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Tirtha

birth

Annaprashan Sanskar

अन्नप्राशन संस्कारannaprāśana saṃskāraThe first feeding of cooked grain to a child.

The first solid food, given between the sixth and eighth month. Kheer is offered to the deity, then placed on the child's tongue by an elder.

From
₹2,100
Duration
1 hr – 2 hr 30 min
Languages
en · hi · bn · ml · kn · te · or
Performed as
At Your Home · Guided by Video
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Why this ritual

What the rite is for

Until this day the child has lived on its mother alone. Annaprashan marks the point at which it begins to take from the earth as well — the grain that the household eats, cooked in the household's own kitchen. That is the whole substance of the rite, and it is why the food is offered to the deity first and only then given to the child.

The grihya sutras place it in the sixth month for a boy and the sixth or eighth for a girl, with regional practice varying and even months generally preferred. The food is payasam or kheer — rice cooked in milk with a little ghee, sugar and, in many households, a few grains of honey-touched rice. It is given with a silver or gold spoon, usually by the maternal uncle or the grandfather, and the quantity is symbolic: a few grains on the tongue, not a meal.

The tray custom that follows is not in the sutras but is very old in practice. Objects are set before the child — a book, a coin, a pen, a lump of earth, an ornament — and whatever it reaches for is remembered fondly by the family. It is a game played with affection, and nothing about a child's life is read from it.

Textual basis

Where it comes from

Annaprashan is the seventh of the sixteen samskaras and is described in the Ashvalayana and Paraskara grihya sutras and in the Manusmriti. In Bengal it is the mukhe bhat, held with the mother's brother giving the first mouthful; in Kerala it is choroonu, often performed in a temple before the deity; in Karnataka and Andhra it is annaprasana held at home with the family deity present. The tray of objects is regional in name — annaprashan thali in the north, hate khori's cousin in Bengal usage, and vishesha in some southern households — and is treated everywhere as a custom rather than a shastric requirement.

Vidhi

The rite, step by step

Timings are approximate and vary with the pandit's paddhati.

Samagri

What the vidhi calls for

And why each item is used.

  • New rice for the kheer

    500 g

    Fine unbroken rice from a freshly opened stock, cooked in the family's own kitchen. The grain the household eats is the grain the child receives.

  • Milk, ghee and jaggery

    1 l

    The kheer is sweetened with jaggery or unrefined sugar rather than white sugar in most traditional households.

  • Silver bowl and spoon

    1 piece

    The first mouthful is given with silver or gold. Many families use a set gifted by the mother's parents for this day.

  • Tulsi leaves

    21 piece

    Placed on the kheer at the moment of nivedan. Plucked in the morning, not the previous night.

  • Durva grass and akshat

    500 g

    For the Ganesh pujan and for the blessing each elder gives the child at the close.

  • Palasha samidha

    1 bundle

    For the short annaprashan homa. Dry, thin sticks are used so the fire stays low and gives little smoke near the child.

    Included in the kit

  • Banana leaf

    4 piece

    The offering is laid on a banana leaf in southern and eastern practice. Washed and passed over the lamp flame before use.

  • Tray objects set

    1 piece

    A book, a pen, a coin, a small ornament and a little earth in a shallow tray, for the custom that follows the feeding.

  • Camphor and wicks

    100 g

    For the aarti. Burnt in a holder kept at a distance from the child, and the room is aired afterwards.

Packages

What differs between tiers

Stated plainly: the counts, the number of pandits, and the time it takes.

  • First Grain

    The nivedan and the first mouthful, performed at home in about an hour.

    ₹2,100

    Duration
    1 hr
    Pandits
    1 pandit

    Included

    • Sankalp, Ganesh pujan and kalash sthapana
    • Anna nivedan and prathama grasa
    • Aarti and prasad vitaran
    • Puja samagri, tulsi and durva

    Not included

    • Homa
    • The kheer, which the family cooks at home

    at home · guided

  • Full Sanskar

    Most chosen

    With the kuldevta and Annapurna pujan, the ayushya homa and the tray custom.

    ₹5,100

    Duration
    1 hr 45 min
    Pandits
    1 pandit

    Included

    • Everything in First Grain
    • Kuldevta and Annapurna pujan
    • Short annaprashan homa with palasha samidha
    • Vastu darshan tray prepared and set
    • Blessing round for every elder present

    at home · guided

  • Sanskar and Bhojan

    The full rite followed by a satvik meal cooked and served for the gathering.

    ₹11,000

    Duration
    2 hr 30 min
    Pandits
    2 pandits

    Included

    • Everything in Full Sanskar
    • Satvik meal for up to thirty, cooked on site
    • Kheer prepared by the pandit's kitchen if the family prefers
    • Silver bowl and spoon, engraved with the child's name
    • Recording of the first mouthful and the blessing

    at home

Who performs it

Pandit requirement

One pandit is sufficient. A second is added only where the meal for guests is part of the booking, so the rite is not hurried for the kitchen.

Questions

What families ask

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Traditional guidance, offered for reflection. Not medical, legal or financial advice.