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Tirtha

birth

Namkaran Sanskar

नामकरण संस्कारnāmakaraṇa saṃskāraThe naming rite, in which a child is given the name it will be called by.

Performed on the eleventh or twelfth day after birth. The child is shown the sun, the janma nakshatra gives the first syllable, and the name is spoken into the ear before it is announced.

From
₹5,100
Duration
1 hr 15 min – 3 hr
Languages
en · hi · bn · mr · gu · ta · te
Performed as
At Your Home · Guided by Video
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Why this ritual

What the rite is for

Namkaran is the fifth of the sixteen samskaras and the first at which the child is addressed as a person in its own right. The grihya sutras place it on the eleventh or twelfth day, after the period of sutika ashaucha — the household's ritual seclusion following a birth — has ended and the mother and child have been bathed.

Two naming customs run in parallel and both are kept. The nakshatra name is derived from the pada of the janma nakshatra: each of the twenty-seven nakshatras is divided into four quarters, and each quarter carries a fixed syllable. That syllable belongs to the child's chart and is used in every later sankalp — at the upanayana, at the wedding, at a shraddha. The vyavaharika name is the one the family has chosen and by which the child will actually be called, and there is no requirement that it begin with the same syllable.

The name is first spoken quietly into the child's right ear by the father or the eldest present, then repeated aloud so the gathering hears it. In many households the mother's brother is the one who announces it.

Textual basis

Where it comes from

The rite is set out in the Paraskara and Ashvalayana grihya sutras and appears with small variations in the Manusmriti chapter on samskaras. Regional differences are real: in Bengal the sixth night, shashthi, is observed separately for Shashthi Devi and the naming often waits for a later date; in Maharashtra the barsa on the twelfth day is held in the evening with the cradle ceremony joined to it; in much of the south the naming and the first cradling are one occasion, held on the eleventh day. Where the eleventh or twelfth day is not workable, the shastra allows the rite in the first month, and after that on any auspicious tithi before the annaprashan.

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.

  • Janma patrika sheet

    1 piece

    A prepared sheet on which the birth details, the nakshatra, the pada, its syllable and both names are written during the rite and kept by the family.

    Included in the kit

  • Durva grass

    2 bundle

    Offered to Ganesha and used again in the blessing at the close. Fresh blades with the tips intact are used.

  • Akshat — unbroken rice

    1 kg

    For the kalash seat, the navagraha mandala, and the plate on which the name is written for the first time.

  • Honey and gold ring

    1 piece

    A trace of honey is touched to the child's tongue with a gold ring, an old grihya usage retained in most regions. The ring belongs to the family.

  • Navadhanya — nine grains

    900 g

    Laid on the nine squares of the navagraha mandala, one grain to each graha.

  • Cow ghee

    250 g

    For the ayushya homa and for the lamp kept burning beside the cradle through the rite.

  • New cloth for the cradle

    1 piece

    Unstitched cotton, washed and dried before the day. Many families use a cloth passed down from an elder in the house.

  • Camphor and cotton wicks

    100 g

    For the aarti at the close. Camphor is lit in a small holder held away from the child.

  • Betel nut and paan leaves

    21 piece

    For the sankalp, the kalash, the purnahuti and the small offering made to each elder who blesses the child.

Packages

What differs between tiers

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

  • Home Naming

    The naming rite at home, with the nakshatra syllable derived from the chart.

    ₹5,100

    Duration
    1 hr 15 min
    Pandits
    1 pandit

    Included

    • Sankalp, Ganesh pujan and kalash sthapana
    • Nakshatra pada read and the syllable confirmed
    • Surya darshan and naam ghoshana
    • Puja samagri and a written janma patrika sheet

    Not included

    • Ayushya homa

    at home · guided

  • Naming with Homa

    Most chosen

    The full vidhi with matrika pujan, navagraha pujan and the ayushya homa.

    ₹11,000

    Duration
    2 hr 15 min
    Pandits
    2 pandits

    Included

    • Everything in Home Naming
    • Matrika and kuldevta pujan with the ancestors named
    • Navagraha pujan with the nakshatra lord honoured
    • Ayushya homa and purnahuti
    • Palna vidhi with the cradle songs

    at home · guided

  • Naming and First Chart

    The full rite, with the child's birth chart prepared and read to the family the same day.

    ₹21,000

    Duration
    3 hr
    Pandits
    2 pandits

    Included

    • Everything in Naming with Homa
    • Full janma kundli cast from the recorded birth time
    • A calm reading of the chart with the jyotishi, in person
    • Printed and bound kundli in the family's language
    • Recording of the naming for relatives who could not attend

    at home

Who performs it

Pandit requirement

One pandit for the naming; two where the ayushya homa is performed, so the fire is tended separately from the recitation.

Questions

What families ask

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We will show you the auspicious windows for this rite, in your timezone and in India’s, and why each one was suggested.

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