Jatakarma Samskara: The Birth Ceremony

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The actions or deeds, which are done after the birth of the child, are
known as birth (Jatkarma) ceremonies. It is called ceremony because it
involves some ceremonies which are performed after the birth of the
child other than the actions. The main objective of these actions is to
inculcate some values in the child even while he is ignorant about
there importance.

Conception, Simanotanayan and Punsavan ceremonies are performed when
the child is in the mother's womb. These three ceremonies are called
pre-birth ceremonies and those done after birth of the child are called
post-birth ceremonies. In the pre-birth ceremonies the values of mother
and hereditary values have predominance. The main objective of these
ceremonies is to inculcate good values in the child. So it is tried to
improve the life before and after the birth both.

The actions, which are done after the birth of the child, are known as
birth (Jatkarma) ceremonies. It is called ceremony because it involves
some ceremonies are performed after the birth of the child other than
the deeds. The main objective of these actions is to inculcate some
values in the child even while he is ignorant about their importance.
The child lives in a different environment in the mother's womb. It
does not take food from the mouth and breathe through the nose. Its
food is carried through the umbilical cord. The child is inside a pouch
during pregnancy, which is filled with water. The child's mouth and
eyes are closed with phlegmatic substance to avoid the entry of water
in the mouth and eyes. After taking birth, its mouth and nose have to
be cleaned. The child looses the physical attachment with the mother
and hence its mouth, ears, nose and lungs have to be cleaned to
facilitate the child drink mother's milk and breathe properly. When the
child is inside the watery pouch then a type of oily pack covers the
body so the watery pouch does not harm the skin in any way. After
coming out of the pouch, the child is bathed to remove the oily pack
from the body. All the necessary actions have to be performed after the
birth of the child in order to arouse its five sensory organs. The main
objective of birth ceremony is to arouse all the sensory organs.
Sushrut has advised to place a little amount of ghee on the child's
tongue. Applying ghee or oil on the child's head protects it from cold
and catarrh.

In this ceremony the child is made to lick ghee and honey however the
quantity should not be equal. Honey should be three times the ghee;
this child should be made to lick with the help of a golden spike.
Write Om on the tongue with the help of spike. This has been said in
the process of ceremony. The psychologists believe that whatever the
child learns till five years of his birth remains with him throughout
the life. The main purpose of writing Om on his tongue is that whatever
he utters will take him on the path of spirituality. The father of the
child whispers in his ears -'Vedosi', which means you are a
knowledgeable person. The birth ceremony has a spiritual and scientific
importance but nowadays people are under the influence of material
comforts and forgetting the importance of ceremonies. We should get
back to the traditions of sages and perform all the ceremonies so that
our future generation gets good qualities and values.