NAMAKARANAM(Naming Baby)

[Guest guest]

Namakarana

According to the general rule of the Gruhyasutras the Namakarana

ceremony was performed on the tenth or the twelfth day after the

birth of the child with the single exception of the secret name which

was given, in the opinion of some, on the birth day. But the later

options range from the tenth up to the first day of the second year.

One authority says, "The naming ceremony should be performed on the

tenth, twelfth, hundredth day or at the expiry of the first year."

This wide option was due to the convenience of the family and health

of the mother and the child. But the option from the tenth up to

thirty second day was due to the different periods of ceremonial

impurities prescribed for different casts. In the opinion of

Brihaspati, "The naming ceremonies should be performed on the tenth,

twelfth, thirteenth, sixteenth, nineteenth, or thirty-second day

after the birth of the child." But according to astrological works

even these dates were to be postponed if there was any natural

abnormality or lack of religious propriety. "If there be a Samkranti

(the passage of the sun from one zodiac to another), and eclipse or

sraddha, the ceremony cannot be auspicious." There were other

prohibited days also which should be avoided.

At the expiry of impurity caused by birth, the house was washed and

purified, and the child and mother bathed. Before the proper

ceremony, the preliminary rites were performed. Then the mother,

having covered the child with pure cloth and wetted its head with

water, handed it over to the father. After this, offerings were made

to Prajapati, date, constellation, their deities, Agni and Soma. The

father touched the breaths of the child, most probably, to awaken its

consciousness and to draw its attention towards the ceremony. Then

the name was given. How it was done is not described in the

Gruhyasutras, but the Paddhatis contain the following procedure.

After preliminaries, the parents give the offerings to gods and feel

the breath of the child symbolising the awakening of its

consciousness and utters in its ear three times: "Your name is …..".

The Brahmins and elders are asked to follow, calling the child by

that name and blessing it.

The parents, Acharya (teacher) etc. give name to the child. It is

written in the Gobhiliya 2/8/8-18 and the Shaunaka Grihya Sutra that

a meritoriously attractive and pleasant name should be given to the

child.

Composition of the Name

The first question which has been discussed from the time of the

Gruhyasutras onwards is the composition of the name. According to the

Paraskara Gruhyasutra, the name should be of two syllables or of four

syllables, beginning with a sonant, with a semivowel in it, with the

long vowel or the visarga at its end, with a Krt suffix, not with a

Taddhita. In the opinion of Baijavapa there is no restriction of

syllables. "The father should give a name to the child containing one

syllable, two syllables, three syllables, or an indefinite number of

syllables." But Vasistha restricts the number to two or four

syllables and asks to avoid names ending in l and r. the Asvalayana

Gruhyasutra attaches different kinds of merits to different number of

syllables; "One who is desirous of fame, his name should consists of

two syllables, one who desires holy lustre, his name should contain

four syllables." For boys even number of syllables were prescribed.

Naming a Girl

The naming of a girl had a different basis. The name of a girl should

contain an uneven number of syllables, it should end in a and should

have a Taddhita. Baijavapa says, "The name of a girl should contain

three syllables and end in i." Manu gives further qualifications of

the name of a girl: "It should be easy to pronounce, not hard to

hear, of clear meaning, charming, auspicious, ending in a long vowel

and containing some blessing." She should not be given an awkward

name indicating "a constellation, a tree, a river, a mountain, a

bird, a servant, and a terror." Manu forbids to marry girls who were

named after these objects. The most probable reason seems to be that

such names were current in the non Aryan peoples with whom the Aryans

were not willing to form matrimonial relations.

Fourfold Naming

There was current fourfold naming, according to asterism under which

the child was born, the deity of the month, the family deity, and the

popular calling.

Nakshtra Name

To begin with the Nakshtra name, it was a name derived from the name

of a Nakshtra (a lunar asterism) under which the child was born, or

from its presiding deity. Sankha and Likhita prescribed that, "the

father or an elderly member of the family should give the child a

name connected with the constellation under which the child is born."

