In every religion across the world, there are certain important rites of passage through which a person has to pass within his lifetime. In Hinduism, we find a lot of rites that a person has to pass through throughout his life. The head tonsuring, the thread ceremony, marriage and so many other big or small rites. One of the important Hindu rites of passage is the mundan or the head tonsuring ceremony of the kids. Mundan is also known as the Chudakaran sanskar in which a Hindu kid receives his/her first haircut. As per the Griha Sutras, his sanskar should take place at the end of first year or before the expiry of the third year, but the later authorities extend the age to the seventh year.
According to the religious texts a soul gets human body after passing through 84 lakh yonis. It is said that every yoni has its influence on human birth. A child’s hair on the head is shaven as a gesture of purification from the previous yonis. WHY WOMEN WEAR NOSE RINGS? Since a person’s intelligence is developed in his/her infancy days.
This ceremony is performed to trigger the intelligence and knowledge in the child. That is the reason why mundan sanskar is regarded as one of the most important rites of passage. Let us take a look at the different aspects and meaning of mundan ceremony. Muhurat Of Mundan According to the astrological calculations, mundan must be performed in the odd years of the child’s birth i.e in the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th years.
The Sun’s Position The Sun should be on Capricorn, Aquarius, Aries, Taurus or Gemini when the Mundan is being performed, which is considered to be very auspicious. Rituals A havan is organised and the mother sits with the child in her lap facing the west side of the havan. The priest shaves of a tuft of hair of the baby while chanting hymns.
The barber is honoured by a puja. After that the barber shaves the child’s hair completely. The shaven head is washed with Gangajal or water from the Ganges. Then a paste of turmeric and sandalwood is applied on the head. It is believed that this mixture cools the head and speeds up the healing process of any nicks and cuts.
The shaved hair is either offered to a deity or to a sacred river. Importance Of Mundan Mundan is a very important rites of passage. It is said to free the person from the last birth and make a new beginning in this birth. It also purifies the child. A mundan rids the baby of his past life’s negativity, bestows a long life and a good future. It also protects the child from the evil eye.
It helps to keep the baby’s head cool, especially in hot summer months. It helps relieve headache and pains caused by teething and improves the growth of the baby’s hair. Hence, mundan is definitely an important ceremony in a person’s life.