JaneSmith105
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Origin
The birth of a child was a very impressing scene for the early man. Owing to its wonderfulness, he attributed this event to some superhuman agency. He also apprehended many dangers on this occasions, for the avoidance of which various taboos and observances arose. The helplessness of the mother and the new born during her confinement required natural care, from which ceremonies connected with the birth of a child originated. Even in very ancient times ordinary human feelings must have been moved at the sight of a mother, who had just given birth to a child. The man, who shared the pleasures in the company of his mate, sought to protect her and the babe, during the critical time, from natural and supernatural dangers. Thus the birth ceremonies had a natural basis in the physical conditions of child birth. The primitive wonder, supernatural fear and natural care were, in course of time, combined with the cultural devices and aspirations to protect the mother and the child and to consecrate the babe.
History
The word "Janman" or "birth" occurs thrice in the Rigveda. But it is used there in the sense of relations. Besides, the context in which it is used shows that the passages where the word occurs have nothing to do with any ceremony like it. In the Atharvaveda, however, there is one full hymn containing prayers and spells for easy and safe delivery. The hymn runs as follows: "At this birth, O Pusan, let Aryaman (as efficient Vedas) invoke utter Vasat for thee; let the woman rightly engender, be relaxed; let her joints go apart in order to give birth. Four are the directions of sky, four also of the earth; the gods sent together the fetus; let them unclose her in order to give birth. Let Pusan unclose her; we make the Yoni go apart; do thou Susana loosen; do thou Viskala, let go. Not as it were stuck in the flesh, not in the fat, not as it were in the marrow, let the spotted slimy afterbirth come down for the dog to eat; let the afterbirth descend. I split apart thy urinator, apart the Yoni apart the two groins, apart both the mother and the child, apart the boy from the afterbirth; let the afterbirth descend. As the wind, as the mind as fly the birds, so do thou O ten months’ child, fly along with the afterbirth; let the afterbirth descend." This hymn is both a piece of prayer and of magic. The husband was moved at the labour pain of the wife. He wished that she should be free as soon as possible. The help of gods and the will of magicians were requisitioned to ease the mother undergoing the throes of childbirth. The Gruhyasutras employ the third verse of the above hymn in the rite. Sosyantikarma, for speedy delivery. But besides the prayers and spells no details of the ceremonies associated with them can be gathered.
In the Gruhyasutras this Samskara is fully described. But here, too, the ritual is purely religious and popular and superstitious elements are hardly given their proper scope. The Dharmasutras and the Smritis do not give any descriptive details. The mediaeval treatises, however, introduce many preliminary items e.g. the arrangement of the maternity house, ceremony accompanying entry into it, presence of desirable persons near the expectant mother, and some other superstitious observances which are otherwise unknown to earlier sources.
Preliminary Precautions and Ceremonies
We know from the later sources that preparations for delivery began one month before the birth of the child. "On the eve of the month of delivery special arrangement should be made." The first thing done in this connection was the selection of a suitable room in the house. "On an auspicious day when the sun is in an auspicious zodiacal mansion, a room selected in the convenient direction is called the Sutika bhavan or maternity house by the learned." Vasistha does not leave the selection to option but prescribes the room situated in the south west corner of the house. "The house should be elegantly built on an even ground by expert architects; it should face either the east or the north and look auspicious and strong."
A day or two before the delivery, the expectant mother entered the Sutika griha which was well protected from all sides, having worshipped the gods, the Brahmans and the cows, amidst sounds of conchshells and other musical instruments and the recital of auspicious verses. Many other women also, who had given birth to children, who were capable of bearing hardships, of pleasing manners and reliable, accompanied the mother. They cheered up the woman, and prepared her for safe delivery by means of useful ointment and regulations about diet and living. When the time for actual delivery came, they made the mother lie on her back. Some rites were then performed for the protection of the house from evil spirits. The place was anointed to ward off demons. A Brahman loosened all the knots in the house. It symbolized the loosening of the fetus in the womb of the mother. Fire, water, staff, lamp, weapons, mace and mustard seeds were kept in the house. Turyanti plants were also place before the mother. It was believed that in their absence, terrible bloodsucking demons would kill the new born.
Before the Jatakarma proper, a ceremony named Sosyanti karma was performed to expedite the delivery by force of the Atharvan verse, "Not as it were stuck in the flesh, not in the fat, not as it were in the marrow, let the spotted slimy afterbirth come down for the dog to eat." Special rites were prescribed if the child died in the birth. If the delivery was safe and the child was born alive a fire was lighted in the room to warm utensils and to smoke the child and the mother. This fire was kept burning for the days. Grains of rice and seeds of mustard were thrown into it with appropriate formulas to drive away various kinds of evil spirits. The Sutika fire was regarded impure and it disappeared on the tenth day when the domestic fire came into use after the purification of the mother and the child was performed.
