History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c23.307

v2.c23.307

It will be seen from the above that the principal part of the saṁskāra is making the child taste food. Some writers add homa, feeding of brāhmaṇas, and benedictions. The Saṁskāraprakāśa (pp. 267-279) and Saṁskāraratnamālā (pp. 891-895) have very detailed notes on this saṁskāra. One interesting matter quoted by Aparārka (p. 28) from Mārkaṇḍeya is that on the day of this ceremony, in front of the gods worshipped in the house, tools and utensils required in various arts and crafts, weapons and śāstras should be spread about and the child should be allowed to crawl among them and what the child seizes at first should be noted and it should be deemed that he is destined to follow that profession for his livelihood which is represented by the thing first touched by him.