Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s12.373

v1.c3.s12.373

Go-dāna appears to mean ‘the whiskers’ in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa,¹ where the person, being consecrated, first shaves off the right and then the left ‘whisker.’ Later on the Godāna-vidhi, or ceremony of shaving the head, is a regular part of the initiation of a youth on the attainment of manhood and on marriage;² but though the ceremony is recognized in the Atharvaveda,³ the name⁴ does not occur there.