94]
Never err from Truth,
Never err from Dharma,
Never neglect your well-being,
Never neglect your health,
Never neglect your prosperity,
Never neglect Svādhyāya (study of oneself) and Pravacana (exposition of Vedas).
The eleventh anuvaka of Shiksha Valli list behavioral guidelines for the graduating students from a gurukul,[96][97]
Be one to whom a mother is as god, be one to whom a father is as god,
Be one to whom an Acharya (spiritual guide, scholars you learn from) is as god,
Be one to whom a guest is as god.[96]
Let your actions be uncensurable, none else.
Those acts that you consider good when done to you, do those to others, none else.
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.[95]
Vivaha
The wedding rites and ceremonies begin with the engagement of a couple, and extend to rites of passage after the completion of wedding. They are typically very colorful, and celebrations may extend for several days.
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. Chaturthikarma – literally, "the rite performed on the fourth day after wedding", is the rite where the first domestic fire is lit marking the food-related householder life of the new couple.[104]
The act of first sexual intercourse after the wedding, is known as nishekam.[105][106]
Vratas
Vrata literally means a vow or practice, any pious observance, act of devotion or austerity such as fasting.
Cremation ritual, Antyeshti
A dead adult Hindu is mourned with a cremation, while a dead child is typically buried.[110][111] The rite of passage is performed in harmony with the sacred premise that the microcosm of all living beings is a reflection of a macrocosm of the universe.[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. They consist of five elements: air, water, fire, earth and space.[112] The last rite of passage returns the body to the five elements and origins.[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.
When thou hast made him ready, all possessing Fire, then do thou give him over to the Fathers,
When he attains unto the life that waits him, he shall become subject to the will of gods.
The Sun receive thine eye, the Wind thy Prana (life-principle, breathe); go, as thy merit is, to earth or heaven.
Go, if it be thy lot, unto the waters; go, make thine home in plants with all thy members.— Rigveda 10.16[113]
The final rites of a burial, in case of untimely death of a child, is rooted in Rig Veda's section 10.18, where the hymns mourn the death of the child, praying to deity Mrityu to "neither harm our girls nor our boys", and pleads the earth to cover, protect the deceased child as a soft wool.[114]
The last rites are usually completed within a day of death. His or her body is washed, wrapped in white cloth if the dead is a man or a widow (red if her husband is still alive),[111] the two toes tied together with a string, a Tilak (red mark) placed on the forehead.[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.[111] The eldest son, or a male mourner, or a priest then bathes before leading the cremation ceremonial function.[110][115] He circumambulates the dry wood pyre with the body, says a eulogy or recites a hymn in some cases, places sesame seed in the dead person's mouth, sprinkles the body and the pyre with ghee (clarified butter), then draws three lines signifying Yama (deity of the dead), Kala (time, deity of cremation) and the dead.[110] The pyre is then set ablaze, while the mourners mourn. The ash from the cremation is consecrated to the nearest river or sea.[115] After the cremation, in some regions, the immediate male relatives of the deceased shave their head and invite all friends and relatives, on the tenth or twelfth day, to eat a simple meal together in remembrance of the deceased. This day, in some communities, also marks a day when the poor and needy are offered food in memory of the dead.[116]
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Jainism |
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Samskara in Jainism
Similar to Hinduism, samskara serve as a rite of passage into a new phase of life in different sects of Jainism.[117][118]
In the Digambara school, all 16 Hindu samskaras (see above) were incorporated by Jinasena in the Adipurana as part of 53 kriyas, of which 23 rites of passage are described for the Jain householder, with the last culminating in renunciation of household life.[117][119] For those who skip the householder stage of life, the equivalent rite of passage was the 11th pratima, and called diksha (initiation into mendicancy).[117]
In the
There are some differences between symbolism associated with samskara rites in Hinduism and Jainism. The fire ceremony has Vedic significance in the former, while it symbolizes the Tirthankaras, Ganadharas and Kevalins in Jainism. The mantras are often derived from Vedic texts in Hinduism, while they are derived from Jain texts such as Ratnatraya in Jainism. The oaths in some rites of passage include the vow of ahimsa (non-violence, non injury to all human beings and living beings) in both, but is of exclusive significance in Jainism.[117]
Sanskars in Sikhism
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Sikh practices and discipline |
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Although Sikhs may individually recognise many rites of passage, four are universally important in Sikh religious life. They are the four main sanskars:[121]
- Naam Karan, "Naming a Child" ― the rite of naming a newborn at the Gurdwara; traditionally, it is during this rite that male Sikhs take the middle name Singh and female Sikhs take the middle name Kaur alongside their given first name.
