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Line 1: − + + − + − + − + − + − Jatakarma Saṃskāra is performed before the navel string is cut.<blockquote>प्राङ्नाभिवर्धनात्पुंसः जातकर्म विधीयते। मनुस्मृतिः २.२९ । prāṅnābhivardhanātpuṃsaḥ jātakarma vidhīyate। Manusmṛtiḥ 2.29 .</blockquote>Jātakarma of a male child is ordained before the umbilical cord is cut.+ − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Line 26:
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Jatakarma (Samskrit: जातकर्म) is the first samskara of a child, performed at the time of birth. The helplessness of the mother and the newborn during her confinement required natural care, from which ceremonies connected with the birth of a child originated.
Jatakarma (Samskrit: जातकर्म) is the first samskara of a child, performed at the time of birth by the father. The helplessness of the mother and the newborn during her confinement required natural care, from which ceremonies connected with the birth of a child originated.
[[File:Jatakarma Article.jpg|thumb|404x404px|'''<big>Jatakarma Samskara</big>''']]
== Introduction ==
== परिचयः ॥ Introduction ==
The man, who shared the pleasures in the company of his mate, sought to protect her and the baby, during the critical time of birth, from natural and, supernatural dangers. Thus the birth ceremonies had a natural basis in the physical conditions of child-birth. The primitive wonder, supernatural fear and natural care were, in course of time, combined with the cultural devices and aspirations to protect the mother and the child and to consecrate the baby.
The man, who shared the pleasures in the company of his mate, sought to protect her and the baby, during the critical time of birth, from natural and, supernatural dangers. Thus the birth ceremonies had a natural basis in the physical conditions of child-birth. The primitive wonder, supernatural fear and natural care were, in course of time, combined with the cultural devices and aspirations to protect the mother and the child and to consecrate the baby.
== Jatakarma in Vedic times ==
== वेदेषु जातकर्म विषयाः ॥ Jatakarma in Vedic times ==
In the Rigveda (3.15.2 and 2.26.3), the word, "Janman" or birth occurs twice but used in the sense of relations. However, in the Atharvaveda we find a whole sukta (1.11) dedicated for the safe delivery of the child.<ref name=":12">Pandey, Raj Bali. (1949) ''Hindu Samskaras, A Socio-religious study of the Hindu Sacraments.'' Banaras: Vikrama Publications. (Pages 116-)</ref><blockquote>वषट्ते पूषन्न् अस्मिन्त्सूतावर्यमा होता कृणोतु वेधाः । सिस्रतां नार्यृतप्रजाता वि पर्वाणि जिहतां सूतवा उ ॥१॥ (Atha. Veda. 1.11.1)</blockquote>Meaning: O Pusha, spirit of life’s procreation, for the expectant mother, may every thing be good and auspicious in this child birth. May Aryama, creative law of nature, hota, the father, Vedha, the specialist physician, all be good and helpful and auspicious. May the mother give birth to the baby comfortably. May she relax all over her body system.<ref name=":32">Dr. Tulsi Ram (2013) ''Atharvaveda, Vol 1.'' Delhi: Vijaykumar Govindram Hasanand. (Pages 21 - 23)</ref>
