History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c23.19

v2.c23.19

First as to the purpose of saṁskāras. Manu (II. 27–28) says 'In the case of dvijātis, the taints (or sins) due to seed and the uterus (i. e. derived from parents) are wiped off by the *homas* (burnt oblations) performed during pregnancy and by jātakarma (ceremonies on birth), caula (tonsure) and the tying of the girdle of muñja grass. This (human) body is rendered fit for the attainment of *brahma* by the study of the Veda, by (observance of) vratas, homas (oblations in fire), by the vrata called traividya, by worship (of gods, sages and manes), by generation of sons, by the performance of the five daily sacrifices and by (solemn Vedic) sacrifices.' The view of Yāj. (I. 13) is that 'thus (i. e. by the performance of saṁskāras) the taint arising from the seed and uterus (i. e. from the physical defects of parents) is removed.' These words of Manu and Yāj. are variously interpreted by the commentators. Medhātithi says 'seed and uterus are not the causes of sin and therefore all that is meant by *enas* (in Manu II. 27) is impurity.' Kullūka explains that blemishes of seed are those arising from intercourse in a prohibited manner and the 'gārbhika' blemish is what arises from having to stay in the womb of an impure mother. The Mit.⁴⁵¹ on Yāj. I. 13 makes it clear that saṁskāras are deemed to remove bodily defects transmitted from parents (such as defective limbs, diseases &c.) and are not intended to remove the taint of being born of sinful parents. Manu II. 66 also states that all the saṁskāras are performed on a woman also for the purification of the body. Hārīta⁴⁵² as quoted in the Saṁskāratattva says 'when a person has intercourse according to the procedure of *garbhādhāna* he establishes in the wife a foetus that becomes fit for the reception of the Veda, by the rite of *puṁsavana* he makes the garbha become a male, by the ceremony of Sīmantonnayana he removes from the foetus the taint derived from the parents and the accumulated taints (which are five) due to seed, blood and womb are removed by jātakarma, nāmakaraṇa, annaprāśana, cūḍākaraṇa and samāvartana. By these eight saṁskāras (from garbhādhāna) purity arises.' The exact significance of saṁskāras in the development of higher human personality was left rather vague in our authorities and their treatment of the purpose of saṁskāras is not very elaborate or exhaustive. The saṁskāras had been treated from very ancient times as necessary for unfolding the latent capacities of man for development and as being the outward symbols or signs of the inner change which would fit human beings for corporate life and they also tended to confer a certain status on those who underwent them. If we look at the list of saṁskāras we shall find that the purposes of saṁskāras were manifold. Some like Upanayana served spiritual and cultural purposes, they brought the unredeemed person into the company of the elect, they opened the door to Vedic study and thus conferred special privileges and exacted duties. They have also psychological values impressing on the mind of the person that he has assumed a new role and must strive to observe its rules. Other saṁskāras like nāmakaraṇa, annaprāśana, and niṣkramaṇa were more or less of a popular nature. They afforded opportunities for the expression of love and affection and for festivities. Other saṁskāras like garbhādhāna, puṁsavana, sīmantonnayana had also mystical and symbolical elements. Vivāha (marriage) was a sacrament which brought about a union of two personalities into one for the purpose of the continuance of society and for the uplift of the two by self-restraint, by self-sacrifice and mutual co-operation.