The following are the names of the constellations and their deities:

Asvini - Asvi, Bharani - Yama, Kritika - Agni, Rohini - Prajapati,

Mrgasira - Soma, Ardra - Rudra, Punarvasu - Aditi, Pusya -

Brihaspati, Aslesa - Sarpa, Magha - Pitrni, Purvaphalguni - Bhaga,

Uttaraphalguni - Aryaman, Hasta - Savitri, Chitra - Tvastra, Svati -

Vayu, visakha - Indragni, Anuradha - Mitra, Jyestha - Indra, Mula -

Nirti, Purvasha - Ap, Uttarasadha - Visvedeva, Sravana - Visnu,

Dhanistha - Vasu, Saatabhik - Varuna, Puryabhadrapada - Ajaikapada,

Uttarabhadrapada - Ahirbudhnya and Revati - Pusan. If a child was

born under the constellation Asvini, he was named Asvinikumara, if

under Rhini, Rohinikumara etc. Another method of naming the child

after the constellation was also current. The letters of the Sanskrit

alphabets are believed to be presided over by different

constellations. But as there are fifty two letters and only twenty

seven constellations, each constellation has more than one letter

under its influence. The first letter of the child´s name should

begin with one of the letters ruled over by a particular asterism. A

child who was born under Asvini, which presides over the letters Chu -

Che - Cho - la was named Chudamani, Chedisa, Cholesa or Lakshmana

according to the different steps of the constellations.

According to Baudhayana, the name derived from the constellation was

kept secret. It was the second name for greeting the elders and was

known to the parents only up to the time of the Upanayana. In the

opinion of some authorities the secret name was given on the birth

day. About the greeting name Asvalayana also says that it should be

selected on the naming day and should be known to the parents only.

Saunaka is of the same opinion, "The name by which he should greet

the elders after being initiated, should be given to him. Having

thought over it, the father should pronounce it closely to the child

so that others may not know it. The parents should recollect this

name at the time of initiation." The name derived form the Nakshatra

was vitally connected with the life of the individual. So it was kept

secret less enemies may do mischief to the man through it.

Name according to aksara corresponding to nakshatra:

Each naksatra is divided into four equal parts. Each part is assigned

a syllable. After determining which nakshatra and which quarter of

the nakshatra that the child was born in, a name shoul be chosen

which begins with syllable corresponding to the particular quarter of

the nakshatra. Any syllable with an "o" sound may substitute an "au"

sound. An syllable with an "e" sound may substitute an "ai"

sound. "S" may be substituted for "s".

Nakshatra at birth: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters or padas of it:

asvina cu, ce, co, la

bharani li, lu, le, lo

krtikka a, i, u, e

rohini o, ba, bi, bu

mrga sirsa be, bo, ka, ki

ardra ku, gha, na, cha

punarvasu ke, ko, ha, hi

pusya hu, he, ho, da

aslesa di, du, de, do

magha ma, mi, mu, me

purva phalguni mo, ta, ti, tu

uttara phalguni te, to, pa, pi

hasta pu, sa, na, tha

citra pe, po, ra, ri

svati ru, re, ro, ta

visakha ti, tu, te, to

anuradha na, ni, nu, ne

jyestha no, ya, yi, yu

mula ye, yo, bha, bhi

purvasadha bhu, dha, pha, dha

uttarasadha bhe, bho, ja, ji

abhijit ju, je, jo, kha

sravana khi, khu, khe, kho

dhanistha ga, gi, gu, ge

satabhisa go, sa, si, su, sa, si, su

purva bhadra se, so, se, so, da, di

uttara bhadrapada du, tha, jha, na (and tra)

revati de, do, ca, ci

According to zodiac sign:

Begining with the letters as follows:

21 March/ 20 April mesa / Aries : a, la

21 April/ 20 May vrsaba / Taurus; u, va, i, e, o

21 May/ 20 June mithuna /Gemini; ka, cha, bha, na

21 June/ 20 July karkara / Cancer; bha, ha

21 July/20 Aug simha / Leo: ta, ?

21 Aug/ 20Sept kanya / Virgo; pa, tha, ya, na

21 Sept/ 20 Oct tula / Libra: ra, tav

21 Oct/ 20 Nov vrsicha / Scorpio; na, ya

21 Nov/ 20 Dec dhanus / Sagitarius: bha, bha, pha, dha

21 Dec/ 20 Jan makara /Capricorn; tha, ja

21 Jan/ 20 Feb kumbha /Aquarius: ga, sa

21 Feb/ 20 March mina / Pisces: da, ca na, jha

Name after Month deity

The second mode of naming was based on the deity of the month in

which the child was born. According to Gargya, the names of the

deities of months beginning from Margasirsa are Karnna, Ananta,

Achyuta, Chakri, Vaikuntha, Janardana, Upendra, Yjnapurusa, Vasudeva,

hari, Yogisa, and Pundarikaksa. The child was given a second name

connected with the deity of the month. The above names are all of

Vaisnava sect and they originated much later than the sutra period.

