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10. Divination Divination also played an important part in the performance of the Samskaras. Divination is the science that seeks to discover the will of supernatural powers. Men desired to learn the causes of the present and the past misfortunes and the story of the future that they may know...

5. Lustration The next class of constituents consisted of bath, sipping water and lustration or baptismal sprinkling of water over persons and things. "The animistic theory of the universe which underlies all ancient religion and philosophy suggested that water was a living being. which in so...

1. Introductory The Samskaras are a complex combination of various elements. They express beliefs, sentiments and knowledge of the ancient Hindus about the nature of human life and the universe and their relation with the superhuman powers that were supposed to guide or control the destiny of...

7. Spiritual Significance Spiritualism is a chief feature of Hinduism and every phase of Hindu religion is tinctured with it. This general outlook of the Hindus transformed the Samskaras into a spiritual Sadhana. The spiritual purpose and significance of the Samskaras cannot be given an open...

4. The Cultural Purpose. While fully recognizing the popular purpose of the Samskaras, the great writers and lawgivers have attempted to introduce higher religion and sanctity of life into them. Manu says, "By performing the Samskaras, conception, birth-rites, tonsure, and Upanayana, seminal...

1. Introductory An investigation into the real purpose and significance of ancient institutions like the Hindu Samskaras is beset with many difficulties. First of all, the peculiar circumstances under which they arose are buried deep under thick crusts of ages, and around them have clustered a...

14. The Relative Importance of Sources The information derived from the Vedas, mostly being incidental, is highly reliable. Here the poet, unlike the priests, was not superimposing ceremonies on the people but drawing on the popular sources and incorporating the popular rites in his...

9. The Puranas The Puranas are not less important than the epics for the study of the Samskăras. Their influence on the Dharmasastra literature is considerable. Even the earliest Dharmasutras bear witness to the popularity of the Puranas which they often quote. They are in many ways connected...

4. The Aranyakas and the Upanishads The Aranyakas and the Upanisads are mainly concerned with philosophical subjects and do not condescend to deal with rituals. But the Vedic sacrifices and rituals were still very popular in their times and they have found mention, here and there, in them. From...

THE SOURCES OF INQUIRY Introductory The Grhyasutras, the oldest manuals of the Hindu Samskaras, do not cite their authorities as the Dharmasutras do for their contents. The cause of this silence is that the Samskaras, mostly being domestic rites and ceremonies, were based more on precedent...

Even though the usage of the bindi is profoundly common among the women following Hindu or Jain customs, these days, however, women belonging to all races, religions, creed, castes, etc. have started wearing this dot of beauty. It is also important to note that bindis are not just worn by the...

Conventionally, this decoration dot is worn in the center of the area between the eyebrows. The reason behind the choice of this space for adorning the bindi is attributable to a Vedic belief. According to this belief, the space between the eyebrows is considered to be the sixth chakra i.e., one...

The colour red and matrimony go together, denoting auspicious circumstances, prosperity, and fertility. A woman crossing over the threshold into her new home becomes its ‘new guardian’ of sorts. This is also why a widow replaces a red Bindi with a black dot, indicating her dissociation from...

The idea behind the Bindi as a chakra goes back to 3000 B.C. when Hindu rishi-munis wrote about it in the Vedas. Therein they described the physical/spiritual value of the seven chakras in the human body, the sixth one being the ‘third eye’ chakra. This is where the Bindi is placed, namely at...

Far from being a personal style statement, the Bindi is essentially a sacred symbol in India. It is exclusively worn by women to signify one of the seven chakras. Most people assume that it only represents a woman’s marital bond, which is just one part of its overall significance. Often...

The Maurya Empire is the first known empire in recorded history that spanned most of India into a political unity. However it is indeed apparent that such a unity may have existed in pre-Maurya times. It is widely believed that the Mauya Empire was begun in the 4th century BC. However there is a...

He was popularly known as "Kayamkulam Kochunni", because he hailed from that village in Travancore, once a princely state, now part of Kerala, and there were few comparable to him in chivalry and kindness either in Kayamkulam or in any of the surrounding villages. Born of poor parents some two...

Kichakesvari /Kichakeshwari / Kichakeswari temple is located at a longitude 85° 49° 58°degree east and latitude of 21° 55° 39° degree north and it is 1220 ft above sea level. The temple itself faces towards the east. It consists of a square rekha vimana that stands over a high platform of 1.20...

left eye twitching is an involuntary function due to muscle contraction on your eyelid, this does not affect your actual eyeball but lower part of eyelid. Now coming to superstition part: This is definitely a time or sign of you loosing money in near future hence avoid any kind risk based...

Lord Brahma blessed lord Hanuman with blessings that no weapon of war would be able to kill him. Lord Brahma also blessed hanuman with the power to kill fear and as a result of Lord Hanuman is worshiped for strength. Praying or Chanting hanumans name or mantra ensures that all fears will be killed.