DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.636#0370
358 Name-giving. Carrying out. Food-giving.
the ears of the infant were then touched with the golden rod,
and another prayer repeated: ' May Savitri, may Sarasvati,
may the Asvins grant thee wisdom.' Lastly, the shoulders
were rubbed and these words uttered: ' Become firm as
a rock, sharp as an axe, pure as gold; thou art the Veda
called a son, live thou a hundred years. May Indra bestow
on thee his best treasures.'
The next Sanskara, called ' Name-giving' (Nama-karana),
took place on the tenth day after the birth of the child.
The Hindus regard the giving of a name as a solemn
religious act fraught with important consequences in its
bearing on the future prospects of the child. The sound and
meaning of the name must be auspicious. Asvalayana laid
down the rule that a boy's name should either consist of two
or of four syllables, not of an odd number, and have a soft
consonant for its first letter and a semi-vowel in the middle
(for example, Bhadra, Deva, Bhava, Naga-deva, Bhadra-datta,
Deva-datta, YajSa-datta). Lawgivers prescribed that the word
Sarman, ' prosperity/ should form part of a Brahman's name;
Varman, 'armour,' of a Kshatriya's; Gupta, 'protected,' of
a Vaisya's; and Dasa, ' slave,' of a Sudra's (compare Manu
II. 32). The names of women were required to be agreeable,
soft, clear, captivating, auspicious, and ending in long vowels.
The next ceremony, called ' Carrying out' (Nishkramana),
was of less importance. In the fourth month after birth the
child was carried out into the open air to look at the rising
sun, while the following prayers were said: ' That eye-like
luminary, the cause of blessings to the gods (or placed in
the sky by the gods), rises in the east; may we behold it
for a hundred years.' ' May we hear, may we speak, may we
be free from poverty for a hundred years and more' (Rig-
veda VII. 66. 16; Vaj.-Samhita. XXXVI. 24).
The sixth Sanskara, called ' Food-giving' (Anna-prasana),
performed in the sixth month after birth, was of more im-
portance. The child was carried in the arms of its father and
the ears of the infant were then touched with the golden rod,
and another prayer repeated: ' May Savitri, may Sarasvati,
may the Asvins grant thee wisdom.' Lastly, the shoulders
were rubbed and these words uttered: ' Become firm as
a rock, sharp as an axe, pure as gold; thou art the Veda
called a son, live thou a hundred years. May Indra bestow
on thee his best treasures.'
The next Sanskara, called ' Name-giving' (Nama-karana),
took place on the tenth day after the birth of the child.
The Hindus regard the giving of a name as a solemn
religious act fraught with important consequences in its
bearing on the future prospects of the child. The sound and
meaning of the name must be auspicious. Asvalayana laid
down the rule that a boy's name should either consist of two
or of four syllables, not of an odd number, and have a soft
consonant for its first letter and a semi-vowel in the middle
(for example, Bhadra, Deva, Bhava, Naga-deva, Bhadra-datta,
Deva-datta, YajSa-datta). Lawgivers prescribed that the word
Sarman, ' prosperity/ should form part of a Brahman's name;
Varman, 'armour,' of a Kshatriya's; Gupta, 'protected,' of
a Vaisya's; and Dasa, ' slave,' of a Sudra's (compare Manu
II. 32). The names of women were required to be agreeable,
soft, clear, captivating, auspicious, and ending in long vowels.
The next ceremony, called ' Carrying out' (Nishkramana),
was of less importance. In the fourth month after birth the
child was carried out into the open air to look at the rising
sun, while the following prayers were said: ' That eye-like
luminary, the cause of blessings to the gods (or placed in
the sky by the gods), rises in the east; may we behold it
for a hundred years.' ' May we hear, may we speak, may we
be free from poverty for a hundred years and more' (Rig-
veda VII. 66. 16; Vaj.-Samhita. XXXVI. 24).
The sixth Sanskara, called ' Food-giving' (Anna-prasana),
performed in the sixth month after birth, was of more im-
portance. The child was carried in the arms of its father and