Upanayana

Upanayana (Sanskrit: उपनयन upanayana-)

Janai or janeau or poita or Yagnopavita
(Sanskrit: जनै, जनेऊ is one of the traditional
saṃskāras (rites of passage) that marked
the acceptance of a student by a guru
(teacher or tutor) and an individual's
entrance to a school in Hinduism. The
tradition is widely discussed in ancient
Sanskrit texts of Hinduism and varies
regionally.[2] The sacred thread
(yagyopavita or janeu) is received by the
boy during this ceremony, that he
continues wearing from left shoulder to
the right crossing the chest thereafter.
Generally this ceremony should be done
before the age of 16.

Upanayana sanskara ceremony in progress. Typically,

this ritual was for 7, 9 and 11 year olds in South Asia,
but is now practiced for all ages.[1]
Vedic period texts such as the
Baudhāyana Grihyasutra encouraged all
members of society to undergo the
upanayana, even (manual workers)
shudras.[3][4][5] Women were encouraged to
undergo upanayana in Bharat (present day
India) and Gorkha Kingdom (present day
Nepal) before they started Vedic studies or
before their wedding.[6]

Etymology
Upanayana (Sanskrit: उपनयन) literally
means "the act of leading to or
enlightment or near the eye (or eyesight /
vision/ Third eye/ Pineal gland)".[7] It is an
important and widely discussed samskara
in ancient Sanskrit texts.[2] The rite of
passage symbolizes the leading or
drawing towards the self of a child, in a
school, by a teacher.[7] It is a ceremony in
which a guru (teacher) accepts and draws
a child towards knowledge and initiates
the second birth that is of the young mind
and spirit.[2]

Description
A boy during his upanayana ritual. The thin, yellow
Yajnopavita thread runs from left shoulder to waist.
Note the munja grass girdle around the waist. The
peepal tree twig in his right hand marks his entry into
the Brahmacharya stage of life.

Upanayana is the rite of passage for the

start of formal education of writing,
numbers, reading, Vedangas, arts and
other skills.[8] The Upanayana rite of
passage was also important to the
teacher, as the student would therefrom
begin to live in the gurukul (school).[2]

Upanayana is an elaborate ceremony, that

includes rituals involving the family, the
child and the teacher. A boy receives
during this ceremony a sacred thread
called Yajñopaveetam that he wears. The
Yajñopavita ceremony announce that the
child had entered into formal
education.[9][10] In the modern era, the
Upanayana rite of passage is open to
anyone at any age.[1]

The education of a student was not limited

to ritual and philosophical speculations
found in the Vedas and the Upanishads.
They extended to many arts and crafts,
which had their own, similar rites of
passages.[11] Aitareya Brahmana, Agamas
and Puranas literature of Hinduism
describe these as Śilpa Śastras. They
extend to all practical aspects of culture,
such as the sculptor, the potter, the
perfumer, the wheelwright, the painter, the
weaver, the architect, the dancer, and the
musician. Ancient Indian texts assert that
the number of the arts is unlimited, but
each deploy elements of 64 ‘‘kala’’ (कला,
techniques) and 32 ‘‘vidyas’’ ( व ा, fields of
knowledge).[11] The training of these
began from childhood and included
studies about dharma, culture, reading,
writing, mathematics, geometry, colors,
tools, as well as traditions (trade secrets).
The rites of passage during apprentice
education varied in the respective
guilds.[4][12]

Rajbali Pandey compares the Upanayana

rite of passage to Baptism in Christianity
where the person is born again unto
spiritual knowledge, as the ceremony
marked the initiation of the student for
spiritual studies such as the Vedas.[8]

Age, gender and varna

restrictions
The Upanayan in West Bengal, India. In Bengali
Language it is called 'Paite'.

