Mundan ceremony

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The Mundan ceremony, or Chadakarana, is a Hindu rite, or sanskara, in which a boy receives his first hair cut.

This sanskara is performed typically during the first or third year of age. The child’s hair is shaved, frequently leaving only the sikha, a tuft at the crown of the head.

In Hindu tradition, the hair from birth is associated with undesirable traits from past lives. Thus at the time of the mundan, the child is freshly shaven to signify freedom from the past and moving into the future. It is also said that the shaving of the hair stimulates proper growth of the brain and nerves, and that the shikha protects the memory.^[1]

The rite is also said to bring long life to the recipient. It is performed as a special ceremony in most homes, particularly for young boys.

At Rishikesh, on the banks of the Ganges, there is a special chadakarana sanskara/mundan ceremony. In this ceremony, Vedic mantras and prayers are chanted by trained priests, acharyas and rishikumars. The child's head is shaven and the hair is then symbolically offered to the holy river. The child and his/her family then perform a sacred yagna ceremony and the Ganga Aarti.

[edit] References

1. ^ Hindu Council UK web page on the mundan ceremony