Nāmakaraṇa
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Namakarana (
Description
According to the
On the day of this samskara, the infant is bathed and dressed in new garments.[4] Their formal name, selected by the parents, is announced. The naming ritual solemnises the child as an individual, marking the process by which a child is accepted and socialized by people around them. The rite of passage also includes a gathering of friends and relatives of the baby's parents, typically with gifts and for a feast.[4]
The ancient Sanskrit texts provide numerous and divergent guidelines to the parents for choosing names.[2] A boy's name by ancient conventions is typically of two or four syllables, starting with a sonant, a semivowel in the middle, and ending in a visarga. A girl's name is typically an odd number of syllables, ending in a long ā or ī, resonant and easy to pronounce.[2] Unpleasant, inauspicious, or words that easily transform into bad or evil words must be avoided, state the Gryhasutras, while the preferred names are those affiliated with a deity, virtues, good qualities, lucky stars, constellation, derivatives of the name of the father, or mother, or the place of birth, or beautiful elements of nature (trees, flowers, birds).[2][4]
Five names can be given to the new born as per rashi, nakshatra, masa, family deity, and worldly name.
See also
References
- ISBN 81-85843-03-1, p.392
- ^ a b c d PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VI, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 238-254
- ISBN 81-208-0434-1, pp.78-89
- ^ ISBN 978-0415772273, pages 342-343
Sources
- Asoke Kumar Majumdar (1983). Concise History of Ancient India. Vol. 3. ISBN 978-81-215-0176-7.