Samavartanam

Last updated

The Samavartana (Sanskrit : समावर्तन, Samāvartana), also known as Snāna, is a rite of passage in the ancient texts of Hinduism performed at the close of the Brahmacharya period and marked the graduation of the student from Gurukul (school). [1] It signifies a person's readiness to enter grihastashrama (householder, married life).

Hinduism Religion and way of life

Hinduism is an Indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practised in the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, "the eternal tradition", or the "eternal way", beyond human history. Scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This "Hindu synthesis" started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE, after the end of the Vedic period, and flourished in the medieval period, with the decline of Buddhism in India.

<i>Brahmacharya</i> student or bachelor stage of life in ancient India

Brahmacharya is a concept within Indian religions that literally means "conduct consistent with Brahma". In simple terms on the path of Brahma..

Contents

Description

Samavartana or Snana, is the ceremony associated with the end of formal education and the Brahmacharya asrama of life. This rite of passage includes a ceremonial bath. [2] This ceremony marked the end of school, but did not imply immediate start of married life. Typically, significant time elapsed between exiting the Brahmacharya stage of life and the entering of Grihastha stage of life. [3]

Anyone who had completed this rite of passage was considered a Vidya-snataka (literally, bathed in knowledge, or showered with learning), and symbolized as one who had crossed the ocean of learning. [4]

Ceremony

The ceremony was a gathering of students, teacher and guests. The student asked the teacher for any gift (guru-dakshina) he desired, which if specified was the student's responsibility to deliver over his lifetime. [5] Then, after a recitation by the teacher of a graduate's dharma (snataka-dharma) [6] and a fire ritual, the graduate took a ceremonial bath. The ceremony occurred after completion of at least 12 years of school, that is either about age 21 or later.

Dharma Key concept in Indian philosophy and religion

Dharma is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. There is no single-word translation for dharma in Western languages.

Taittiriya Upanishad describes, in the eleventh anuvaka of Shiksha Valli, the snataka-dharma recitation emphasized by the teacher to a graduate at this rite of passage. [7] [8] The verses ask the graduate to take care of themselves and pursue Dharma, Artha and Kama to the best of their abilities. Parts of the verses in section 1.11.1, for example, state [7]

The Taittirīya Upanishad is a Vedic era Sanskrit text, embedded as three chapters (adhyāya) of the Yajurveda. It is a mukhya Upanishad, and likely composed about 6th century BC.

Artha

Artha is one of the four aims of human life in Indian philosophy. The word artha literally translates as "meaning, sense, goal, purpose or essence" depending on the context. Artha is also a broader concept in the scriptures of Hinduism. As a concept, it has multiple meanings, all of which imply "means of life", activities and resources that enable one to be in a state one wants to be in.

Kama concept in Hinduism about emotion, desire and love

Kama means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu and Buddhist literature. Kama often connotes sexual desire and longing in contemporary literature, but the concept more broadly refers to any desire, wish, passion, longing, pleasure of the senses, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, with or without sexual connotations.

Never err from Truth,
Never err from Dharma,
Never neglect your well-being,
Never neglect your health,
Never neglect your prosperity,
Never neglect Svādhyāya (study of oneself) and Pravacana (exposition of Vedas).

— Taittirĩya Upanishad, I.11.1 [7] [8]

The eleventh anuvaka of Shiksha Valli list behavioral guidelines for the graduating students from a gurukul, [9] [10]

Be one to whom a mother is as god, be one to whom a father is as god,
Be one to whom an Acharya (spiritual guide, scholars you learn from) is as god,
Be one to whom a guest is as god. [1]
Let your actions be uncensurable, none else.
Those acts that you consider good when done to you, do those to others, none else.

  1. ^ Taittiriya Upanishad Thirteen Principle Upanishads, Robert Hume (Translator), pages 281-282
— Taittirĩya Upanishad, I.11.2 [7] [8]

The third section of the eleventh anuvaka lists charity and giving, with faith, sympathy, modesty and cheerfulness, as ethical precept for the graduating students at the Samavartana rite of passage. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

Smriti, literally "that which is remembered" are a body of Hindu texts usually attributed to an author, traditionally written down but constantly revised, in contrast to Śrutis considered authorless, that were transmitted verbally across the generations and fixed. Smriti is a derivative secondary work and is considered less authoritative than Sruti in Hinduism, except in the Mimamsa school of Hindu philosophy. The authority of smriti accepted by orthodox schools, is derived from that of shruti, on which it is based.

Upanayana Hindu rite of passage when a student enters a school, particularly Vedic school

Upanayana is one of the traditional saṃskāras that marked the acceptance of a student by a guru (teacher) and an individual's entrance to a school in Hinduism. The tradition is widely discussed in ancient Sanskrit texts of India and varies regionally. The sacred thread is received by the boy during this ceremony, that he continues wearing across his chest thereafter.

Grihastha literally means "being in and occupied with home, family" or "householder". It refers to the second phase of an individual's life in a four age-based stages of the Hindu ashram system. It follows Brahmacharya life stage, and embodies a married life, with the duties of maintaining a home, raising a family, educating one's children, and leading a family-centred and a dharmic social life.

Sannyasa Renounce worldly life, monastic spiritual pursuit in Hinduism

Sannyasa is the life stage of renunciation within the Hindu philosophy of four age-based life stages known as ashramas, with the first three being Brahmacharya, Grihastha (householder) and Vanaprastha. Sannyasa is traditionally conceptualized for men or women in late years of their life, but young brahmacharis have had the choice to skip the householder and retirement stages, renounce worldly and materialistic pursuits and dedicate their lives to spiritual pursuits.