Time of Performance
The Jatakarma ceremony was performed before the severing of the naval cord. This seems to have been the original time, but later writers state that if the time expired it was performed at the end of the ceremonial impurity of ten days, or, if the birth took place during the impurity caused by a death in the family, the ceremony was postponed until its expiry. In later times the moment of birth was noted with meticulous care for preparing horoscope, as it was thought to be a determining factor in the life of the child. Then the good news was brought to the father. Different sentiments were expressed at the birth of a boy and a girl, as different prospects were depending on them. The first born was liked to be a boy, as he freed the father from all ancestral debts. But for a sensible man a girl was not less meritorious, because her gift in marriage brought merits to the father. After this, the father went to the mother in order to see the face of the son, because by looking at the face of the new born son the father is absolved from all debts and attains immortality. Having seen the face of the child, he bathed with his clothes on. Invited the elders and performed the Nandi Sraddha and the Jatakarma ceremonies. Generally speaking, Sraddha is an inauspicious ceremony. But the one performed here was an auspicious Sraddha. It was meant for entertaining the Father. Harita says, "Merits arise from the happiness of the Fathers at the birth of a son. Therefore,one should offer Sraddha to them with pots full of sesame and gold, after having invited the Brahmanas." The Brahma purana also enjoins to perform the Nandi Sraddha at the birth of a son.
Ceremonies and their Significance
Medh janana
Now the Jatakarma ceremonies proper commenced. The first ceremony was the Medhjanana or production of intelligence. It was performed in the following way. The father with his fourth finger and an instrument of gold gave to the child honey and ghee or ghee alone. Others add to it sour milk, rice, barley and even whitish black and red hairs of a black bull. The formula employed was, "Bhuh I put into thee: Bhuvah I put into thee; Svaha I put into thee: Bhur bhuvah svaha every thing I put into thee." The Medhjanana ceremony speaks of the high concern of the Hindus about the intellectual well being of the child, which they thought their first business with it. The Vyahrtis uttered on this occasion were symbolical of intelligence; they were recited with the great Gayatri mantra which contains prayer for stimulating talent. The substances, with which the child was fed, were also conducive to mental growth. According to Susruta, the following are the properties of ghee: "It is producer of beauty; it is greasy and sweet; it is remover of hysteria, headache, epilepsy, fever, indigestion, excess of bile; it is increaser of digestion, memory, intellect, talent, luster, good sound, semen and life." The properties of honey and gold are equally favourable to the mental progress of the child. According to the Gobhila Gruhyasutra, at this time, a name was given to the child, while the phrase, "Thou are the Veda," was being uttered in its ear. This was the secret name known to the parents only. It was not made public, as they were afraid that enemies might practice magic on it and thus injure the child.
The birth of a child was a very impressing scene for the early man. Owing to its wonderfulness, he attributed this event to some superhuman agency. He also apprehended many dangers on this occasions, for the avoidance of which various taboos and observances arose. The helplessness of the mother and the new born during her confinement required natural care, from which ceremonies connected with the birth of a child originated. Even in very ancient times ordinary human feelings must have been moved at the sight of a mother, who had just given birth to a child. The man, who shared the pleasures in the company of his mate, sought to protect her and the babe, during the critical time, from natural and supernatural dangers. Thus the birth ceremonies had a natural basis in the physical conditions of child birth. The primitive wonder, supernatural fear and natural care were, in course of time, combined with the cultural devices and aspirations to protect the mother and the child and to consecrate the babe.
History
The word "Janman" or "birth" occurs thrice in the Rigveda. But it is used there in the sense of relations. Besides, the context in which it is used shows that the passages where the word occurs have nothing to do with any ceremony like it. In the Atharvaveda, however, there is one full hymn containing prayers and spells for easy and safe delivery. The hymn runs as follows: "At this birth, O Pusan, let Aryaman (as efficient Vedas) invoke utter Vasat for thee; let the woman rightly engender, be relaxed; let her joints go apart in order to give birth. Four are the directions of sky, four also of the earth; the gods sent together the fetus; let them unclose her in order to give birth. Let Pusan unclose her; we make the Yoni go apart; do thou Susana loosen; do thou Viskala, let go. Not as it were stuck in the flesh, not in the fat, not as it were in the marrow, let the spotted slimy afterbirth come down for the dog to eat; let the afterbirth descend. I split apart thy urinator, apart the Yoni apart the two groins, apart both the mother and the child, apart the boy from the afterbirth; let the afterbirth descend. As the wind, as the mind as fly the birds, so do thou O ten months’ child, fly along with the afterbirth; let the afterbirth descend." This hymn is both a piece of prayer and of magic. The husband was moved at the labour pain of the wife. He wished that she should be free as soon as possible. The help of gods and the will of magicians were requisitioned to ease the mother undergoing the throes of childbirth. The Gruhyasutras employ the third verse of the above hymn in the rite. Sosyantikarma, for speedy delivery. But besides the prayers and spells no details of the ceremonies associated with them can be gathered.