In Hindu traditions, a human being is born

at least twice — once at physical birth and
second at intellectual birth through
teacher's care. The first is marked through
the Jatakarman sanskara ritual; the second
is marked through Upanayanam or
Vidyarambha rites of passage.[13][14] A
sacred thread was given by the teacher
during the initiation to school ceremony
and was a symbolic reminder to the
student of his purpose at school as well as
a social marker of the student as someone
who was born a second time (dvija, twice
born); he went about collecting fire wood
in forests and food donations from
villages on a daily basis.[15][16]

Many medieval era texts discuss

Upanayana in the context of three varnas
(caste, class) — Brahmins, Kshtreyas and
Vaishyas.[8] Several texts such as Sushruta
Sutrasthana, however, also include Sudras
entering schools and the formal education
process,[17] stating that the Upanayana
samskara was open to everyone.[5][9] The
Baudhayana Grihya sutra in verses 2.5.8
and 2.5.9 states the teacher to "[l]et him
initiate [to school through Upanayana] a
Brahmin in spring, a Kshatriya in summer,
a Vaishya in autumn, a Sudra in the rainy
season; or all of them in the spring."[3]

The ceremony was typically performed at

age eight among the Brahmins, at age 11
among the Kshatriyas, and age 12 among
Vaishyas.[3][18] Apastamba Gryha Sutra, in
verse 1.1.1.27, places a maximum age
limit of 24 for the Upanayana ceremony
and start of formal education. However,
Gautama Gryha Sutra and other ancient
texts state that there is no age restriction
and anyone of any age can undertake
Upanayanam when they feel they initiate
their formal studies of the Vedas.[19]

Women and Upanayana …

In some regions, in modern times, boys

and girls undergo the tradition of
Upanayana initiation when they start their
formal schooling.[20] In ancient and
medieval eras, texts such as Harita
Dharmasutras, Asvalayana Grhya Sutra
and Yama smriti suggest women could
begin Vedic studies after the Upanayana
rite of passage.[6][21][22]

Girls who decided to become a student

underwent the Upanayana rite of passage,
at the age of 8, and thereafter were called
Brahmavadini. They wore a thread or upper
garment over their left shoulder.[6] Those
girls who chose not to go to a gurukul were
called Sadyovadhu (literally, one who
marries straight). However, the
Sadyovadhu, too, underwent a step during
the wedding rituals, where she would
complete Upanayana, and thereafter wear
her upper garment (saree) over her left
shoulder.[6] This interim symbolic
Upanayana rite of passage for a girl,
before her wedding, is described in
multiple texts such as the Gobhila Gryha
Sutra verse 2.1.19 and some
Dharmasutras.[23]

Doubts about Upanayanam

rite of passage in old texts
Scholars[24] state that the details and
restrictions in the Upanayana ceremony is
likely to have been inserted into ancient
texts in a more modern era. Hermann
Oldenberg, for example, states that
Upanayana — the solemn reception of the
pupil by the teacher to teach him the Veda
— is joined into texts of Vedic texts at
places that simply do not make any
contextual sense, do not match the style,
and are likely to be a corruption of the
ancient texts.[24] For example, in Satapatha
Brahmana, the Upanayana rite of passage
text appears in the middle of a dialogue
about Agnihotra; after the Upanayana
verse end, sage Saukeya abruptly returns
to the Agnihotra and Uddalaka. Oldenberg
states that the Upanayana discussion is
likely an insertion into the older text.[24]

Scholars state that there is high likelihood

of interpolation, insertion and corruption in
dharma sutras and dharma sastra texts,
and there are contradictory verses in it on
Upanayana-related rites of
passage.[2][25][26] Kane similarly states, in
his History of Dharmasastra reviews, that
there is high likelihood of interpolation,
insertion and corruption in dharma sutras
and dharma sastra texts on Upanayana-
related rite of passage.[2] Patrick Olivelle
notes the doubts in postmodern
scholarship about the presumed reliability
of Manusmriti manuscripts.[27] He writes,
"Manusmriti was the first Indian legal text
introduced to the western world through
the translation of Sir William Jones in
1794". This was based on the Calcutta
manuscript with the commentary of
Kulluka, which has been assumed to be
the reliable vulgate version, and translated
repeatedly from Jones in 1794 to Doniger
in 1991.[27] The reliability of the
Manusmriti manuscript used since
colonial times, states Olivelle, is "far from
the truth. Indeed, one of the great
surprises of my editorial work has been to
discover how few of the over fifty
manuscripts that I collated actually follow
the vulgate in key readings."[27]