Yajurveda One of four Vedas of Hinduism

The Yajurveda is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals. An ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, it is a compilation of ritual offering formulas that were said by a priest while an individual performed ritual actions such as those before the yajna fire. Yajurveda is one of the four Vedas, and one of the scriptures of Hinduism. The exact century of Yajurveda's composition is unknown, and estimated by scholars to be around 1200 to 1000 BCE, contemporaneous with Samaveda and Atharvaveda.

Dharmaśāstra is a genre of Sanskrit theological texts, and refers to the treatises (shastras) of Hinduism on dharma. There are many Dharmashastras, variously estimated to be 18 to about 100, with different and conflicting points of view. Each of these texts exist in many different versions, and each is rooted in Dharmasutras texts dated to 1st millennium BCE that emerged from Kalpa (Vedanga) studies in the Vedic era.

Vrata is a Sanskrit word that means "vow, resolve, devotion", and refers to pious observances such as fasting and pilgrimage (Tirtha) found in Indian religions such as Jainism and Hinduism. It is typically accompanied with prayers seeking health and happiness for their loved ones.

Pandurang Vaman Kane Indian Indologist and Sanskrit scholar

Pandurang Vaman Kane was a notable Indologist and Sanskrit scholar. He received India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna in 1963 for his scholarly work that spanned more than 40 years of active academic research that resulted in 6,500 pages of History of Dharmaśāstra. The historian Ram Sharan Sharma says: "Pandurang Vaman Kane, a great Sanskritist wedded to social reform, continued the earlier tradition of scholarship. His monumental work entitled the "History of the Dharmasastra", published in five volumes in the twentieth century, is an encyclopedia of ancient social laws and customs. This enables us to study the social processes in ancient India."

The History of Dharmaśāstra, with subtitle Ancient and Medieval Religious and Civil Law in India, is a monumental five-volume work consisting of around 6,500 pages. It was written by Pandurang Vaman Kane, an Indologist. The first volume of the work was published in 1930 and the last one in 1962. The work is considered Kane's magnum opus in English.

The Mitākṣarā is a vivṛti on the Yajnavalkya Smriti best known for its theory of "inheritance by birth." It was written by Vijñāneśvara, a scholar in the Western Chalukya court in the late eleventh and early twelfth century. Along with the Dāyabhāga, it was considered one of the main authorities on Hindu Law from the time the British began administering laws in India. The entire Mitākṣarā, along with the text of the Yājñavalkya-smṝti, is approximately 492 closely printed pages.

Sanskara (rite of passage) rites of passage described in ancient Sanskrit texts

Sanskara are rites of passage in a human being's life described in ancient Sanskrit texts, as well as a concept in the karma theory of Indian philosophies. The word literally means "putting together, making perfect, getting ready, to prepare", or "a sacred or sanctifying ceremony" in ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts of India.

Pumsavana

Pumsavana is the second of the 16 saṃskāras in ancient texts of Hinduism. The rite of passage is celebrated in the third or fourth month of pregnancy, typically after the pregnancy begins to show but before the baby begins to move in the womb.

Svādhyāya

Svādhyāya is a Sanskrit term which literally means "one's own reading" and "self-study". It is also a broader concept with several meanings. In various schools of Hinduism, Svadhyaya is a Niyama connoting introspection and "study of self". The term also means the self-study and recitation of the Vedas and other sacred books.

Garbhadhana Hindu Ritual

Garbhadhana is the first of the 16 saṃskāras in Hinduism.

Jatakarma

Jatakarman is one of the major samskaras in Hinduism, that celebrates the birth of a child. It is typically a private rite of passage that is observed by the new parents, relatives of the baby and close friends.

Namakarana

Namakarana is the naming ceremony in Hinduism and a Sanskara to name a baby.

Simantonnayana is the third of the 16 saṃskāras in the ancient texts of Hinduism. It is observed in the last trimester of pregnancy to wish for safe delivery and is similar to a baby shower.

<i>Tagadhari</i> high caste Hindus of Nepal

Tagadhari is a Nepalese Hindu social group that is historically perceived with high socio-religious status. Members of the group wears the sacred thread (Janai), a holy thread used for ritualistic purpose in Hinduism, around their torso. The sacred thread has been shown in the Nepalese society as a mark of high socio-religious status. The sacred thread called yajñopavītam in Sanskrit and Janai in Nepali, is received after the Upanayana ceremony.

References

  1. ↑ For definition of Samāvartana, and alternate term Snāna, see: Pandey 1969 , p. 146.
  2. ↑ PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 405-408
  3. ↑ PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, page 408
  4. ↑ Kathy Jackson (2005), Rituals and Patterns in Children's Lives, University of Wisconsin Press, ISBN   978-0299208301, page 52
  5. ↑ PV Kane, Snana or Samavartana, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 406-409
  6. ↑ PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII, History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 412-417 (note: link has missing pages)
  7. 1 2 3 4 Taittiriya Upanishad SS Sastri (Translator), The Aitereya and Taittiriya Upanishad, pages 89-92
  8. 1 2 3 4 Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN   978-8120814684, pages 229-231
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ Original: मातृदेवो भव । पितृदेवो भव । आचार्यदेवो भव । अतिथिदेवो भव । यान्यनवद्यानि कर्माणि तानि सेवितव्यानि । नो इतराणि । यान्यस्माकँ सुचरितानि तानि त्वयोपास्यानि । नो इतराणि ॥ २ ॥; Taittiriya Upanishad (Sanskrit), Wikisource

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.