About Vedic samskaras

The origins of Vedic rituals

Vedic Samskaras are elaborately explained in the ancient Veda's, especially the Rg Veda. It is hard to historically date the Vedic civilization and it is accepted that the Veda existed since the beginning of creation. More modern treatises describing Samskaras in detail are the Sat-kriya-sara Dipika, which is a text written by Sanatan Goswami and Gopal Bhatta Goswami in the 15th century.

The basics of Vedic rituals

Vedic Samskaras are performed by one or more Priests, called Brahmanas, who have completed their training under a Spiritual Master or Guru. He bathes and puts on clean clothing before performing the ritual. The Samskara is equal to Worship of God and as such, similar standards as for Deity Worship are to be taken into consideration. After setting up the arena for the ritual and collecting all ingredients, he will invite the guests and benefactors to take their place in the samskara arena.

16 Samskaras

There are samskaras for practically every important happening in life, even like getting a new car or starting one's education. The main Samskaras however are Marriage, Name giving for a newborn child, First haircut, and Entering a new house.