कर्णवेधःPiercing the ears
Verse 182
माया शिशो ते कुशलं कुरुतां विश्वकृद्विभुः । पठित्वैनं शिशोः कर्णे स्वर्णमय्या शलाकया । राजत्या लौहमय्या वा कर्णवेधं प्रकल्पयेत् ॥ १८२ ॥
māyā śiśō tē kuśalaṁ kurutāṁ viśvakṛdvibhuḥ | paṭhitvainaṁ śiśōḥ karṇē svarṇamayyā śalākayā | rājatyā lauhamayyā vā karṇavēdhaṁ prakalpayēt || 182 ||
Translation
"Māyā. Child, may the all-pervading maker of all do you good": saying this in the child's ear, with a needle of gold, of silver or of iron he should pierce the ear.
Word by word
- māyā
- māyā (hrīṁ)
- śiśō
- O child
- tē
- to you
- kuśalaṁ
- good
- kurutāṁ
- may he do
- viśvakṛt
- (viśvakṛt) the maker of all
- vibhuḥ
- all-pervading
- paṭhitvā
- having said
- ēnaṁ
- this
- śiśōḥ
- of the child
- karṇē
- in the ear
- svarṇamayyā
- of gold
- śalākayā
- with a needle
- rājatyā
- of silver
- lauhamayyā
- of iron
- vā
- or
- karṇa
- of the ear
- vēdhaṁ
- the piercing
- prakalpayēt
- should do
Meaning
Karṇavedha, the piercing of the ears, is joined here to the tonsure. The mantra is "hrīṁ śiśo te kuśalaṁ kurutāṁ viśvakṛd vibhuḥ".
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
"Māyā" and the rest. Māyā: the seed hrīṁ. Reciting in the child's ear this mantra, from "hrīṁ śiśo" to "viśvakṛd vibhuḥ", with a needle (śalākā) made of gold, of silver, or of iron, he should pierce the child's ear. [The mantra: hrīṁ śiśo te kuśalaṁ kurutāṁ viśvakṛd vibhuḥ — "Child, may the all-pervading maker of all do you good."]