- Amrit Sanskar (also called Amrit Sanchar), "Ambrosia Rite" ― the Sikh rite of initiation (sometimes described as the 'Sikh baptism'); converts to Sikhism may take the traditional middle name of Singh or Kaur after receiving amrit although this is not a requirement.
- Anand Karaj, "Blissful Union" ― the Sikh rite of marriage.
- Antam Sanskar, "Final Rite" ― the Sikh funeral rites; traditionally, Sikhs are cremated during the funeral ceremony and the ashes are collected and immersed in a body of water.
Other rites of passage such as Dastar Bandhi, the first tying of the Dastar (the traditional Sikh turban), may also be celebrated.[122]
See also
- Hindu genealogy registers at Haridwar
- Dharmasutras
- Kalpa (Vedanga)
- Vedas
- Dharma
- Kama
- Artha
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0813540689, pages 93-94
- ^ ISBN 978-0199397693, page 52
- ^ ISBN 978-0231144858, Chapter 3
- ^ a b c saMskAra Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany
- ^ ISBN 978-0791438152, pages 100-102
- ^ ISBN 978-0802086310, page 88
- ^ ISBN 978-8120832466, pages 122-123
- ^ ISBN 978-0199555376, pages 90-91
- ^ ISBN 81-85843-03-1, page 23
- ^ a b c d PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VI, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 190-191
- ^ ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 15-16
- ^ PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VI, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 192-193
- ISBN 978-8126910199, pages 1-2
- ^ vAsanA Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionary, Germany
- ISBN 978-1138008816, page 134
- ISBN 978-1138008816, pages 7-46, 134, 163-170
- ^ ISBN 978-3447051521, see Preface Chapter
- ^ ISBN 978-1405160117, pages 169-191
- ISBN 978-0199397693, pages 32-37
- ^ ISBN 978-0415772273, pages 332-356
- ^ ISBN 81-85843-03-1, pages 31-33
- ISBN 978-8120803961, page 20
- ^ Brian Smith (1986), Ritual, Knowledge, and Being: Initiation and Veda Study in Ancient India, Numen, Vol. 33, Fasc. 1, pages 65-89
- ^ ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 48-56 with footnotes
- ^ garbhAdhAna&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 niSeka Sanskrit - English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany
- ^ Sanskrit: ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं ८.३५ Wikisource;
English: Rigveda Mandala 8, Hymn 35 Ralph Griffith (translator), Wikisource - ^ Sanskrit: ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं १०.१८४ Wikisource;
English: Rigveda Mandala 10, Hymn 184 HH Wilson (translator), Trubner London, pages 410-411 - ^ ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 534-539
- ^ Brihadaranyaka Upanishad VI Adhyaya 4 Brahmana 17 and 18 Max Muller (translator), Oxford University Press, pages 219-220
- ^ ISBN 978-81-208-0396-1, pages 56–58
- ^ puMs and savana Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany
- ISBN 978-0415772273, page 335
- ^ a b Maurice Bloomfield, Hymns of the Atharva Veda at Google Books, Oxford University Press, pages 97-99
- ISBN 978-3447058544, page 123
- ISBN 978-8120810365, pages 92-93
- ^ B Rama Rao, Bulletin of the Indian Institute of History of Medicine at Google Books, Vol. 33-34, page 153
- ^ a b c d PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VI, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 222-224
- ^ ISBN 978-81-208-0396-1, pages 64-65
- ^ ISBN 978-0415772273, page 341
- ^ PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VI, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, page 226
- ISBN 978-0791078587, page 83
- ^ Pregnant Kanica Maheshwari to have a real godh-bharai on her TV show The Times of India
- ^ jAtakarman, Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, (2008 revision), Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany
- ^ jAtakarman Apte Sanskrit English Dictionary, University of Chicago
- ^ jAtakarman Cologne Sanskrit Digital Lexicon, Germany
- ^ ISBN 978-0299208301, page 46
- ^ a b c Max Muller, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad VI Adhyaya 4 Brahmana 24, Oxford University Press, pages 222-224 with footnotes
- ^ Hermann Oldenberg, Friedrich Max Müller, Sankhayana Grihya Sutra at Google Books, in The Grihya-sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, pages 51-52
- ^ nAmakaraNa Cologne Sanskrit Digital Lexicon
- ^ a b c d PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VI, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 238-254
- ^ ISBN 978-0415772273, pages 342-343
- ^ niSkrama Monier Williams
- ^ a b c d e PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VI, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 255-256
- ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 315-321
- ^ a b c d PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VI, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 256-258
- ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 89-94
- ^ a b c d PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VI, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 260-265
- ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 94-95
