अस्यावश्यकत्वे हेतुःWhy they are needed
Verse 4
जीवसेकः पुंसवनं सीमन्तोन्नयनं तथा । जातनाम्नी निष्क्रमणमन्नाशनमतः परम् । चूड़ोपनयनोद्वाहाः संस्काराः कथिता दश ॥ ४ ॥
jīvasēkaḥ puṁsavanaṁ sīmantōnnayanaṁ tathā | jātanāmnī niṣkramaṇamannāśanamataḥ param | cūḍōpanayanōdvāhāḥ saṁskārāḥ kathitā daśa || 4 ||
Translation
The sacraments are told as ten: the sprinkling of life (conception), puṁsavana, sīmantonnayana, the birth rite, the naming, the first going out, then the first feeding with rice, and the tonsure, the investiture and marriage.
Word by word
- jīva
- of life
- sēkaḥ
- (sekaḥ) the sprinkling; conception
- puṁsavanaṁ
- puṁsavana, the rite for a male child
- sīmantōnnayanaṁ
- sīmantonnayana, the parting of the hair
- tathā
- and
- jāta
- the birth rite
- nāmnī
- and the naming
- niṣkramaṇam
- (niṣkramaṇam) the first going out
- annāśanam
- (annāśanam) the first feeding with rice
- ataḥ
- after that
- param
- next
- cūḍō
- (cūḍā) the tonsure
- upanayana
- the investiture
- udvāhāḥ
- (udvāhāḥ) and marriage
- saṁskārāḥ
- the sacraments
- kathitāḥ
- are told
- daśa
- ten
Meaning
The list of the ten saṁskāras, which the rest of the chapter describes in turn. (1) Jīvaseka, "the sprinkling of life", is garbhādhāna, the rite of conception, preceded by the ṛtu-saṁskāra, the rite of the season. (2) Puṁsavana, "bringing forth a male", in the third month of pregnancy. (3) Sīmantonnayana, "parting the hair" of the expectant mother. (4) Jātakarma, the birth rite. (5) Nāmakaraṇa, the naming. (6) Niṣkramaṇa, the child's first going out to see the sun. (7) Annāśana or annaprāśana, the first feeding with rice. (8) Cūḍā, the tonsure. (9) Upanayana, the investiture with the sacred thread. (10) Udvāha, marriage. The commentary notes that brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas have all ten; śūdras and the mixed class have nine, without the investiture.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
For brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas there are ten saṁskāras, from jīvaseka (the sprinkling of life, conception) to udvāha (marriage); for śūdras and those of mixed class there are only nine, from jīvaseka on, leaving out the saṁskāra called upanayana (investiture with the sacred thread). This he says with "jīvasekaḥ" and the rest, in two and a half verses.