Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin 7

Author(s): Nand Kishor Prasad
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

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Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin No. 7
death is prescribed in terms of samskaras (sacraments). The tendencies marking each of the clear phases of a man's life is preceded by a symbolic sacrifice (homa).
In Trinidad all the sixteen samskaras are not celebrated, but one can see the sacred thread ceremony (u panayan, yojno pavita or janeo) ceremony in some Brahman families. Except perhaps the priests no body wears the sacred thread, a cotton thread of three strands in duplicate running from the left shoulder across the body to the right hip, 25 even if given by the guru. In the upanayan the great Vedic mantra the Gayatri is imparted to the boy-a prayer for the light of wisdom being granted by the Sun God.
The samskaras like the garbhadhan (conception), Pumsavana (conducted in the third month of conception for a male child), etc. have disappeared from Trinidad. But chura karma or Mundan (hair cutting ceremony) is performed between six months to three years after the birth of a child. The hair is thrown in a pond or river or in the sea. A prayer is offered to the God of the water by the father or the mother for the welfare of the child. 26
A few smaller sacraments have been retained in the rural areas. When the baby is born a thariya (brass-plate) in which the infant is bathed, is given to the mid-wife. On the sixth day the chhathi ceremony is held. The exact auspicious moment for the ceremony is fixed by the priest according to the planetary position. The placenta and the clothes worn by the women delivering the child are burnt and the ashes buried. In the chhathi various Indian delicacies (sohari, halua, mango pickle and Indian sweets) are prepared and served. The birth of a son is celebrated with more rejoicing than the birth of a girl. At the actual chhathi ceremony the mother sits with the baby in her arms and the baby's eyes are covered while a deeya (wick) is lighted and put out five or seven times. Then the baby's face is uncovered.
25.
H. Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization, J. Campbell (ed.) New York, 4th print, 1963, p. 183, fn. According to the Jabal upanishad the sacred thread is the symbol of Thread-spirit on which the individual existences in the universe are strung and by which all are inseparably linked to their source. Based on the author's personal observations and interviews in Trinidad (1970-76).
26.