Simantonnayana: Celebrating and Blessing Pregnancy

The rites in Indian culture have importance of their own. There are about sixteen sanskar mentioned in the Vedas. Specifically the ceremony of Simantonnayana is performed for the pregnant mother after completing the fourth month of journey. Simantonnayana sanskar is an important ceremony for an expectant mother that helps to make her journey of pregnancy fulfilled with blessings. This ceremony is quite similar to a baby shower. These should be celebrated at specific times to wish for the healthy development of the baby. 

But what is Simantonnayana Sanskar actually? What is the purpose of celebrating this ritual? Is there any myth spread about this? Wait! Wait! You will indeed get the answer to your curious question when you sit and read further about Simantonnayana sanskar.

What is Simantonnayana sanskar? 

Simantonnayana Sanskar is tagged third among the sixteen sanskar mentioned in the ancient Hindu scriptures. Simantonnayana sanskar means parting of hairs in upward direction. Further, Simantonnayana comprises two significant words “seemant” and ‘Utnayan’ which means brain and development respectively. These rituals are performed to wish the mother a development of a healthy baby and lead to the safe delivery of the mother at the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy. 

What are the rituals and practices for Simantonnayana sanskar? 

Simantonnayana sanskar is performed with intentions to ensure a proper mental well-being of the expectant mother. Also, it is proved to have physiological benefits which gives overall support and sense of security with joy to mother and baby as well. 

• Preparation

The ceremony is organized for the expectant mother to wish her all the luck for further journey. The house is clean and decorated like a function and the atmosphere is set up to follow good rituals. 

• Pooja (worship) 

Priests perform such a type of pooja to involve the blessing from deities. God is offered with many items like fruits, sweets, flowers and more. The priest prefers to recite a hymn for the developing baby and bless the baby born with deformity. The couple together offers the prayer to Lord Brahma and Soma. Many mantras are chanted here to invoke Agni to bless the child to get freedom from fear of death. The Lord Rakkah is chanted particularly for the couple to complete their wish of having a son with sharp, intellectual and charitable characters.  

• Parting of the hair 

The center of this ritual is that the husband parts the hair of the wife. It is performed to show the love and care between both. All of these activities are done while chanting the divine mantra to get maximum benefit out of Simantonnayana sanskar. 

• Mantras and blessing 

Vedic mantras are chanted with the aim to involve the blessing from God with the wish of a healthy baby. Also, elder members of family and other relatives shower the blessing and good wishes to the expectant mother. 

• Gifts and food 

The expectant mother is offered with some new clothes and jewelry items. A special type of meal is prepared for the mother. It mainly includes the food which are proven beneficial for the health during pregnancy journey. 

• Social gathering 

The ceremony offers a chance to make social gatherings of the relatives, friends etc. It definitely serves the chance for the arrival of a baby.  It will indeed create a supportive environment for the mother. 

What is the importance of Simantonnayana sanskar? 

The significance of the baby is for wishing a healthy and safe development of the baby as well as mother. The description of the Simantonnayana Sanskar is mentioned in many of the Grihastha texts. 

The most common element among both is to get together with husband and wife along with friends and family. Here, the husband parts the hairs of his wife at least three times. But in modern days, people are rarely observed for following these rituals. In modern times, this is called as Atha Gulem and it is done in about eighth month of pregnancy. Fruits, flowers etc. is offered to expectant mother to cherish for leading last phase of pregnancy. 

This ritual has great significance and follows the same characteristics as compared with baby showers. The family members and relatives acknowledge and tend to satisfy all food cravings of expectant mothers. Also, they offer gifts to the mother as well as the baby at the 8th month of pregnancy. It is proven and advised to satisfy the all desires of pregnant women which promotes the healthy development of the baby. Also, a positive attitude and happy mind can prevent the chances of miscarriage. These rituals are known with different names such as God Bharati, Vallikappen, seemant and more. 

What is the suitable time for performing Simantonnayana Sanskar? 

In traditional times, there wasn’t specified time to perform Simantonnayana samskar to follow before or after Pumsavana. But it is tagged as third among sixteen sanskar, hence it is advised to perform it before Pumsavana. 

According to some sutras like Paaraskara, Baudhayana, Aapastambasutra, Bharadwaj etc states that the ceremony of Simantonnayana samskar should be performed only at the first pregnancy. It believes that if a woman once gets purified with Simantonnayana then every child born to her will become consecrated and brilliant. But some other sutra states that Simantonnayana is specifically performed for the particular baby inside the womb of the mother. It is considered as one of the parts of Garbh sanskar. Hence, it needs to get repeated every time after the conception process. In general, this ceremony is conducted between the 3rd, 4th, 6th and 8th month of the pregnancy journey. 

The right time to perform this ritual is when the moon is in its Shukla Paksha and aligned with a star which is male.    

Benefits of Simantonnayana sanskar 

Simantonnayana Sanskar is considered as one of the most important samskar among sixteen mentioned in Hindu tradition. These rituals are arranged for the expected mother at any time till the eighth month of pregnancy. Explore the exclusive benefits offered to the expected mother and baby with following Simantonnayana sanskar. 

• Protection of the mother and child 

The ceremony is believed to offer the mother as well as child with divine blessings as well as protection. Also, these rituals work best in protecting the mother from any evil spirit or negative influences. 

• Mental and emotional support 

The rituals naturally provide emotional and psychological support to the mother to raise the baby in a better way. It is because this ritual brings family and community together to boost proper mental health of the mother. 

• Positive environment 

This ritual is performed with main emphasis on creating a positive and peaceful environment around the mother. This will boost the mental health of the mother as well as the baby in a positive way. 

• Health and well-being 

This traditional ritual comes with many prayers during the ceremony which ensures the proper health and well-being of mother and baby. 

• Strengthening family bonds 

The ceremony strengthens the family to tie up together to get moral support for the mother. This process will indeed make the mother feel cherished and loved during her pregnancy journey. 

• Spiritual growth 

These rituals have to direct the spiritual growth of the baby. It is the best way to foster their sense and values of spirituality to the baby in the womb itself. 

Conclusion 

Simantonnayana samskar is one among important rituals to follow for pregnant women. These rituals help pregnant women to seek emotional support from their family, relatives and friends. You need to follow the basic rituals and practices with parting of hairs, praying to god, taking blessings from the elders and more. These rituals have definitely a hidden purpose which ultimately benefits the baby and mother. After knowing of the benefits from the Simantonnayana sanskar you should definitely include it in your function list in journey to motherhood. 

FAQs 

     1. What is the correct time to follow the Simantonnayana sanskar? 

These rituals are performed for the expectant mother in between fourth till eighth month of the pregnancy journey. Further, the organization of these rituals should done on proper tuning of nakshatra. 

      2. Should one perform the Simantonnayana sanskar before or after Pumsavana? 

According to some sutras, the Simantonnayana sanskar is best performed after Pumsavana. It is because this particular ritual is performed with the desire of wellness of mother and baby.  

      3. Which color is preferably best for a Simantonnayan ceremony? 

Well! The color black is considered as significant to consider while performing Simantonnayana ceremony. Yes, of course it is an auspicious ceremony but the black color indicates the concept of protecting the mother from evil eyes. 

     4. What is the significance of offering bangles in Simantonnayana sanskar? 

The main significance of offering Simantonnayana sanskar is to offer various gifts like bangles to woman. It shows her care, support and feeling of love to get the emotional, mental and well-being of mother. 

     5. How can one fix the date of Simantonnayana sanskar? 

You need to match the date based on Nakshatra according to the husband and wife.