The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c31.s5.33

v2.c31.s5.33

Of the other domestic rites, that of the parting of the hair raises many problems. Various motives⁴ may be assigned: the alteration of the mode of wearing the hair at marriage is known among other peoples than the Vedic Indians.⁵ It is possible that it must be reckoned as a piece of deception magic, to deceive demons at a time when a woman is certainly exposed to much danger: possibly the idea may be to render more easy the entry of the child desired into the woman, if we ascribe to the period⁶ the doctrine that a child enters *ab extra*.