The birth ceremony begins before a baby is born, as rituals and prayers are recited to protect the fetus from illness or harm. In some traditions, the father performs a ceremony immediately after birth. He uses honey to write the sacred Sanskrit symbol, om, onto the infant’s tongue. The symbol is written in the hope that the child will be honest and speak only the truth.
At the time of the birth ceremony of a son, Brahmanas utter the following mantra from the Vedas
अङ्गादङ्गात् सम्भवसि हृदयादभिजायसे।
आत्मा वै पुत्रनामासि स जीव शरदां शतम्॥
Angaadangaat sambhavasi hridayaadadhijayase Atma vai putranamaasi sa jiva saradassatham
Translation in English
“Angaadangaat” means from limbs.
“Sambhavasi” means you are born.
“Hridayaad” means from the heart.
“Adhijayase” means you arise.
“Atma” means soul or self.
“Vai” is an emphatic particle.
“Putranamaasi” means you are named as a child.
“Sa” means he or that.
“Jiva” means a living being.
“Saradassatham” means eternally.
Meaning
You are born from my limbs, from my heart, and you are me in the form of a son. May you live for a hundred autumns. My life depends on you and my eternal lineage. Therefore, my son, live in happiness for a hundred autumns.
One week or so after the birth, the baby’s name is formally given in the Naamkaran Sanskar. It is usually the name of a favorite god or goddess and is whispered into the child’s ear.
A Hindu girl will have an ear-piercing ceremony in the first few years of her life.
Both boys and girls will also have their first haircut in the Mundan Sanskar, symbolizing renewal and the shedding of wrongdoings that may have been committed in past lives.