Name after Family deity

The third name was given according to the family deity. A family

deity was a god or goddess worshipped in a family or tribe from every

early times. The people naming a child after it thought that the

child would enjoy special protection of the deity. The deity may be

Vedic e.g. Indra, Soma, varuna, Mitra, Prajapati, or Puranic e.g.

Krishna, rama, Sankara, Ganesa etc. While naming the child, the word

Dasa or Bhakta (a devotee) was added to the name of the deity.

Popular Name

The last mode of naming was popular.The formation of this name mainly

depended on the culture and education of the family.

Forbidden or prohibited names

The following female names should be avoided.

Names after a constellation such as Rohini, Revati etc. should be

avoided. Names of trees and plants such as Champa, Tulasi etc., Names

of rivers such as Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati etc. Names formed on the

basis of lowering merit like Chandali

Names of mountains like Vindhyachal, Himalaya,etc.,Names of birds

like Kokila, Hansa etc., Names of snakes such as Sarpini, Nagin, etc

Names suggestive of menial servants or other orderlies like Dasi,

kinkakari etc., Names that create an awe or fear like Bheema,

Bhayankari, Chandika etc.,. The above types of names are prohibited

names for female children.

The scriptural authority for the above prohibitions is taken from

Manu Smriti 3/9. Which reads as follows:

"Let him not marry a maiden named after a constellation, a tree, or a

river, nor one bearing the name of a low caste, or of a mountain, nor

one named after a bird, a snake, or a slave, nor one whose name

inspires terror."

If the child is female, the name should be of one or three or five

letters like Shree, Hrihi, Yashoda, Sukhada, Saubhagyaprada etc.

According to Asvalayana, the names of boys should have an even number

of syllables. A two-syllable name will bring material prosperity and

fame and a four syllable name will bring religious fame.

[Guest guest]

Dear Sirs !

 

My son was born on 8 August 2004 at 7.45 Am in Johore, Malaysia. Appreciate if

someone could kindly suggest what names could we give him. Also appreciate if

could someone tell me about his horoscope as he had comlications during his

birth.

 

Thanks.

 

Vignes.

 

drjperumalphd <drjperumalphd wrote:

Namakarana

According to the general rule of the Gruhyasutras the Namakarana

ceremony was performed on the tenth or the twelfth day after the

birth of the child with the single exception of the secret name which

was given, in the opinion of some, on the birth day. But the later

options range from the tenth up to the first day of the second year.

One authority says, "The naming ceremony should be performed on the

tenth, twelfth, hundredth day or at the expiry of the first year."

This wide option was due to the convenience of the family and health

of the mother and the child. But the option from the tenth up to

thirty second day was due to the different periods of ceremonial

impurities prescribed for different casts. In the opinion of

Brihaspati, "The naming ceremonies should be performed on the tenth,

twelfth, thirteenth, sixteenth, nineteenth, or thirty-second day

after the birth of the child." But according to astrological works

even these dates were to be postponed if there was any natural

abnormality or lack of religious propriety. "If there be a Samkranti

(the passage of the sun from one zodiac to another), and eclipse or

sraddha, the ceremony cannot be auspicious." There were other

prohibited days also which should be avoided.

At the expiry of impurity caused by birth, the house was washed and

purified, and the child and mother bathed. Before the proper

ceremony, the preliminary rites were performed. Then the mother,

having covered the child with pure cloth and wetted its head with

water, handed it over to the father. After this, offerings were made

to Prajapati, date, constellation, their deities, Agni and Soma. The

father touched the breaths of the child, most probably, to awaken its

consciousness and to draw its attention towards the ceremony. Then

the name was given. How it was done is not described in the

Gruhyasutras, but the Paddhatis contain the following procedure.

After preliminaries, the parents give the offerings to gods and feel

the breath of the child symbolising the awakening of its

consciousness and utters in its ear three times: "Your name is …..".

The Brahmins and elders are asked to follow, calling the child by

that name and blessing it.

The parents, Acharya (teacher) etc. give name to the child. It is

written in the Gobhiliya 2/8/8-18 and the Shaunaka Grihya Sutra that

a meritoriously attractive and pleasant name should be given to the

child.

