Rituals and Rites

By: Ophelia Chiang and Meheak Singh

Baby Rites
Rituals begin before a child is born. Hindus believe it is the responsibility of each individual to continue the Hindu
race.

Garbhadana - a prayer recited for fulfillment of one's parental obligations

Punsavana- This ritual is performed during the third month of pregnancy, and is done for the strong
growth of the fetus.
Simantonnyana - This performed during the seventh month and is equivalent of a baby shower. It
translates to 'satisfying the craving of the pregnant mother'. Prayers are offered for the mother and
child with emphasis on healthy mental development of the unborn child. Hindus also believe that
mental state of a pregnant woman affects the unborn child.
Jatakarma - This is performed to welcome the child into the family, by putting a bit of honey in the
child's mouth and whispering the name of God in the it's ear.
Namkarma - This is the ceremony where the child's name is determined.

Wedding Rituals
Jaymaala - Firstly, the bride's parents welcome the bridegroom and his family at the boundary of the
house where the wedding is taking place, and a red powder is applied to their foreheads. Members
from both families are formally introduced, marking the start of relationship between two families. The
bride and the bridegroom then exchange garlands, or a jayamaala and declare: "Let all the learned
persons present here know, we are accepting each other willingly, voluntarily and pleasantly. Our
hearts are concordant and united like waters."
Madhu-Parka - The bridegroom is brought to a specially decorated altar called 'mandap' and offered a
seat and a welcoming drink consisting of a mixture of milk, ghee, yoghurt, honey and sugar.
Gau Daan and Kanya Pratigrahan - 'The literal translation of 'Gau Daan' is 'cow donation' but
nowadays, the symbolic exchange of gifts, particularly clothes and ornaments takes place. The
groom's mother gives an auspicious necklace, or a mangala sootra, to the bride. Mangla sootra is the
emblem of marital status for a Hindu woman. ' The bride's father declares that their daughter has
accepted the bridegroom and requests them to accept her.

Wedding Rituals (Cont.)

Paanigrahan - This is the ceremony of vows. The husband, holding his wife's
hand, says "I hold your hand in the spirit of Dharma, we are both husband
and wife".
Shilarohan and Laaja Homa - Shilarohan is the climbing over a stone or rock
by the bride. This symbolizes her willingness and strength to overcome
difficulties in pursuit of her duties. Both gently walk around the sacred fire
four times. The bride leads three times and the fourth time the groom
leads. The bride's brothers pour some barley into the joined hands of the
couple, which is offered to the fire, symbolizing that they all will jointly
work for the welfare of the society. The husband marks the parting in his
wife's hair with red powder called 'sindoor' and is a mark of a married
Hindu woman.
Sapta- Padi - This is the main and the legal part of the ceremony. The couple
walk seven steps reciting a prayer at each step. These are the seven vows
which are exchanged. The first for food, the second for strength, the third
for prosperity, the fourth for wisdom, the fifth for progeny, the sixth for
health and the seventh for friendship. In some regions, in stead of walking
the seven steps, the bride touches seven stones or nuts with her right toe.

Shilarohan and Laaja

Homa

Holi: Origins
Holi was originally a spring festival of fertility and harvest, but now also marks a few Hindu legends, which
provide some of the ingredients for the celebrations. One of the main Holi legends includes the one below.
Holika, a female demon, was the sister of Hiranyakashyap, the demon king. Hiranyakashyap considered
himself ruler of the Universe, and higher than all the gods. Prahalad, the king's son, was a faithful devotee of
the god Vishnu and for this, his father despised him.
One day the king asked him "Who is the greatest, God or I?"
"God is," said Prahalad, "you are only a king."
The king was furious and decided to murder his son, but the king's attempts at murder didn't work. Prahalad
survived being thrown over a cliff, being trampled by elephants, bitten by snakes, and attacked by soldiers.
So the king asked his sister, Holika, to kill the boy. Holika seized Prahalad and sat in the middle of a fire,
since she had recieved the gift of being immune to it, and sat the boy in her lap. She believed that she
would remain unscathed while the boy burned to his death, and considered her plan foolproof. However,
because Holika was using her gift to do something evil, her power vanished and she was burned to ashes.
Prahalad stayed true to his God, Vishnu, and sat praying in the lap of his demon aunt. Vishnu protected him,
and Prahalad survived. Shortly afterwards, Vishnu killed King Hiranyakashyap and Prahad ruled as a wise