- ^ karNavedha Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon
- ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 102-105
- ^ a b c PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VI, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 254-255
- ^ a b c d PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VI, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 266-267
- ^ ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 106-108
- ISBN 978-8120804234, page 173-174
- ISBN 978-0823931798, page 750
- ^ ISBN 978-1550581041, page 67
- ^ a b upanyana Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, Cologne Sanskrit Digital Lexicon, Germany
- ^ a b c PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 268-287
- ^ a b PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 288-300
- ISBN 978-8120812406, pages 119-131
- ^ ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 111-117
- ISBN 978-8120804234, pages 270-271
- ISBN 978-9004125568, pages 102-103, 197-198, 263-276
- ^ a b PV Kane, History of Dharmasastra Volume 2.1, 1st Edition, pages 293-295
- ^ Grihya sutra of Gobhila Verse 2.1.19, Herman Oldenberg & Max Muller (Translator), The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 30, Part 2, Oxford University Press, page 44
- ^ a b Stella Kramrisch (1958), Traditions of the Indian Craftsman, The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 71, No. 281, pages 224-230
- ISBN 978-8120802223
- ISBN 978-0304707393, Bloomsbury Academic, pages 32-134
- ISBN 978-8120803961, page 142
- ^ PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 308-312
- ^ PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 356-357
- ^ PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 321-334
- ^ a b c PV Kane, Upakarana, Chapter XXIII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part II, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 807-811
- ^ PV Kane, Upakarana, Chapter XXIII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part II, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 815-818
- ^ ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 143-145
- ^ Sacred Samskaras Rajbali Pandey, Hinduism Today, May/June 2001
- ISBN 978-1558680708, page 74
- ISBN 978-0199948550, page 328
- ^ PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 405-408
- ^ PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, page 408
- ISBN 978-0299208301, page 52
- ^ PV Kane, Snana or Samavartana, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 406-409
- ^ PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 412-417 (note: link has missing pages)
- ^ a b c d Taittiriya Upanishad SS Sastri (Translator), The Aitereya and Taittiriya Upanishad, pages 89-92
- ^ ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 229-231
- ^ a b Taittiriya Upanishad Thirteen Principle Upanishads, Robert Hume (Translator), pages 281-282
- ^ Original: मातृदेवो भव । पितृदेवो भव । आचार्यदेवो भव । अतिथिदेवो भव । यान्यनवद्यानि कर्माणि तानि सेवितव्यानि । नो इतराणि । यान्यस्माकँ सुचरितानि तानि त्वयोपास्यानि । नो इतराणि ॥ २ ॥; Taittiriya Upanishad (Sanskrit), Wikisource
- ^ BBC News article on Hinduism & Weddings, Nawal Prinja (24 August 2009)
- ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 153-233
- ISBN 978-81-208-0396-1, see Chapter VIII, pages 153–233
- ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8, page 427
- ^ Sari nights and henna parties, Amy Yee, The Financial Times, 17 May 2008
- ISBN 978-1-934145-38-8; see pages 4, 73-74
- ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 224-225
- ^ niSeka Sanskrit - English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany
- ISBN 978-3447051521, pages 155-156
- ^ vrata Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany
- ^ a b PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 370-375
- ^ Antayesti Cologne Sanskrit Digital Lexicon, Germany
- ^ ISBN 978-0813540689, pages 99-100
- ^ ISBN 978-1898723608, pages 59-60
- ^ a b c Terje Oestigaard, in The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Death and Burial (Editors: Sarah Tarlow, Liv Nilsson Stut), Oxford University Press, ISBN, pages 497-501
- ISBN 978-0140449891, see chapter on Death
- ISBN 978-0140449891, see chapter on Death
- ^ ISBN 978-0199172542, page 58
- ISBN 978-0415522366, page 66-67
- ^ ISBN 978-0810868212, pages 186-187
- ISBN 978-0198279471, pages 193-208
- ISBN 978-8120815780, pages 291-300
- ISBN 978-3447051521, pages 199-200
- ^ "The Sikhs and Their Way of Life - Sikh Ceremonies and Festivals". www.sikhmissionarysociety.org.
- ^ "The Sikh Ceremonies". Gateway to Sikhism. 30 November 1999.
Further reading
- Critical analysis of childhood samskaras (sacraments) in light of contemporary science Deepshikha and Rai Amit Kumar (2014), Int. Journal Ayur. Pharma Research, 2(2), pp. 95–100.
- Culture as the Designer, Lalit Das (2005), Design Issues, MIT Press, 21(4), pp. 41–53.
- The Existential, Social, and Cosmic Significance of the Upanayana Rite, Carl Olson (1977), Numen, Vol. 24, Fasc. 2, pp. 152–160.
- Thomas N. Siqueira, The Vedic Sacraments, Thought, Volume 9, Issue 4, March 1935, pp. 598–609, .