Composition of the Name

The first question which has been discussed from the time of the

Gruhyasutras onwards is the composition of the name. According to the

Paraskara Gruhyasutra, the name should be of two syllables or of four

syllables, beginning with a sonant, with a semivowel in it, with the

long vowel or the visarga at its end, with a Krt suffix, not with a

Taddhita. In the opinion of Baijavapa there is no restriction of

syllables. "The father should give a name to the child containing one

syllable, two syllables, three syllables, or an indefinite number of

syllables." But Vasistha restricts the number to two or four

syllables and asks to avoid names ending in l and r. the Asvalayana

Gruhyasutra attaches different kinds of merits to different number of

syllables; "One who is desirous of fame, his name should consists of

two syllables, one who desires holy lustre, his name should contain

four syllables." For boys even number of syllables were prescribed.

Naming a Girl

The naming of a girl had a different basis. The name of a girl should

contain an uneven number of syllables, it should end in a and should

have a Taddhita. Baijavapa says, "The name of a girl should contain

three syllables and end in i." Manu gives further qualifications of

the name of a girl: "It should be easy to pronounce, not hard to

hear, of clear meaning, charming, auspicious, ending in a long vowel

and containing some blessing." She should not be given an awkward

name indicating "a constellation, a tree, a river, a mountain, a

bird, a servant, and a terror." Manu forbids to marry girls who were

named after these objects. The most probable reason seems to be that

such names were current in the non Aryan peoples with whom the Aryans

were not willing to form matrimonial relations.

Fourfold Naming

There was current fourfold naming, according to asterism under which

the child was born, the deity of the month, the family deity, and the

popular calling.

Nakshtra Name

To begin with the Nakshtra name, it was a name derived from the name

of a Nakshtra (a lunar asterism) under which the child was born, or

from its presiding deity. Sankha and Likhita prescribed that, "the

father or an elderly member of the family should give the child a

name connected with the constellation under which the child is born."

The following are the names of the constellations and their deities:

Asvini - Asvi, Bharani - Yama, Kritika - Agni, Rohini - Prajapati,

Mrgasira - Soma, Ardra - Rudra, Punarvasu - Aditi, Pusya -

Brihaspati, Aslesa - Sarpa, Magha - Pitrni, Purvaphalguni - Bhaga,

Uttaraphalguni - Aryaman, Hasta - Savitri, Chitra - Tvastra, Svati -

Vayu, visakha - Indragni, Anuradha - Mitra, Jyestha - Indra, Mula -

Nirti, Purvasha - Ap, Uttarasadha - Visvedeva, Sravana - Visnu,

Dhanistha - Vasu, Saatabhik - Varuna, Puryabhadrapada - Ajaikapada,

Uttarabhadrapada - Ahirbudhnya and Revati - Pusan. If a child was

born under the constellation Asvini, he was named Asvinikumara, if

under Rhini, Rohinikumara etc. Another method of naming the child

after the constellation was also current. The letters of the Sanskrit

alphabets are believed to be presided over by different

constellations. But as there are fifty two letters and only twenty

seven constellations, each constellation has more than one letter

under its influence. The first letter of the child´s name should

begin with one of the letters ruled over by a particular asterism. A

child who was born under Asvini, which presides over the letters Chu -

Che - Cho - la was named Chudamani, Chedisa, Cholesa or Lakshmana

according to the different steps of the constellations.

According to Baudhayana, the name derived from the constellation was

kept secret. It was the second name for greeting the elders and was

known to the parents only up to the time of the Upanayana. In the

opinion of some authorities the secret name was given on the birth

day. About the greeting name Asvalayana also says that it should be

selected on the naming day and should be known to the parents only.

Saunaka is of the same opinion, "The name by which he should greet

the elders after being initiated, should be given to him. Having

thought over it, the father should pronounce it closely to the child

so that others may not know it. The parents should recollect this

name at the time of initiation." The name derived form the Nakshatra

was vitally connected with the life of the individual. So it was kept

secret less enemies may do mischief to the man through it.

Name according to aksara corresponding to nakshatra:

Each naksatra is divided into four equal parts. Each part is assigned

a syllable. After determining which nakshatra and which quarter of

the nakshatra that the child was born in, a name shoul be chosen

which begins with syllable corresponding to the particular quarter of

the nakshatra. Any syllable with an "o" sound may substitute an "au"

sound. An syllable with an "e" sound may substitute an "ai"

sound. "S" may be substituted for "s".

