Childhood Rites

A collective name for the samskaras of
early childhood, as specified in the
Dharma Shastras, or treatises on religious duty (dharma). These rites include
the jatakarma (birth ceremonies),
namakarana (naming), nishkramana
(first outing), annaprashana (first feeding), chudakarana (tonsure), and karnavedha (piercing the ears). Virtually
all Hindu communities have ceremonies for ritually marking births and
childhood, but few people perform
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Childhood Rites
the rites prescribed by the Dharma
Shastras other than brahmins. For
further information see Pandurang
Vaman Kane (trans.), A History of
Dharmasastra, 1968; and Raj Bali
Pandey, Hindu Samskaras, 1969. The
former is encyclopedic and the latter
more accessible; despite their age they
remain the best sources for traditional
Hindu rites.