2Footnote

Niñkrämaëam

(Taking the Child Outside For the First Time):

@FOOTNOTE:

The mother and child should leave the room of confinement (sutika gåha), at the end of period of impurity after bearing a child (asauca), which is ten days for the wife of a brähmaëa, twelve for the wife of a kñatriya, fifteen for wife of a vaiçya and thirty for the wife of a çüdra.

END FOOTNOTE

The mother and child should remain indoors however until the third lunar day of the third waxing moon after the child’s birth.

The child should be bathed in the morning, and at sundown the husband and wife should go with the child to the temple of the Lord. They should stand facing the Deity, the wife on the husband’s left side. The child should be wrapped in a clean cloth.

The wife should give the child into her husband’s hands, and then procede behind the husband and stand on his right side facing the Deity.

The husband should say:

oà prajäpatiù viñëu åñiù

anuñöup chandaù

çré viñëuù sarvatomukho devatä

kumärasya çré viñëu darçane viniyogaù

oà ekaù purastät ya idaà babhüva

yato babhüva bhuvanasya goptä

yaà apyeti bhuvanaà sämparäye

namämi tam ahaà sarvato mukham

tat prabho sarvato mukham

näham pautraà aghaà nigäm

“I pay respects to the all-pervading Lord who existed before the material creation, from whom emerged the protector of the worlds, and into whom the words merge at the time of destruction. O all-pervading Lord, may misfortune not come to my son.”

oà prajäpatiù viñëu åñiù

anuñöup chandaù

çré viñëuù måtyumåtyuù devatä

kumärasya çré viñëu darçane viniyogaù

oà ya ätmadä baladä yasay viçve

upäsate praçiñaà yasya deväù

yasya chäyä amåtaà yasya måtyuù

kasmai deväya haviñä vidhema

tasmät prabho måtyu måtyo

näham pautraà aghaà åñam

“The Lord, who is the giver of consciousness, giver of strength, whose order all beings in the universe obey, whose very shadow is immmortality, who is death to death personified, who we should worship with fine offerings. Therefore O Lord, death of death personified, may misfortune not come to my son.”

oà prajäpatiù viñëu åñiù

anuñöup chandaù

çré nara-näräyaëau devate

kumärasya çré viñëu darçane viniyogaù

oà nara-närayaëau çarma yacchataà

prajäyai me prajäpaté

yathäyaà na praméyate

putro janitryä adhi

“May Nara Näräyaëa, the Lords of procreation, bestow to the child and to me, the good fortune that mother and son not be destroyed.”

Saying this he should point out the Deities to his son and offer arghya saying:

oà kåñëa mädhavo govinda pundarékäkña vämana

gåhétärghyam håñikeça rämäya sahito mama

He should then give the child to the mother and sing Vämadevya Gänam (see the udicya karma section).

They should then return home with the child.

After three more waxing moons, on the third lunar day, at the evening sandhya, the father should go to the Deity and offer flowers three times saying:

oà prajäpatiù viñëu åñiù

anuñöup chandaù

çré mahä-viñëuù devatäù

kumärasya bhagavan-mürti darçane viniyogaù

yasmät na jätaù paro anyo asti

ya aviveça bhuvanäni viçva

prajäpatiù prajayä saàvidänaù

tréni jyotiàñi sacate sa ñoòasém

etat vidvän mahäviñëo

nähaà pautraà agahaà rudam

“The Lord, to whom no living being is superior, who has entered the worlds as the living entities, is the Lord of the living entities, but is intimately united with them. The three luminaries with the sixteen phases of light, accompany the Lord. All knowing Viñëu, pervading all, may harm not come to our son.”

He should return home singing Vämadevya Gänam (“ oà kayä naù citra etc). He may perform this rite without the son and wife being present.

This ends the Niñkrämaëam ceremony.

Näma Karaëa

(Giving a Name to the Child):

The child should be named on the tenth, twelfth, hundred and first day, or one full year from his birth.

The father, having taken his morning bath, worshipped Viñëu and performed Sättvika Våddhi Çräddha, should perform Kuçandikä rites to the end of Virupäkña Japa, calling the fire named “Pärthiva”.

He should offer ghee-soaked wood of prädeça length into the fire silently.

He should perform Vyasta Samasta Mahävyähåti Homa:

oà prajäpatiù viñëu åñiù

gäyatré chandaù

çré viñëuù devatä