Nakshatra at birth: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters or padas of it:

asvina cu, ce, co, la

bharani li, lu, le, lo

krtikka a, i, u, e

rohini o, ba, bi, bu

mrga sirsa be, bo, ka, ki

ardra ku, gha, na, cha

punarvasu ke, ko, ha, hi

pusya hu, he, ho, da

aslesa di, du, de, do

magha ma, mi, mu, me

purva phalguni mo, ta, ti, tu

uttara phalguni te, to, pa, pi

hasta pu, sa, na, tha

citra pe, po, ra, ri

svati ru, re, ro, ta

visakha ti, tu, te, to

anuradha na, ni, nu, ne

jyestha no, ya, yi, yu

mula ye, yo, bha, bhi

purvasadha bhu, dha, pha, dha

uttarasadha bhe, bho, ja, ji

abhijit ju, je, jo, kha

sravana khi, khu, khe, kho

dhanistha ga, gi, gu, ge

satabhisa go, sa, si, su, sa, si, su

purva bhadra se, so, se, so, da, di

uttara bhadrapada du, tha, jha, na (and tra)

revati de, do, ca, ci

According to zodiac sign:

Begining with the letters as follows:

21 March/ 20 April mesa / Aries : a, la

21 April/ 20 May vrsaba / Taurus; u, va, i, e, o

21 May/ 20 June mithuna /Gemini; ka, cha, bha, na

21 June/ 20 July karkara / Cancer; bha, ha

21 July/20 Aug simha / Leo: ta, ?

21 Aug/ 20Sept kanya / Virgo; pa, tha, ya, na

21 Sept/ 20 Oct tula / Libra: ra, tav

21 Oct/ 20 Nov vrsicha / Scorpio; na, ya

21 Nov/ 20 Dec dhanus / Sagitarius: bha, bha, pha, dha

21 Dec/ 20 Jan makara /Capricorn; tha, ja

21 Jan/ 20 Feb kumbha /Aquarius: ga, sa

21 Feb/ 20 March mina / Pisces: da, ca na, jha

Name after Month deity

The second mode of naming was based on the deity of the month in

which the child was born. According to Gargya, the names of the

deities of months beginning from Margasirsa are Karnna, Ananta,

Achyuta, Chakri, Vaikuntha, Janardana, Upendra, Yjnapurusa, Vasudeva,

hari, Yogisa, and Pundarikaksa. The child was given a second name

connected with the deity of the month. The above names are all of

Vaisnava sect and they originated much later than the sutra period.

Name after Family deity

The third name was given according to the family deity. A family

deity was a god or goddess worshipped in a family or tribe from every

early times. The people naming a child after it thought that the

child would enjoy special protection of the deity. The deity may be

Vedic e.g. Indra, Soma, varuna, Mitra, Prajapati, or Puranic e.g.

Krishna, rama, Sankara, Ganesa etc. While naming the child, the word

Dasa or Bhakta (a devotee) was added to the name of the deity.

Popular Name

The last mode of naming was popular.The formation of this name mainly

depended on the culture and education of the family.

Forbidden or prohibited names

The following female names should be avoided.

Names after a constellation such as Rohini, Revati etc. should be

avoided. Names of trees and plants such as Champa, Tulasi etc., Names

of rivers such as Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati etc. Names formed on the

basis of lowering merit like Chandali

Names of mountains like Vindhyachal, Himalaya,etc.,Names of birds

like Kokila, Hansa etc., Names of snakes such as Sarpini, Nagin, etc

Names suggestive of menial servants or other orderlies like Dasi,

kinkakari etc., Names that create an awe or fear like Bheema,

Bhayankari, Chandika etc.,. The above types of names are prohibited

names for female children.

The scriptural authority for the above prohibitions is taken from

Manu Smriti 3/9. Which reads as follows:

"Let him not marry a maiden named after a constellation, a tree, or a

river, nor one bearing the name of a low caste, or of a mountain, nor

one named after a bird, a snake, or a slave, nor one whose name

inspires terror."

If the child is female, the name should be of one or three or five

letters like Shree, Hrihi, Yashoda, Sukhada, Saubhagyaprada etc.

According to Asvalayana, the names of boys should have an even number

of syllables. A two-syllable name will bring material prosperity and

fame and a four syllable name will bring religious fame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~! LIFE MEANS STRUGGLE, THE FITTEST WINS SURVIVAL !~

 

 

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