In the '''Rigveda''', the word, "Janman" or birth occurs twice but used in the sense of relations. However, in the '''Atharvaveda''' we find a whole sukta (1.11) dedicated for the safe delivery of the child.<ref name=":12">Pandey, Raj Bali. (1949) ''Hindu Samskaras, A Socio-religious study of the Hindu Sacraments.'' Banaras: Vikrama Publications. (Pages 116-129)</ref><blockquote>वषट्ते पूषन्न् अस्मिन्त्सूतावर्यमा होता कृणोतु वेधाः । सिस्रतां नार्यृतप्रजाता वि पर्वाणि जिहतां सूतवा उ ॥१॥ (Atha. Veda. 1.11.1)</blockquote>Meaning: O Pusha, spirit of life’s procreation, for the expectant mother, may every thing be good and auspicious in this child birth. May Aryama, creative law of nature, hota, the father, Vedha, the specialist physician, all be good and helpful and auspicious. May the mother give birth to the baby comfortably. May she relax all over her body system.<ref name=":32">Dr. Tulsi Ram (2013) ''Atharvaveda, Vol 1.'' Delhi: Vijaykumar Govindram Hasanand. (Pages 21 - 23)</ref>
Further, in the sukta, we find details such as the passage of the delivery, the descent of the placenta in the process of delivering the child showing that Vedic people had advanced knowledge of human biology, for example, in the mantra meaning "the cover of the foetus is not stuck in the flesh, nor in the fat, nor in marrow. Let the thin spotted sheet after birth be out for dogs to eat" tells us that they knew about the layers covering the foetus.<ref name=":32" />
Further, in the sukta, we find details such as the passage of the delivery, the descent of the placenta in the process of delivering the child showing that Vedic people had advanced knowledge of human biology, for example, in the mantra meaning "the cover of the foetus is not stuck in the flesh, nor in the fat, nor in marrow. Let the thin spotted sheet after birth be out for dogs to eat" tells us that they knew about the layers covering the foetus.<ref name=":32" />
== Samskara Vidhi ==
== जातकर्म॥ Jatakarma Samskara ==
=== उपयुक्तकालः ॥ Suitable Time of Performance ===
Before cutting the navel string there is no [[Jaata-Asoucha (जाताशौचम्)|Asoucha (impurity) due to birth]] and Jātakarma has to be performed at that time on a male child.<blockquote>जातं वात्सप्रेण अभिमृश्य उत्तरेण यजुषा उपस्थे आधाय उत्तराभ्याम् अभिमन्त्रणम् मूर्धनि अवघ्राणं दक्षिणे कर्णे जापः। आपस्तम्बगृह्यसूत्रम्, १५.१ ॥ jātaṃ vātsapreṇa abhimṛśya uttareṇa yajuṣā upasthe ādhāya uttarābhyām abhimantraṇam mūrdhani avaghrāṇaṃ dakṣiṇe karṇe jāpaḥ. Āpastambagṛhyasūtram, 15.1 ॥</blockquote>As soon as the (male) child is born the father should recite the Vātsaprānuvāka, i.e. "divaspari . . .", and touch (at the end of the Mantra), should take him into the lap while reciting the Yajus "asminnaham", recite two Mantras, viz., "aṅgādaṅgāt" and "aśmā bhava", for him and smell his head and the same Mantras are to be repeated in the right ear.<blockquote>नक्षत्रनाम च निर्दिशति; तद्रहस्यं भवति । आपस्तम्बगृह्यसूत्रम्, १५.२, ३ ॥ nakṣatranāma ca nirdiśati; tadrahasyaṃ bhavati। Āpastambagṛhyasūtram, 15.2, 3 ॥</blockquote>The father pronounces the Nakṣatranāma (name coined after the name of the birth star) also in the right ear secretly.
Jatakarma Saṃskāra is performed before the navel string is cut according to Sankhayana (1.24) and Paraskara (1.16.4). Manu mentions that<blockquote>प्राङ्नाभिवर्धनात्पुंसः जातकर्म विधीयते। मनुस्मृतिः २.२९ । prāṅnābhivardhanātpuṃsaḥ jātakarma vidhīyate। Manusmṛtiḥ 2.29 .</blockquote>Jātakarma of a male child is ordained before the umbilical cord is cut. Before cutting the navel string there is no [[Jaata-Asoucha (जाताशौचम्)|Asoucha (impurity) due to birth]] and Jātakarma has to be performed at that time on a male child.
Other texts (Jaimini and Gobhila grhyasutras) mention that it should be done before the cutting of umbilical cord and prior to feeding the newborn.