Significance of the
yajñopavītam, sacred thread
The "sacred thread" (Sanskrit: य ोपवीतम्
yajñopavītam or upavīta) is a thin cord,
composed of three cotton strands.[15] The
strands symbolize different things in their
regions. For example, among Tamils, each
strand is for each of the three trinity of
goddesses (Parvati, Lakshmi and
Saraswati).[28]

The ancient Sanskrit texts offer a diverse

view while describing yajñopavītam or
upavita. The term upavita was originally
meant to be any upper garment, as stated
in verse 2.2.4.22–2.2.4.23 of Apastamba
Dharmasutra or, if the wearer doesn't want
to wear a top, a thread would suffice.[29]
The thread identified a person who is
studying at a school or has graduated. The
ancient Indian scholar Haradatta states,
"yajñopavītam means a particular mode of
wearing the upper garment, and it is not
necessary to have the yajñopavīta at all
times".[29] The Gobhila Gryha Sutra
similarly states, at verse 1.2.1 in its
discussion on Upanayana, that "the
student understands the yajnopavita as a
cord of threads, or a garment, or a rope of
kusa grass", and it is its methods of
wearing and the significance that
matters.[29] The proper manner of wearing
the upper garment or thread, state the
ancient texts, is from over the left shoulder
and under the right arm.[29]

The idea of wearing the upper garment or

sacred thread, and its significance,
extended to women.[6] This is reflected in
the traditional wearing of sari over the left
shoulder, during formal occasions and the
celebration of rites of passage such as
Hindu weddings. It was also the norm if a
girl undertakes the Upanayana ceremony
and begins her Vedic studies as a
Brahmavadini.[6]

The sacred Yajñopavītam is known by

many names (varying by region and
community), such as Bratabandha,
Janivaara, Jaanva, Jandhyam, Poita, Pūṇūl,
Janeu, Lagun, Yajnopavita, Yagyopavit,
Yonya and Zunnar.[30][31] The other Sanskrit
term for it is Avyanga.

Origins of the sacred thread …

There is no mention of any rule or custom,

states Patrick Olivelle, that "required
Brahmins to wear a sacred string at all
times", in the Brahmanical literature (Vedic
and ancient post-Vedic).[32] Yajñopavītam,
textual evidence suggests, is a medieval
and modern tradition.[32] However, the
term Yajñopavīta appears in ancient Hindu
literature, and therein it means a way of
wearing the upper garment during a ritual
or rites of passage.[32] The custom of
wearing a string is a late development in
Hinduism, was optional in the medieval
era, and the ancient Indian texts do not
mention this ritual for any class or for
Upanayana.[29][32]

Yajñopavīta contrasts with Pracinavita

method of wearing the upper garment, the
latter a reverse and mirror image of
former, and suggested to signify rituals for
elders/ancestors (for example, funeral).[32]

Regional variations
Nepal …

At Upanayana ceremony of Nepalis

In Nepal, among the Khas (Gorkhali) ethnic

group, a slightly different ceremony is held
which combines 'चूड़ाकम' (choodakarma)
(tonsure, shave the head) and Upanayana
saṃskāra locally known as Bratabandha
(Sanskrit brata = promise, bandhan = to be
bound). It is held among the Khas brahmin
and kshetriya caste groups. This Sanskara
(rite of passage) involves elaborate Karma
Kanda which involves the participation of
entire family and a guru (teacher) who then
accepts the boy as a disciple in the Guru–
shishya tradition of Hinduism. Gayatri
Mantra is given by the guru (teacher) to
the sisya (student). This marks as an
individual's entrance to a school of
Hinduism.This ceremony ends after the
boy goes for his first alms round to
relatives and leave for gurus Ashram.
Traditionally these boys were sent to
ashrams with the gurus to learn in a
gurukul system of education but in
modern times this act of the boy doing for
first alms round in town and leaving his
family for gurus hermitage is done
symbolically within the family and is later
stopped by his maternal uncle (Mama)
from leaving.[33]

