DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.636#0384
$72 Birth-record and Horoscope.
conversation. But the infant often receives a second or pri-
vate name, which is considered to be its real name, and is
whispered inaudibly by its parent or the family preceptor
(guru), and not revealed to others. The idea is that a man's
name is in some mysterious manner connected with his per-
sonality, and the object of concealing it is to protect him from
the power of sorcerers, who are unable to injure him by their
enchantments unless they know and can pronounce his real
name1.
I ought to mention, too, that besides the common name
and the secret name, another is generally added which may
be called the astrological name, because it contains a letter
from the name of the constellation (nakshatra) under which
the child was born. It is well known that nothing of im-
portance is ever done by a Hindu without consulting the
stars. Therefore soon after the Name-giving ceremony has
been performed the family Astrologer (Jyotisha, corrupted
into JyoshI or Joshl) is sent for and commissioned to draw
up a horoscope of the exact time of the child's nativity, the
constellation under which it was born, with a prophecy of
the duration of its life, and the circumstances, good or evil,
of its probable career. This is called the birth-record (Janma-
patra). It is always written in Sanskrit, and, if the parents
are rich, sometimes on a roll sixty yards long, takes three or
four months to prepare, and costs a large sum of money.
The name given in the horoscope is the Nakshatra name, and
not the one given at the Name-giving ceremony. For ex-
ample, if the child's common name is Yadava Candra
Ghosh, this name is not mentioned in the horoscope, but a
different name is given, such, for example, as Raghu-natha,
1 It is well known that no wife in India likes to utter her husband's
name. According to Sir J. Lubbock a Sumatran scrupulously abstains
from pronouncing his own name, and a similar superstition prevails
among the Negroes, Abyssinians, and Australians.
conversation. But the infant often receives a second or pri-
vate name, which is considered to be its real name, and is
whispered inaudibly by its parent or the family preceptor
(guru), and not revealed to others. The idea is that a man's
name is in some mysterious manner connected with his per-
sonality, and the object of concealing it is to protect him from
the power of sorcerers, who are unable to injure him by their
enchantments unless they know and can pronounce his real
name1.
I ought to mention, too, that besides the common name
and the secret name, another is generally added which may
be called the astrological name, because it contains a letter
from the name of the constellation (nakshatra) under which
the child was born. It is well known that nothing of im-
portance is ever done by a Hindu without consulting the
stars. Therefore soon after the Name-giving ceremony has
been performed the family Astrologer (Jyotisha, corrupted
into JyoshI or Joshl) is sent for and commissioned to draw
up a horoscope of the exact time of the child's nativity, the
constellation under which it was born, with a prophecy of
the duration of its life, and the circumstances, good or evil,
of its probable career. This is called the birth-record (Janma-
patra). It is always written in Sanskrit, and, if the parents
are rich, sometimes on a roll sixty yards long, takes three or
four months to prepare, and costs a large sum of money.
The name given in the horoscope is the Nakshatra name, and
not the one given at the Name-giving ceremony. For ex-
ample, if the child's common name is Yadava Candra
Ghosh, this name is not mentioned in the horoscope, but a
different name is given, such, for example, as Raghu-natha,
1 It is well known that no wife in India likes to utter her husband's
name. According to Sir J. Lubbock a Sumatran scrupulously abstains
from pronouncing his own name, and a similar superstition prevails
among the Negroes, Abyssinians, and Australians.