Talk:Names of Forty Saṁskāras
By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami
The forty saṃskāras which are meant to purify the individual self are: garbhādhāna, puṃsavana, sīmantonnayana, jātakarma, nāmakaraṇa, annaprāśana, cūḍākaraṇa, upanayana, the four rites like prajāpatya (vedavratas) performed during gurukula-vāsa (the years the celibate student spends in the home of his guru), the ritual bath on completion of gurukula-vāsa, vivāha (marriage), and the five mahāyajñas performed every day by the householder. We have listed nineteen so far. Then there are seven pakayajñas, seven haviryajñas and seven somayajñas to be conducted by the householder. Thus 19 + 21 = 40.
The seven pakayajñas are: aṣṭakā (anvāṣṭakā), sthalīpāka, parvaṇa, śrāvaṇī, āgrahāyaṇī, caitrī, āśvayujī.
The seven haviryajñas: agniyādhāna, agnihotra, darśa-paurṇamāsa, āgrayaṇa, cāturmāsya, nirūḍha-paśubandha, sautrāmaṇi.
The seven somayajñas: agnistoma, atyagnistoma, uktyā, ṣoḍaśī, vājapeya, atirātra, aptoryāma.
Out of the forty saṃskāras some are to be performed every day, some at certain times and some at least once in a lifetime. In the first category there are five mahāyajñas (pañca-mahāyajñas).
Rites done to the chanting of mantras are more beneficial than those done without them — a sacrament involving mantras is a saṃskāra. The social service that a householder does is included among his daily pañca-mahāyajñas. The pañca-mahāyajñas are: brahmayajña, devayajña, pitṛyajña, manuṣyayajña and bhūtayajña.
The chanting of the Vedas constitutes brahmayajña. Sacrifices and pūjā are devayajña. Tarpana is pitṛyajña. Feeding guests is manuṣyayajña. And offering bali to various creatures is bhūtayajña.
Aupāsana and agnihotra are part of the daily religious routine. Though a pakayajña, aupāsana is not included in the group of seven pakayajñas mentioned above, while agnihotra is one of the seven haviryajñas. Darśa-paurṇamāsa is a haviryajña to be performed once in fifteen days. The other five haviryajñas and the seven somayajñas are to be performed once a year or, at least, once in a lifetime. As if out of consideration for us, the smṛtis have granted us this concession: that the difficult somayajñas need be undertaken only once in a lifetime.
But for the parvaṇi-śrāddha which is to be performed once a month and the sthalīpāka every prathamā, the other five pakayajñas are to be performed once a year.
To put it differently: the five mahāyajñas (brahmayajña, devayajña, pitṛyajña, manuṣyayajña, bhūtayajña) together with agnihotra and aupāsana are to be performed every day; darśa-paurṇamāsa and sthalīpāka once a fortnight; parvaṇi-śrāddha once a month. The other yajñas are to be conducted once a year or at least once in a lifetime.
On a plot of land growing one crop, harvesting is done once a year, while on another plot growing three crops the same is done once every four months. Some crops have to be watered every day, some on alternate days. Such jobs are saṃskāras. But there are differences in the saṃskāras for different crops. The same is the case with the saṃskāras meant for human beings.