Holi: How its Celebrated

The main event of Holi is a carnival of colors. On this day, strangers, children, friends and neighbors come
out on the streets and color everyone in sight. Colors of all form and variety are present, and they come in
shades of red, orange, blue, green, and purple. Not only that, but they are available in oil, water or powder
base.
Colored powder, or, gulal was traditionally made out of dried seeds of tropical flowers, but has now given
way to synthetic dyes, available in the form of pigments. For a glittering effect, fine dust of Mica are also
mixed with the powdered dye. People throw these colored powders in the air as they shout "Holi Hai!", and
smear each other with this colored powder.
However, these dry powders aren't the only thing seen on the streets. In addition, they wet each other with
colored water from Pitchkaris. These colors and pitchkaris are sold by most of the local grocers and special
purpose kiosks which crop up only for those Holi days. A Pitchkari is similar to a water gun, and quite
effective in splashing one with color. Similarly, water-filled baloons are used these days to charge the
target.
It is a community festival that bridges the social gap. People color each other with gulal and other form of
dyes. Young men throw coloured powder and coloured water on women. With faces hidden by color, it is
difficult to recognize the different social classes, and as a result the communities all bind together on this
one day.. Men, women, adult and children all take part in dances and other cultural activities.

Holi in Vallejo
These photos were taken at the Vallejo Hindu Temple at their annual Holi celebration.
As you can see, everything becomes cloaked in colored power, from people, to even
the grounds.

Diwali: Origins
One of the most common stories about Diwali is the return of Lord Ram and his wife Sita to Ayodhya after
their fourteen year exile. The story goes into extensive detail in the Ramayana, which is full of holy and
mythological stories. It tells the tale of how Lord Rama, with the aid of the monkey warrior, Hanuman, and
brother, Lakshman, vanquished the evil king Ravana of Lanka and rescued his wife Sita who had been
captured.
After this victory, the entire city of Ayodhya was decorated with garlands and flowers in celebration for the
arrival of Lord Rams return. The surroundings were very clean and beautifully scented. Throughout Ayodhya
devotees were fasting, anxiously waiting for the arrival of Lord Ram. Ram returned to Ayodhya with Sita and
was greeted with joy and celebrations and the people lighted rows of clay lamps welcome him. This signified
the triumph of good over evil and the coming of God-consciousness into the life of the devotee. The day he
destroyed Ravana was called Dussehra, and the day on which he returned to Ayodhya was called Divali.

Diwali: How its celebrated

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is the most popular of all the
festivals from South Asia. The festival celebrates the victory of
good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance,
although the actual legends that go with the festival are different in
parts of India. Regardless of which myth one chooses to believe in,
what the festival of lights really stands for today is a reaffirmation
of hope, a renewed commitment to friendship and goodwill, and a
celebration of the joys of life. The festival is a time for thoroughly
spring-cleaning the home, wearing new clothes and most
importantly, decorating buildings with fancy lights. The name of the
festival comes from the Sanskrit word dipavali, meaning row of
lights. Diwali is known as the 'festival of lights' because houses,
shops and public places are decorated with small oil lamps called
diyas. The celebratory lamps are lit row by row in order to decorate
and light houses. The lamps are lit to help the goddess Lakshmi
find her way into people's homes. They also celebrate one of the
Diwali legends, which tells of the return of Rama and Sita to Rama's
kingdom after fourteen years of exile.

Works Cited
"Hinduism." BBC.co.uk. BBC, 24 Aug. 2009. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

"Holi Celebration In India." Theholidayspot.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar.

2016.