जातकर्मThe birth rite
Verse 143
इत्यायुर्जननं कृत्वा गुप्तं नाम प्रकल्पयेत् । कृतोपनयने पुत्रे तेन नाम्ना समाह्वयेत् ॥ १४३ ॥
ityāyurjananaṁ kṛtvā guptaṁ nāma prakalpayēt | kṛtōpanayanē putrē tēna nāmnā samāhvayēt || 143 ||
Translation
Having done this rite for long life, he should give the child a secret name; once the son has been invested with the sacred thread, he should call him by it.
Word by word
- iti
- thus
- āyuḥ
- of long life
- jananaṁ
- the giving
- kṛtvā
- having done
- guptaṁ
- secret
- nāma
- a name
- prakalpayēt
- he should give
- kṛta
- done
- upanayanē
- the investiture
- putrē
- the son
- tēna
- by that
- nāmnā
- name
- samāhvayēt
- he should call
Meaning
The guhya-nāma, a hidden name given at birth, is used only after the upanayana; it protects the child, since what is not known cannot be harmed.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
"Iti āyurjananam" and what follows have a plain meaning. [The rite is āyur-janana, the giving of long life; the secret name is used only after the sacred thread; the śaucha impurity of a birth does not begin until the cord is cut, so the rites for the gods and ancestors are done before.]