India …

The ceremony is called Munja / Munji or

Mounji-Bandhana (lit. 'tying of munja') in
the states of Maharashtra. This name
finds its origin in the name of a grass
called Saccharum munja (Bengal cane[34]).
This grass is used to make a girdle that is
tied around the waist of the child.[35] In
Bengal, the girdle of munja grass is called
"Mekhala". In Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and
in several areas of Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar, the sacred thread is known as the
"Janoi", "Janeva" or "Janeu".
Language Name of the ceremony Word for "Sacred Thread"

Yajñopavītam
य ोपवीतम्
Upanayanam
Sanskrit
उपनयनम् (also Braḥma sūtram
सू म्)

Yajñopavītam
യേ ാപവീതം
Upanayanam
Malayalam
ഉപനയനം (also Poonool (IAST: pūṇūl)
പൂണൂൽ)

pūṇūl/Upanayanam Formal: Pūṇūl ( )

Tamil
/உபநயன Colloquial: Pūṇal ( ண )

Odugu,Upanayanamu Jandhyamu
Telugu
ఒడుగు,ఉపనయనము జంధ ము

Upanayana, Munji Janivaara

Kannada
ಉಪನಯನ,ಮುಂ ಜ ಾರ

Janeu Janeu
Hindi
जनेऊ जनेऊ

Upanayana/Munja Zānave
Marathi
उपनयन/मुंज जानवे

Munji Jannuvey
Konkani
मुंज,मुं ज,ಮುಂ जानव,जानुव

Lagundeoni, Uponoyon Lagun

Assamese
ল ণিদয়িন, উপনয়ন ল ন

Kehta Puja Jani

Newari
केइता पूजा, केइता पूजा जनी

Uponayon Upabeet, Poité

Bengali
উপনয়ন উপবীত, পেত

Bratopanayan, Brata Ghara Poitaa

Odia
ବେତାପନୟନ, ବତଘର ପଇତା

Bratabandha Janai
Nepali
तबंध जनई, जनै
Kashmiri Yajñopavīta, Mekhal Yonya
य ोपवीत, मेखल् यो य

Brahmopadesha, Upanayana, Noola Madimme Yagnopaveeta

Tulu
ಮುಂ ,ನೂಲ ಮ ಾ

Janoi Yagnopavit
Gujarati
જનોઈ ય ોપવીત

Janeyu Janeyu
Pahari
जनेयु जनेयु

Janya Janya
Sindhi
जानया जानया

Janju Janju
Punjabi
ਜੰਞੂ ਜੰਞੂ

Saurashtra Vaduhom Jenjam

Maithili Upanayana Janeu

Sarnami Upanayanam Janeu

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media

related to Upanayana.

Samavartanam
Sikha
 Upakarma
Rishi
Navjote, Zoroastrian initiation ceremony
Kushti, the Zoroastrian sacred thread
Izze-kloth, the Apache Native American
sacred cord
Bar and Bat Mitzvah—Initiation
ceremonies for men/women in Judaism
Baptism