In the Gruhyasutras this Samskara is fully described. But here, too, the ritual is purely religious and popular and superstitious elements are hardly given their proper scope. The Dharmasutras and the Smritis do not give any descriptive details. The mediaeval treatises, however, introduce many preliminary items e.g. the arrangement of the maternity house, ceremony accompanying entry into it, presence of desirable persons near the expectant mother, and some other superstitious observances which are otherwise unknown to earlier sources.
Preliminary Precautions and Ceremonies
We know from the later sources that preparations for delivery began one month before the birth of the child. "On the eve of the month of delivery special arrangement should be made." The first thing done in this connection was the selection of a suitable room in the house. "On an auspicious day when the sun is in an auspicious zodiacal mansion, a room selected in the convenient direction is called the Sutika bhavan or maternity house by the learned." Vasistha does not leave the selection to option but prescribes the room situated in the south west corner of the house. "The house should be elegantly built on an even ground by expert architects; it should face either the east or the north and look auspicious and strong."
A day or two before the delivery, the expectant mother entered the Sutika griha which was well protected from all sides, having worshipped the gods, the Brahmans and the cows, amidst sounds of conchshells and other musical instruments and the recital of auspicious verses. Many other women also, who had given birth to children, who were capable of bearing hardships, of pleasing manners and reliable, accompanied the mother. They cheered up the woman, and prepared her for safe delivery by means of useful ointment and regulations about diet and living. When the time for actual delivery came, they made the mother lie on her back. Some rites were then performed for the protection of the house from evil spirits. The place was anointed to ward off demons. A Brahman loosened all the knots in the house. It symbolized the loosening of the fetus in the womb of the mother. Fire, water, staff, lamp, weapons, mace and mustard seeds were kept in the house. Turyanti plants were also place before the mother. It was believed that in their absence, terrible bloodsucking demons would kill the new born.
Before the Jatakarma proper, a ceremony named Sosyanti karma was performed to expedite the delivery by force of the Atharvan verse, "Not as it were stuck in the flesh, not in the fat, not as it were in the marrow, let the spotted slimy afterbirth come down for the dog to eat." Special rites were prescribed if the child died in the birth. If the delivery was safe and the child was born alive a fire was lighted in the room to warm utensils and to smoke the child and the mother. This fire was kept burning for the days. Grains of rice and seeds of mustard were thrown into it with appropriate formulas to drive away various kinds of evil spirits. The Sutika fire was regarded impure and it disappeared on the tenth day when the domestic fire came into use after the purification of the mother and the child was performed.
Time of Performance
The Jatakarma ceremony was performed before the severing of the naval cord. This seems to have been the original time, but later writers state that if the time expired it was performed at the end of the ceremonial impurity of ten days, or, if the birth took place during the impurity caused by a death in the family, the ceremony was postponed until its expiry. In later times the moment of birth was noted with meticulous care for preparing horoscope, as it was thought to be a determining factor in the life of the child. Then the good news was brought to the father. Different sentiments were expressed at the birth of a boy and a girl, as different prospects were depending on them. The first born was liked to be a boy, as he freed the father from all ancestral debts. But for a sensible man a girl was not less meritorious, because her gift in marriage brought merits to the father. After this, the father went to the mother in order to see the face of the son, because by looking at the face of the new born son the father is absolved from all debts and attains immortality. Having seen the face of the child, he bathed with his clothes on. Invited the elders and performed the Nandi Sraddha and the Jatakarma ceremonies. Generally speaking, Sraddha is an inauspicious ceremony. But the one performed here was an auspicious Sraddha. It was meant for entertaining the Father. Harita says, "Merits arise from the happiness of the Fathers at the birth of a son. Therefore,one should offer Sraddha to them with pots full of sesame and gold, after having invited the Brahmanas." The Brahma purana also enjoins to perform the Nandi Sraddha at the birth of a son.
Ceremonies and their Significance
Medh janana
Now the Jatakarma ceremonies proper commenced. The first ceremony was the Medhjanana or production of intelligence. It was performed in the following way. The father with his fourth finger and an instrument of gold gave to the child honey and ghee or ghee alone. Others add to it sour milk, rice, barley and even whitish black and red hairs of a black bull. The formula employed was, "Bhuh I put into thee: Bhuvah I put into thee; Svaha I put into thee: Bhur bhuvah svaha every thing I put into thee." The Medhjanana ceremony speaks of the high concern of the Hindus about the intellectual well being of the child, which they thought their first business with it. The Vyahrtis uttered on this occasion were symbolical of intelligence; they were recited with the great Gayatri mantra which contains prayer for stimulating talent. The substances, with which the child was fed, were also conducive to mental growth. According to Susruta, the following are the properties of ghee: "It is producer of beauty; it is greasy and sweet; it is remover of hysteria, headache, epilepsy, fever, indigestion, excess of bile; it is increaser of digestion, memory, intellect, talent, luster, good sound, semen and life." The properties of honey and gold are equally favourable to the mental progress of the child. According to the Gobhila Gruhyasutra, at this time, a name was given to the child, while the phrase, "Thou are the Veda," was being uttered in its ear. This was the secret name known to the parents only. It was not made public, as they were afraid that enemies might practice magic on it and thus injure the child.