The time for the performance of the rite need not be very rigidly described, as it is to be done as soon as the child is born.<ref name=":4">Deshpande, Kamalabai (1936) ''The Child in Ancient India.'' Poona: Aryasamskrti Press (Pages 60-99)</ref>
=== संस्कारविधिः ॥ Samskara Vidhi ===
From the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (VI.4.24) we come to know of a process of Jatakarma. This was to be performed when the father desired the child for the special purpose of studying the Vedas. The primitive customs were supplemented by the greeting of the child by the father and the whole was given sanctity by the addition of a homa to the ceremony.<ref name=":4" />
In the Grhyasutras this Samskara is fully described. But here, too, the ritual is purely religious, and popular and superstitious elements are hardly given their proper scope. The Dharmasutras and the Smrtis do not give any descriptive details. The mediaeval treatises, however, introduce many preliminary items e.g. the arrangement of the maternity house, ceremony accompanying entry into it, presence of desirable persons near the expectant mother, and some other, observances which are otherwise unknown to earlier sources. The maternity house or Sutika Bhavan is arranged by the selection of a suitable room in the house, which is entered by the expectant mother a day or two before the delivery amidst auspicious sounds of conch shells and musical instruments.<ref name=":12" />
In later times the moment of birth was noted with meticulous care for preparing horoscope, as it was thought to be a determining factor in the life of the child. Then the good news was brought to the father. Different sentiments were expressed at the birth of a boy and a girl, as different prospects were depending on them. The firstborn was liked to be a boy, as he freed the father from all ancestral debts. But for a sensible man a girl was not less meritorious, because her gift in marriage brought merits to the father. After this, the father went to the mother in order to see the 'face of the son', because by looking at the face of the newborn son the father is absolved from all debts and attains immortality.<ref name=":12" /><blockquote>ऋणमस्मिन्सन्नयति अमृतत्वं च गच्छति। पिता पुत्रस्य जातस्य पश्येच्चेञ्जीवितो मुखम्।।<ref name=":12" /> जातं कुमारं स्वं दृष्ट्वा स्नात्वाऽनीय गुरुम् पिता। नान्दी श्राद्धावसाने तु जातकर्म समाचरेत् ॥ (Viramitrodaya)</blockquote>Summary: Having seen the face of the child, he bathed with his clothes on invited the elders and performed the Nandi-shraddha and Jatakarma ceremonies.<ref name=":12" /> This shraddha is performed to please the ancestors. Such were observed by Nanda at the birth of Krishna.
Special rites were prescribed if the child died in the birth. If the delivery was safe and the child was born alive a fire was lightened in the room to warm utensils and to smoke the child and the mother. This fire was kept burning for the days. Grains of rice and seeds of mustard were thrown into it with appropriate formulas to drive away various kinds of evil spirits. The Sutika fire was regarded impure and it disappeared on the tenth day when the grhya fire came into use after the purification of the mother and the child was performed.<ref name=":12" />
Dr. Deshpande summarizes the following classification of the vidhis involved in Jatakarma as per Brhdaranyaka Upanishad which is the source of all Sutra Samskara vidhis<ref name=":4" />.
# '''Homa''': The samskara involves a preliminary homa with different oblations and mantras peculiar to each shaka of the Veda.
# '''Whispering in the child’s ear''': the father utter "Vak (speech)" three times in the right ear of the child Paraskara named this recitation as "Aayushya". It is a rite where the father blesses the child that he has strong limbs and a long life along with the recitation of certain mantras.
# '''Medhajanana: Feeding the child with honey and clarified butter''': Mentioned in nearly all Sutra texts, this rite is very popular. The father should give the child a mixture of curds, honey and ghee using a gold piece (a ring) while reciting prescribed mantras.
# '''Namakarana''' i.e., naming the child is further described below. The child is given a nakshatranama, name coined according to the nakshatra in which the child is born. Many opine that this Namakarana vidhi is different from the actual Samaskara performed after the eleventh day (after [[Jaata-Asoucha (जाताशौचम्)|Jaata-Asoucha]]) following the purificatory rites.
# '''Stanapratidhana''' (giving the breast to the newborn): the father hands over the child to the mother and gives it the breast, with the recitation of mantras (given in Brhd. Upan (6.4.26) and sutra texts).
# '''Measures to keep off evil''' are described in Yajurveda sutras. Removal of evil "eye" (Drsta kaadhane) is one popular rite practiced even today.