References
1. Harold Coward et al (1997), Religious
Dimensions of Child and Family Life,
Wilfrid Laurier University Press,
ISBN 978-1550581041, page 67
2. PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII ,
History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I,
Bhandarkar Oriental Research
Institute, pages 268-287
3. Mookerji 1998, p. 174.
4. Heather Elgood (2000), Hinduism and
the religious arts, ISBN 978-
0304707393, Bloomsbury Academic,
pages 32-134
5. Hartmut Scharfe (2007), Handbook of
Oriental Studies, Brill Academic,
ISBN 978-9004125568, pages 102-
103, 197-198, 263-276
. PV Kane, History of Dharmasastra
Volume 2.1, 1st Edition, pages 293-295
7. upanyana Monier Williams Sanskrit
English Dictionary, Cologne Sanskrit
Digital Lexicon, Germany
. Rajbali Pandey (2013), Hindu
Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of
the Hindu Sacraments, 2nd Edition,
Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-
8120803961, pages 111-117
9. PV Kane, Samskara, Chapter VII ,
History of Dharmasastras, Vol II, Part I,
Bhandarkar Oriental Research
Institute, pages 288-300
10. Ram Chandra Prasad (1997), The
Upanayana: The Hindu Ceremonies of
the Sacred Thread, Motilal
Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120812406,
pages 119-131
11. Stella Kramrisch (1958), Traditions of
the Indian Craftsman , The Journal of
American Folklore, Vol. 71, No. 281,
pages 224-230
12. Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple,
Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-
8120802223
13. Mary McGee (2007), Samskara, in The
Hindu World (Editors: Mittal and
Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 978-
0415772273, pages 332-356
14. Kathy Jackson (2005), Rituals and
Patterns in Children's Lives, University
of Wisconsin Press, ISBN 978-
0299208301, page 46
15. Sir Monier Monier-Williams, Religious
thought and life in India: as based on
the Veda and other sacred books of
the Hindūs , J. Murray, 1891
1 . Raman Varadara, Glimpses of Indian
Heritage, ISBN 978-8171547586, page
51
17. RK Mookerji (2011), Ancient Indian
Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist,
Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-
8120804234, pages 270-271
1 . Sir Monier Monier-Williams, Religious
thought and life in India: as based on
the Veda and other sacred books of
the Hindūs , J. Murray, 1891, p. 360
19. RK Mookerji (2011), Ancient Indian
Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist,
Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-
8120804234, pages 174-177
20. "A Village in Bihar, where Girl wear the
Sacred Thread 'Janeu' " . IANS.
news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved
10 February 2014.
21. Starting Vedic Studies - Backed by
scripture, girls get their sacred thread ,
Hinduism Today (December 2002)
22. C Tripathi (2005), The Evolution of
Ideals of Womenhood in Indian
Society, ISBN 978-8178354255, page
94
23. Grihya sutra of Gobhila Verse 2.1.19,
Herman Oldenberg & Max Muller
(Translator), The Sacred Books of the
East, Vol. 30, Part 2, Oxford University
Press, page 44
24. Herman Oldenberg, The Gryha Sutra -
Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies,
Oxford University Press, page 7-8,
OCLC 866776938
25. Arun Kumbhare (2009), Women of
India: Their Status Since the Vedic
Times, ISBN 978-1440156007, page
56
2 . J Sinha (2014), Psycho-Social Analysis
of the Indian Mindset, Springer
Academic, ISBN 978-8132218036,
page 5
27. Patrick Olivelle (2004), Manu's Code of
Law, Oxford University Press,
ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 353-
354, 356-382
2 . M. Arunachalam, Festivals of Tamil
Nadu: Volume 3 of Peeps into Tamil
culture , Gandhi Vidyalayam, 1980, "...
boy is invested for the first time with
the sacred thread ... the three devis
Sarasvati, Savitri and Gayatri ..."
29. PV Kane, History of Dharmasastra
Volume 2.1, 1st Edition, pages 290-293
30. Sultān Bāhū, Jamal J. Elias, Death
before dying: the Sufi poems of Sultan
Bahu , University of California Press,
1998, ISBN 978-0-520-21242-8, "... in
Punjabi, zunnar, the sacred
Yajñopavītam worn by Brahmin Hindus
..."
31. Shashi Ahluwalia, Meenakshi
Ahluwalia, Living faiths in modern
India , Indian Publishers' Distributors,
1992
 32. Patrick Olivelle (1992), The Samnyasa
Upanisads, Oxford University Press,
ISBN 978-0195070453, pages 9-10
33. Shore, Amanda. "Miss" . Retrieved
20 May 2014.
34. Bengal Cane
35. Upanayana

Bibliography …

Coward, Harold; Cook, Philip Hilton

(1996). Religious Dimensions of Child
and Family Life: Reflections on the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child .
Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
ISBN 978-1-55058-104-1.
 Mookerji, Radha Kumud (1998). Ancient
Indian Education: Brahmanical and
Buddhist . Motilal Banarsidass.
ISBN 978-81-208-0423-4.

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