CHAPTER VIII
Post-Natal Ceremonies
Namakarana or naming tha child. - The proper day for this ceremony would be the 10th, 12th or 16th day of the child's birth. If this is not possible, then an auspicious day must be fixed for the purpose.
Anuradha, Punarvasu, Makha, Uttara, Uttarashadha, Uttarabhadra, Satabhisha, Swati, Dhanishta, Sravana, Rohini, Aswini, Mrigasira, Revati, Hasta and Pushya are auspicious.
The 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 12th, l4th lunar days; Full Moon and New Moon should be avoided.
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are good. Other weekdays are not good. As far as possible, the Lagna roust be rendered strong and the 8th house should be unoccupied. Fixed signs are preferable and common signs are good when occupied by benefics.
If Jupiter occupies a kendra or thrikona and a malefic is in the 11th the time is held to be very auspicious. Another equally propitious combination ie the time when the Lagna falls in's benefic sign with a malefic in the 3rd, Venus in 12th and the Moon in a dignified bosrtion.
Generally the name to be given to a male child should consist of an even number of letters (e.g., Rama, Krishna, etc.), while a female child should be given a name containing uneven number of letters e.g., Parvati, Janaki, etc.). The name must also be appropriate to the ruling star.
Cradling. - The best time for this would be the 10th, 12th, 16th, or the 22nd day after its birth.
First Feeding on Rico (Annaprasana). - Let the first feeding on rice be done in the 6th, 8th, 9th, or 12th month on days ruled by Aswini, Mrigasira, Punarvasu, Dhanishta, Pushyami, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Sravana, Satabhisha, Uttara, and Chitta, avoiding the usual unfavourable lunar days. The 10th house must be unoccupied. The first feeding should not be done in the constellation of Aridra, Krittika, Jyeshta, Bharani, Aslesha, Poorvashadha and Poorvabhadra.
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are good. Aries. Scorpio and Pisces are inauspicious. Mercury, Mars and Venus should not occupy respectively the 7th, 8th and 9th houses. Mercury, Jupiter or Venus in Lagna is highly commendable. No malefic should occupy the ascendant.
The most important factor in this function is the month; hence one should not mind even if Jupiter and Venus are combust.
Ear Boring (Karnavedha). - This should be done on the 12th oil 6th day of the birth of the child or in the 6th, 7th or 8th month, either in the forenoon or in the afternoon but never during night. A day ruled by two asterisms or two lunar days is not propitious as also the other lunar days usually declared as inauspicious.
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are good. At the time of boring the ears, the 8th house should be unoccupied, Aquarius, Leo and Scorpio
Tonsure (Chowlam) - The learned say that Chowlam is a very important karma because it involves the first cutting of hair which means discharge of electrical currents from the child for the first time. The ceremony when properly done is said to prolong the life of the child. It should not be done when the mother of the child is pregnant. Chowlam may be performed in the 3rd or 5th year when Jupiter and Venus are free from combustion and when the Sun is in the Tropic of Cancer. The bright fortnight is said to give longevity while the dark fortnight is supposed to affect the health.
The 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th and 13th lunar days are good. The 4th, 1st, 6th, 8th, 9th, 14th and New and Full Moon days should be rejected.
Punarvasu, Mrigasira, Dhanishta, Sravana, Revati, Pushya, Chitta, Aswini, Hasta are favourable; Swati, Rohini, Satabhisha, Uttara, Uttarabhadra, Uttarashadha are ordinary. Tonsure should always be done in the forenoon.
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are good.
Cancer, Virgo, Gemini, Pisces, Libra, Taurus and Capricorn rising give rise to good results. The rest are not beneficial. But they can be employed provided benefics occupy the Lagna and the Lagna is otherwise strong. But Aquarius should be rejected at any cost, no matter how powerful it might be. Let the benefics occupy the 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th and 11th and malefics the 3rd, 6th and 11th. The 8th house must femain unoccupied. The 7th house should not be occupied by either the Sun or Mars or preferably by any malefic.
Commencing Education (Aksharabhyasa}. - Alphabet is a crude translation of the word 'Akshara'. Akshara means that which cannot be destroyed and therefore akshara simply indestructible forms of sound vibrations.
When such sound vibrations are first put into the child's ears, they must be such as to give the child a good chance of calling out the latent energies in him or her so that the course of training may run smoothly and to his best advantage.