==== नक्षत्रनाम ॥ Nakshatra-nama ====
<blockquote>जातं वात्सप्रेण अभिमृश्य उत्तरेण यजुषा उपस्थे आधाय उत्तराभ्याम् अभिमन्त्रणम् मूर्धनि अवघ्राणं दक्षिणे कर्णे जापः। आपस्तम्बगृह्यसूत्रम्, १५.१ ॥ jātaṃ vātsapreṇa abhimṛśya uttareṇa yajuṣā upasthe ādhāya uttarābhyām abhimantraṇam mūrdhani avaghrāṇaṃ dakṣiṇe karṇe jāpaḥ. Āpastambagṛhyasūtram, 15.1 ॥</blockquote>
As soon as the (male) child is born the father should recite the Vātsaprānuvāka, i.e. "divaspari . . .", and touch (at the end of the Mantra), should take him into the lap while reciting the Yajus "asminnaham", recite two Mantras, viz., "aṅgādaṅgāt" and "aśmā bhava", for him and smell his head and the same Mantras are to be repeated in the right ear.<blockquote>नक्षत्रनाम च निर्दिशति; तद्रहस्यं भवति । आपस्तम्बगृह्यसूत्रम्, १५.२, ३ ॥ nakṣatranāma ca nirdiśati; tadrahasyaṃ bhavati। Āpastambagṛhyasūtram, 15.2, 3 ॥</blockquote>The father pronounces the Nakṣatranāma (name coined after the name of the birth star) also in the right ear secretly.
The name runs like this:
The name runs like this:
Maghā Māghaḥ
Maghā Māghaḥ
Such a name has to be kept a secret, i.e. should not be pronounced loudly.
Such a name has to be kept a secret, i.e. should not be pronounced loudly. Śatapathabrāhmaṇam (6.1.3.9) ordains that a name should be given to the male child as soon as he is born:
Śatapathabrāhmaṇam (6.1.3.9) ordains that a name should be given to the male child as soon as he is born:
तस्मात् पुत्रस्य जातस्य नाम कुर्यात् । tasmāt putrasya jātasya nāma kuryāt ।
तस्मात् पुत्रस्य जातस्य नाम कुर्यात् । tasmāt putrasya jātasya nāma kuryāt ।
This [Nakṣatranāma] is meant for Vedic rites. If the name [to be used in Vedic rites] is not known, the result is that Abhicāra etc. would not be successful.
This [Nakṣatranāma] is meant for Vedic rites. If the name [to be used in Vedic rites] is not known, the result is that Abhicāra etc. would not be successful.
=== Purpose of the Samskara ===
The Garbhadhana rite, which precedes this Jatakarman is a rite for securing a particular kind of a son or a daughter, who would study one or two or three Vedas or who would be very learned if the child be daughter (Brhd. Upan. 6.4.12-18). And a particular Jatakarman is to be performed for that child that, has been brought into this world for this purpose. That explains the whispering of the word ‘Vak’ into the ear, which means speech, i.e. the sacred speech or Veda. This whispering in the ear, is a way of greeting the child, is quite appropriate to greet the child with the word Vak, when the child was hoped to be specially well-versed in the. Vedas.<ref name=":4" />
=== Social Perspectives ===
Protecting the expectant mother and child is the primarily expressed in all the rituals associated with Jatakarma. Selecting an auspicious time she enters the previously prepared Sutika bhavan. Having worshipped the devatas, brahmanas and the cows, amidst the sounds of conchshells and other musical instruments she is prepared on a strong mental note for delivering the child. She is supported and accompanied by women who gave birth previously and who were capable of bearing hardships, are of pleasing manners and reliable. They cheered up the woman, and prepared her for safe delivery by means of useful ointment and regulations about diet and living. When the time for actual delivery came, they made the mother lie on her back. Some rites were then performed for the protection of the house from evil spirits. The place was anointed to ward off demons. Fire, water, staff, lamp, weapons, mace and mustard seeds were kept in the house as described in Markandeya purana (quoted in Viramitrodaya). Turyanti plants were also placed before the mother to ward off evil spirits.<ref name=":12" />
=== Medical Perspectives ===
The Medhajanana ceremony speaks of the high concern of the Hindus about the intellectual well-being of the child, which they thought their first business with it. The Vyahrtis uttered on this occasion were symbolical of intelligence; they were recited with the great' Gayatri mantra which contains prayer for stimulating talent. The substances, with which the child was fed, were also conducive to mental growth, According to SuSruta, the following are the properties of ghee: It is producer of beauty; it is greasy and sweet' it is remover of hysteria, headache, epilepsy, fever, indigestion, excess of bile; it is increaser of digestion, memory, intellect, talent, lustre, good sound, semen and life. The properties of honey “and gold are equally favourable to the mental progress of the child.
