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148: JAINS TODAY IN THE WORLD
Always according to R. Williams, the eleven rites that may be practiced by the parents, between the birth and the marriage of their child, are:
1) the rite, called “priyodbhava” or “jāta-karman” that may be made ten days after the birth. It implies, after the purification of the child and the mother, a meditation on the birth of the Tīrthankara, a specific “mantra”, and a prayer to goddess Ambikā to look after the new born. Within these ten days, the father can do a “pājā" in the temple and recite an auspicious “mantra” for the health of the child and of the mother. An astrologer is also informed of the precise time of the birth, to cast the horoscope of the baby. This is very important for the marriage of the child to see the compatibility with a future spouse (a future husband if a girl),
2) the rite for naming the child, called “nāma-karman" that may be performed between the eleventh and the thirtieth day after the birth of the child. According to the "ghata-patra" method, numerous first names, taken from the qualities of the Tīrthankara, are written on different pieces of paper and this (or those) that are drawn first are those the child will have. Other methods are relied to astrology, to the month of birth, to the names of revered beings or famous persons, etc. After a “pājā" in the temple and the singing of a “mantra”, if it is the custom of the obedience, a meal is served to the family and to the friends of it during which the parents announce the first name (or the two first names) of the child,
3) the rite performed when the baby leaves the house with the mother for the first time, called "bahiryāna”, that may be practised between the second and the fourth month after the birth. The mother shows the baby the sun and they go to the temple to have a view (darśana) of the statue of the Jina, if that is the custom of their obedience. Various “mantra" are sung to ensure the baby will have a
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