Prapāṭhaka II, Kāṇḍikā 8

1.^[1] On the third (Tithi) of the third bright fortnight after his birth, in the morning the father has the child washed, including his head, and after sunset, when the evening-red has disappeared, he worships (the moon), holding up his joined hands.

2. Then the mother, having dressed the son in a clean garment, hands him, from south to north, with his face turned to the north, to the father.

3. She then passes behind his back and stations herself to the north (of her husband).

4. He then murmurs (the three verses), 'Thy heart, O thou whose hair is well parted' (MB. I, 5, 10-12), and after he has, with the words (standing at the end of verse 12), 'That this son may not come to harm (and thus be torn) from his mother'—

5. Handed him, from south to north, to his mother, they may do what they like.

6.^[2] Then in the following bright fortnights (at the time) stated above (Sūtra I), the father, filling his joined hands with water and turning his face towards the moon, worships it—

7. Letting (the water) flow (out of his joined hands) once with the Yajus, 'What in the moon' (MB. I, 5, 13), and twice silently. Then they may do what they like.

8.^[3] When ten nights have elapsed after (the child's) birth, or a hundred nights, or one year, the Nāmadheyakaraṇa (or giving a name to the child, is performed).

9. He who is going to perform (that ceremony—the father or a representative of the father), sits down to the west of the fire on northward-pointed Darbha grass, facing the east.

10.^[4] Then the mother, having dressed the son in a clean garment, hands him, from south to north, with his face turned to the north, to the performer (of the ceremony).

11. She then passes behind his back and sits down to the north (of him), on northward-pointed Darbha grass.

12.^[5] He then sacrifices to Prajāpati, to the Tithi (of the child's birth), to the Nakṣatra (of the child's birth), and to the (presiding) deity (of that Tithi and of that Nakṣatra).

13. He then murmurs the Mantra, 'Who art thou? What person art thou?' (MB. I, 5, 14. 15), touching the sense-organs at (the boy's) head.

14.^[6] In (the passage of the Mantra), 'Enter upon the month, that belongs to Ahaspati (i.e. the lord of days), N.N.!' and at the end of the Mantra he should give him a name beginning with a sonant, with a semivowel in it, with a long vowel or the Visarga at the end, (and formed with) a Kṛt (suffix).

15. It should not contain a Taddhita (suffix).

16. (He should give a name with) an odd (number of syllables), ending in -dā, to girls.

17. And after he has told the name to the mother first, they may do what they like.

18. A cow constitutes the sacrificial fee.

19.^[7] Every month (after the birth) of the boy, (or) after one year, or on the Parvan days of the year (i.e. on the last Tithi of each of the three seasons) he should sacrifice to Agni and Indra, to Heaven and Earth, and to the Viśve devās.

20.^[8] Having sacrificed to the deity (of the Tithi and of the Nakṣatra respectively), he should sacrifice to the Tithi and to the Nakṣatra.

21.^[9] When (the father) returns from a journey, or when (the son) begins to know, 'This is my father,' or when (the son) has been initiated, (the father) should grasp with his two hands his son round the head, and should murmur, 'From limb by limb thou art produced' (MB. I, 5, 16-18).

22. With (the formula), 'With the cattle's hiṃkāra I kiss thee' (l.l. 19) he should kiss him. Then he may do what he likes.

23. In the same way (he should do) to his younger sons—

24. According to their age or in the order in which he meets them.

25.^[10] Girls he should silently kiss on their head; he should silently kiss them on their head.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

8, 1 seq. Khādira-Gṛhya II, 3, 1 seq.

[2]:

I am not sure about the meaning of prathamoddiṣṭa eva. I have translated according to the commentary, which has the following note: prathamoddiṣṭa eva prathamaṃ yaḥ kāla uddiṣṭaḥ kathitaḥ tasminn eva kāle tṛtīyāyām ity etat.—The commentary then mentions a reading prathamodita eva, in which udita may either be derived from vad or from ud-i.

[3]:

8 seq. The Nāmakaraṇa. Khādira-Gṛhya. II, 3, 6 seq.

[4]:

10, 11. Comp. above, Sūtras 2. 3.

[5]:

Śāṅkhāyana-Gṛhya I, 25, 5. In the same Gṛhya the enumeration of the Nakṣatras with their presiding deities is given, I, 26.

[6]:

Śāṅkhāyana-Gṛhya I, 24, 4; Āśvalāyana I, 15, 4; Pāraskara I, 17, 2. In the text read dīrghābhiniṣṭānāntaṃ instead of dīrghābhiniṣṭhānāntaṃ.

[7]:

Monthly sacrifice in commemoration of the child's birth. Possibly we should translate: Every month (after the birth) of the boy, through one year (comp. Śāṅkhāyana I, 25, 10. 11), or on the Parvan days, &c.

[8]:

Śāṅkhāyana-Gṛhya I, 25, 6.

[9]:

21 seq. The father's returning from a journey. Khādira-Gṛhya II, 3,13 seq. As to upeta, comp. Śāṅkhāyana-Gṛhya II, I, 1 note. The position of the words in Sūtra 21 is irregular, so as to raise the suspicion that the words yadā vā. . . . upetasya vi ('or when the son begins to know . . . has been initiated') are an insertion into the text of Gobhila, made by a later compiler, or into a more ancient text, made by Gobhila himself. Comp. Pāraskara I, 18.

[10]:

As to the repetition of the last words of this Sūtra, see the notes on I, 4, 31; II, 10, 50; III, 6, 15.