== Jatakarma described in Ayurveda ==
== Jatakarma described in Ayurveda ==
Breast feeding given on the first day ensures proper nutrition and protective immunoglobulin present in colostrum is received by the newborn which aids in enhancing immune responses.
Breast feeding given on the first day ensures proper nutrition and protective immunoglobulin present in colostrum is received by the newborn which aids in enhancing immune responses.
=== Newborn's immunity and susceptibility to infections, the concept of immunization in ancient India ===
=== Concept of Immunization in ancient India ===
The modern studies have proved that, the immune system of a child is relatively immature at birth. It evolves through exposure to multiple foreign challenges in childhood, youth and then mature d at adulthood (including pregnancy) which ultimately shows decline in old age. Newborn baby comes from a womb of mother which is a relatively sterile environment. After birth the child is exposed to multiple microbes rapidly. The first major exposure is during passage through the birth canal and then the exposure goes on widening when the newborn baby makes oral, skin or respiratory contact with the exterior. Then onwards the exposure to microbes is continuous. With this, gradually newborn develops immunity. It is known that newborns especially the infants have impaired neutrophil function which play important role in immune defense mechanism thus putting the child at risk of bacterial infections. Apart from that, classical monocytes and macrophages are also immature in preterm and newborn children. As a result, the processes of tissue repair, eliminating potential pathogens entering into the body and secreting bioactive molecules for immune defense are also below par. <ref>Simon AK, Hollander GA, McMichael A. Evolution of the immune system in humans from infancy to old age. ''Proc Biol Sci''. 2015;282(1821):20143085. doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.3085</ref> Thus it is clear that the innate immunity is muted at birth. This makes newborn relatively susceptible to bacterial and viral infections. This is the reason why a child receives multiple vaccination in today's time right from his birth up till his immune system becomes mature at a certain age. Vaccinations are mainly intended for passive protection or to stimulate immune system development in a child.
The modern studies have proved that, the immune system of a child is relatively immature at birth. It evolves through exposure to multiple foreign challenges in childhood, youth and then mature d at adulthood (including pregnancy) which ultimately shows decline in old age. Newborn baby comes from a womb of mother which is a relatively sterile environment. After birth the child is exposed to multiple microbes rapidly. The first major exposure is during passage through the birth canal and then the exposure goes on widening when the newborn baby makes oral, skin or respiratory contact with the exterior. Then onwards the exposure to microbes is continuous. With this, gradually newborn develops immunity. It is known that newborns especially the infants have impaired neutrophil function which play important role in immune defense mechanism thus putting the child at risk of bacterial infections. Apart from that, classical monocytes and macrophages are also immature in preterm and newborn children. As a result, the processes of tissue repair, eliminating potential pathogens entering into the body and secreting bioactive molecules for immune defense are also below par. <ref>Simon AK, Hollander GA, McMichael A. Evolution of the immune system in humans from infancy to old age. ''Proc Biol Sci''. 2015;282(1821):20143085. doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.3085</ref> Thus it is clear that the innate immunity is muted at birth. This makes newborn relatively susceptible to bacterial and viral infections. This is the reason why a child receives multiple vaccination in today's time right from his birth up till his immune system becomes mature at a certain age. Vaccinations are mainly intended for passive protection or to stimulate immune system development in a child.