सीमन्तोन्नयनम्Sīmantonnayana, the parting of the hair
Verse 135
स्वर्णकङ्कतिकां भर्त्ता गृहीत्वा दक्षिणे करे । सीमन्ताद्बद्धकेशान्तः केशपाशे निवेशयेत् ॥ १३५ ॥
svarṇakaṅkatikāṁ bharttā gṛhītvā dakṣiṇē karē | sīmantādbaddhakēśāntaḥ kēśapāśē nivēśayēt || 135 ||
Translation
Taking a golden comb in his right hand, the husband should set it in the mass of her hair, from the parting to the end of the knot,
Word by word
- svarṇa
- golden
- kaṅkatikāṁ
- a comb
- bharttā
- the husband
- gṛhītvā
- having taken
- dakṣiṇē
- in the right
- karē
- hand
- sīmantāt
- (sīmantāt) from the parting
- baddha
- bound
- kēśa
- of hair
- antaḥ
- (antaḥ) the end
- pāśē
- in the mass
- nivēśayēt
- should set
Meaning
The central act of the rite: the parting of the wife's hair with a golden comb, which is then fixed in her knotted hair. It recalls the old fashion in which the side-locks were drawn back into the knot during pregnancy.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
"Svarṇa" and the rest. Then the husband, taking in his right hand a golden comb (kaṅkatikā), a comb made of gold, first uttering the seed of māyā, the seed hrīṁ, then uttering the mantra "bhārye kalyāṇi subhage daśame māsi suvrate | suprasūtā bhava prītā prasādād viśvakarmaṇaḥ | āyuṣmatī kaṅkatikā varcasvī te śubhaṁ kuru |", meditating on Śiva, Viṣṇu, Vidhi and Prajāpati, should set it in the knot of her hair, from the parting (sīmanta) to the end of the bound hair, into the mass of hair within the knot. "Āyuṣmatī" is to be construed with "bhava"; "te" is to be construed with "kaṅkatikā". [So: "O wife, blessed and fortunate, of good vows, by the grace of Viśvakarman be happily delivered in the tenth month; be long-lived. O comb, splendid one, bring her good."]