The most propitious period for commencing education is the 6th day in the 5th month of the 5th year. The following days constellations are good: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; Aswini, Punarvasu, Aridra, Hasta, Chitta, Swati, Sravana and Revati.
Movable and common signs are good.
Forenoon and noon are preferable. The 8th house should be unoccupied.
Mercury, Venus, Jupiter in the 9th counteracts all evil influences.
Investiture of Sacred Thread (Upanayanam)*. - This is a ceremony in which spiritiual instructions are given by authorised persons to give spiritual eye to the boy by which his internal vision is brought closer to the Universal light or God. This ceremony is peculiar to the Hindus. But as the name indicates, any section of the human society, whether Hindu or not, may take advantage of these valuable precepts and begin to give their children the religious instruction most suitable to their countries, castes and traditions, Upanayanam should be performed in the 5th or the 8th year. If this is not possible, the ceremoney should be gone through before the age of 16 In case of Brahmins and 20 to 24 in regard to other sects of the Hindus.
* Prof. B. Suryanarain Rao's Sukla and Promoduta.
The Sun, the Moon and Jupiter represent symbolically the father, mother and lire-force. Therefore, the three planets should be well disposed to the ascendant at the timeof Upanayanam.
The best season is when the Sun is in his northern course (between Capricorn and Gemini). The lunar months of Magha, Phalguna, Chaitra and Vaisakha are good. The 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th and 13th lunar days in the bright half and the 1st. 2nd and 3rd in the dark half are held to be auspicious. The lunar days to be avoided are 4th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 14th and Full and New Moon days. Some are of opinion that the 13th is good.
Exception: Even the 14th lunar day may be treated as good if the boy is above the prescribed age.
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are propitious. Wednesday must be rejected if Mercury Is combust. Sunday is ordinary while Tuesday should be invariably rejected.
The following constellations are good: Anuradha, Hasta, Chitta, Swati, Sravana, Dhanishta, Satabhisha, Uttara, Uttarashadha, Uttarabhadra, Revati, Rohini, Mrigasira, Aswini, Punarvasu and Pushyami.
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, Libra and Aquarius are good. The other signs should be avoided. According to Vasishta and Garga. the 3rd day in the bright half of the month of Chaitra and Vaisakha and the 7th day in the bright half of the lunar months Magha and Phalguna are highly favourable.
The Moon must not occupy the 6th, 8lth, or 12th house. Malefics should not be posited in quadrants. The ceremony should take place before noon. The 8th house from the Lagna must be unoccupied.
The third house should be fortified by the situation of either malefics or benefics, white the 6th should be devoid of a benefic. Mars and Saturn should be avoided in the 5th.
Let Mars and Saturn be avoided in the 2nd from the election chart; as otherwise they will make the boy's intellect dull. Similarly their situation in the 12th should also be avoided. The Moon should always be avoided in Lagna. But, however, if Cancer is the ascendant and the Moon and Jupiter are in conjunction and malefics are in 3, 6 and 11, the evil attached to the situation of the Moon in Lagna becomes neutralised. The following malefic yogas should also be avoided:
Spoorjitham. - The Sun in kendra causes this yoga and the result is the destruction of the family.
Spuritham. - Mars occupying a kendrs generates this evil yoga and generally proves fatal to the Guru (preceptor) as well as the boy.
Rudhitham. - Saturn occupying a kendra produces this evil combination resulting in incurable diseases.
Rundhram. - Rahu in a kendra gives rise to this malefic yoga. It proves fatal to the mother.
Ugram. - This arises by Ketu's disposition in a kendra. It adversely affects health and education.
Besides the above malefic yogas, the Moon should not be affected by Mercury as it leads to the boy's blindness. The Moon should not be in her own Navamsa, nor in that of the Sun or Mars.
The following are of course very favourable combinations for Upanayanam:
(1) The 6th, 7th or 8th house from the Moon being occupied by a benefic.
(2) The Sun or Venus in the 12th, Mercury in the 2nd and Jupiter in a trine or a quadrant.
(3) Venus in Lagna. Mercury in the 10th, the Sun tn the 11th and the Moon in a benefic navamsa.
(4) When the Lagna is Pisces occupied by Jupiter or Venus with the Sun In the 11th and Mercury in the 10th or 12th house.
(6) Gemini rising with Mars in Aries. Venus in Taurus and the Moon in Cancer.
