* Narration of various Samskars of Shree Hari including Bhumi- Upvesan Samskar, Karnavedh Samskar and Annprashan Samskar. * Vrutti Pariksha (foretelling the Lord’s profession). * Marriage of Rampratapbhai, Celebration of first birth anniversary of Shree Hari.
Shri Hari’s childhood, having consecrated according to rituals.
Bhumi-Upvesan Samskar. -
In the child’s fifth month as it was Shravana, on the eleventh day of bright fortnight (Putrada Ekadashi), in the seventh auspicious hour from the sunrise, Dharma performed the scriptural rite of letting the child for the first time on the ground. 1.
On that day, Dharma worshipped the boar-incarnate Vishnu and the earth, with great delight, accompanied by auspicious instrumental music and utterances of Vedic hymns. 2.
Karnavedh Samskar.
In the seventh month, one Thursday, in an auspicious hour, Dharma paying honours to family-deities performed the rite of piercing of the ears (for ear-rings) of his son. 3.
The expert tailor carried the piercing act skilfully with a silver needle and two-fold string as Vedic hymns heard in the background. 4.
Annprashan Samskar.
In the month of Ashvin on the second day of bright fortnight in the auspicious hour of Tula (Libra) sign in the zodiac, Dharma performed the ritual of feeding the child with solid food for the first time, (boiled rice in particular) (other than mother’s milk) after giving the child sacred bath. 5.
Commencing the procedure by setting the sacred fire and performing the sacrifice of Charu (offerings), he worshipped Brahma and other godly divinities. 6.
The baby was adorning the lap of the mother with a smiling face, the father, calmly, with a golden spoon in hand, gave him pure food mixed with curds, ghee and honey. 7.
Vrutti Pariksha (foretelling the Lord’s profession.
To evaluate the child’s future inclination of its profession, different objects were spotted all over the place within its (child’s) reach and sight. Dharma keeping clothes, utensils, weapons and books before the child, became very pleased, as soon as the child took possession of the books. 8.
The child well raised by the parents grew by the day like the moon in bright fortnight. He used to steal the attention of the onlookers by his decent signs and child acting. 9.
When the parents were involved in bringing up Shri Hari, the Supreme Reality as their son, their days and nights passed away swiftly as a flash. 10.
The onlookers men and women, who were bonded souls though, seeing him, their hearts used to become free of worldly afflictions. 11.
Falling in his love were the old and knowledgeable respectively, playing with him, they even became forgetful of their age. 12.
The auspicious-incarnate God got their minds into himself, to bestow them with liberation! 13.
All those caring women patting the child became impartial without the thought of ‘mine and yours’. 14.
The elders took him to their own son, others to their own brother, and used to cuddle him entire day unmindful of their own families. 15.
The fondlers used to have little encounters among them as to whose hands the child should go; the love for the child made them to pass on the child from one person to another and again. 16.
The mother Bhakti hardly had her own son to cuddle, as other women negating to let him at times. 17.
When the child’s mumbling sweet chatter began, women around used to sweet-talk him often to say ‘Amba’ (mother) and ‘Tata’ (father). 17.
He used to make those women laugh with his little chatters and in expressions. Prior to the completion of a year, he learnt to speak and move. 18.
Giving happiness to the people around him with his child-plays, wishful human-embodiment Shri Hari completed a year. 19-20.
Marriage of Rampratapbhai.
Dharma did his eldest son Ramapratapa’s wedding in traditionalism with family-norms, excitedly as well, on similarity with a royal wedding. 21.
A Brahmin Baladeva gave away his well dressed and ornamented only daughter to Ramapratapa in a customary way. 22.
She being virtuous, obtained a suitable religious husband, followed him with love and virtues, stayed an ideal wife, attentively serving him. 23.
In the beginning of the second year’s ninth day, Shri Hariprasad celebrated his son’s birthday-festival. 24.
He worshipped the seven immortal divinities as Hanuman, Bali, Vyasa, Krupa, Ashvatthama, Vibhishna, Markandeya and Parashurama according to principles, to begin the procedure. 25.
Brahmins and other devotees of Vishnu in thousands were served with pure delicacies of their wish, also they were gifted generously. 26.
All men and women had great love for the child - form Lord, and it was much more from his parents naturally. 27.
Shri Hari’s tonsure ceremony.
Father Dharma performed the ritual of tonsure for the child in his third year, who happened to be the most humble and intelligent, even among elders. 28.
Inviting Vedic scholars to perform the ritual of tonsure (for the first time) for the child, according to norms, that Brahmin did it in the month of Jyeshtha, on Thursday, the fifth day in dark fortnight, on star Dhanishta. 29.
Having taken auspicious bath, he worshipped the seven mother-goddesses, and observed the commencement of religious right, gave oblations to the ancestors and performed purification rites thereafter. 30.
Following the words of ritualistic family-priests, establishing the sacred fire ‘Sabhya’ Dharma observed the rite of ‘Patra Asadanam’. 31.
He offered to the right part of the sacred fire, twenty one blades of the Kusha grass, and to the left he sacrificed in it the dry cow dung of a red cow. 32.
O King! Having performed a sacrifice with the utterances of spiritual words (Vyahrutis); with a small iron razor he observed the ritual of tonsure of the son by leaving a tuft of hair on the crown of his head. 33.
Following the family norms, he engaged a barber to carry the tonsuring rite, leaving a lock of hair on the crown of the child’s head; the procedure also included giving away of gifts of cow and others, to the people. 34.
Then, with great pleasure he satisfied hundreds of Brahmins with food, including mango-juice mixed with ghee and sugar. Then he offered lunch to his relatives, natives of the town, and other people who came for it. 35-36.
As mother Bhakti was deeply engaged in her duties of that day she could not cuddle her child though he was the most lovable for her than her own soul. She let other young children to care for her child and served the women guests deservedly. 37-38.
Those children playing after the lunch, taking that most loved child with them to a nearby town-garden in the evening hour. Seeing a mango-grove there, eating the ripe mangoes fallen from the tree they were overjoyed. 39.
Thus ends the twenty-fifth chapter entitled ‘Narration of the tonsure ritual of Shri Hari’ in the first Prakarana of Satsangi Jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as ‘Dharmashastra’ (the rules of the code of conduct). 25