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Upanayana () is a Hindus educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a guru or acharya, and an individual's initiation into a school in Hinduism. Some traditions consider the ceremony as a spiritual rebirth for the child or future dvija, twice born. It signifies the acquisition of the knowledge of and the start of a new and disciplined life as a brahmacharya. The Upanayanam ceremony is arguably the most important rite for Brahmin, Kshatriya, and Vaishya males, ensuring his rights with responsibilities and signifying his advent into adulthood .
The tradition is widely discussed in ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism and varies regionally. The sacred thread or yajñopavīta (also referred to as Janeu, Jandhyam, Pūṇūl, Muñja and Janivara Yonya) has become one of the most important identifiers of the Upanayana ceremony in contemporary times, however this was not always the case. Typically, this ceremony should be performed before the advent of adulthood.
• upanayanam in Sanskrit (उपनयनम्)
• mekhal in Kashmiri (मेखल)
• janeo in Punjabi language (ਜਨੇਓ)
• upnen/upvit in Rajasthani (उपनेन/उपवीत)
• jānoi in Gujarati (જાનોઇ)
• janya in Sindhi language (जन्य)
• janev in Bhojpuri (जनेव)
• upnæn in Maithili (উপনৈন)
• munja in Marathi language (मुंज)
• munji in Konkani language (मुंजी)
• poite in Bangla language (পৈতে)
• brataghara in Odia language (ବ୍ରତଘର)
• logun dioni in Assamese (লগুণ দিওনী)
• bratabandha in Nepali language (ब्रतबन्ध)
• chhewar in Newari language (छेवार)
• upanayana in Kannada (ಉಪನಯನ)
• upanayanamu in Telugu language (ఉపనయనము)
• upanayanam in Malayalam (ഉപനയനം)
• upanayanam or pūṇūl in Tamil language (உபநயனம் or பூணூல்).
Educational courses or training has been referred to in the Chandogya Upaniṣad and in the Yājñavalkya Smṛti; Gharpure (1956) writes that during the Smriti, Upanayana may have attained a permanent fixture if the life of students to be as compared to being optional before.
In the Atharvaveda, and later in the Sutras period, the word Upanayana meant taking responsibility of a student, the beginning of an education, a student's initiation into "studentship" and the acceptance of the student by the teacher. could include a guru, acharya, upadhyay, and ṛtvik.
Gradually, new layers of meaning emerged, such as the inclusion of Saraswati or Sāvitrī, with the teacher becoming the enabler of the connection between this goddess and the student. The meaning was extended to include Vedanga and vows among other things.
The education of a student was not limited to ritual and philosophical speculations found in the Vedas and the Upanishads. It extended to many arts and crafts, which had their own, similar rites of passages. The Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, Āgamas, and Puranas genres of literature in Hinduism describe these as Shilpa Shastras. They extend to all practical aspects of culture, such as the sculptor, the potter, the perfumer, the wheelwright, the painter, the weaver, the architect, the dancer, and the musician. The training of these began from childhood and included studies about dharma, culture, reading, writing, mathematics, geometry, colours, tools, as well as traditions and trade secrets. The rites of passage during apprentice education varied in the respective guilds. Sushruta and Charaka developed the initiation ceremony for students of Āyurveda. The Upanayana rite of passage was also important to the teacher, as the student would therefrom begin to live in the gurukula (school).
Upanayana became an elaborate ceremony, that includes rituals involving the family, the child and the teacher. A boy receives during this ceremony a sacred thread called the yajnopavita to be worn. The yajnopavita ceremony announces that the child had entered into formal education. In the modern era, the Upanayana rite of passage is open to anyone at any age. The Upanayana follows the Vidyārambhaṃ, the previous rite of passage. Vidyārambhaṃ became an intermediary samskāra following the evolution in writing and language. Vidyārambhaṃ now marked the beginning of primary education or literacy while Upanayana went on to refer to spiritual education. The Upanayana can also take place at the student's home for those who are home-schooled. Ceremonial bhiksha as one of the rituals during Upanayana became important, attaining sizeable proportions. The actual initiation occurred during the recitation of the Gayatri Mantra. The spiritual birth would take place four days after the initial Upanayana rituals. It was then that the last ritual was performed, the Medhajanana. The Samavartanam or convocation ritual marked the end of the course. The Upanayana became a permanent feature around the Upaniṣad period.
Attire includes a daṇḍa or staff and a mekhala or girdle.
Many medieval era texts discuss Upanayana in the context of three of the four varnas (caste, class) — Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya. The ceremony was typically performed at age eight among the Brahmin, at age 11 among the Kshatriya, and age 12 among Vaiśyas. Apastamba Gryha Sutra (verse 1.1.1.27) places a maximum age limit of 24 for the Upanayana ceremony and start of formal education. However, Gautama Gṛyha Sūtra and other ancient texts state that there is no age restriction and anyone of any age can undertake Upanayanam when they initiate their formal studies of the Vedas.
Shudra, or the fourth varna, do not have the rite to the Vedic Upanayana or access to Vedas as their vidhi is not mentioned in any of the Dharmashastras. However, texts such as Sushruta Samhita & Dhanurveda prescribe a rite to be initiated for their education regarding these subjects alone. Agamas, particularly Kamika Agama allows Shudra to wear the sacred thread & get initiated in the Shaiva Mantras. Hartmut Scharfe (2007), Handbook of Oriental Studies, Brill Academic, , pages 102-103, 197-198, 263-276
The large variation in age and changes to it over time was to accommodate for the diversity in society and between families.
Vedic period texts such as the Baudhayana Grhyasutra encouraged the three Varṇas of society to undergo the Upanayana.
Girls belonging to the three upper varnas who decided to become a student underwent the Upanayana rite of passage, at the age of 8, and thereafter were called Brahmavadinī. They wore a thread or upper garment over their left shoulder. Those girls who chose not to go to a gurukula were called Sadyovadhu (literally, one who marries straight). However, the Sadyovadhu, too, underwent a step during the wedding rituals, where she would complete Upanayana, and thereafter wear her upper garment (saree) over her left shoulder. This interim symbolic Upanayana rite of passage for a girl, before her wedding, is described in multiple texts such as the Gobhila Gṛhya Sūtra (verse 2.1.19) and some Dharmasutras.
The predecessor to the sacred thread was an upper garment (such as a dupatta or an uparane). However, as traditions developed, the upper garment began to be worn continuously. The usage of a thread grew out of convenience and manageability, becoming more popular than alternatives such as a kusa rope.
The ancient Saṁskṛta texts offer a diverse view while describing the yajñopavītam or upavita. The term upavita was originally meant to be any upper garment, as stated in Apastamba Dharmasūtra (verse 2.2.4.22–2.2.4.23) or, if the wearer does not want to wear a top, a thread would suffice. The ancient Indian scholar Haradatta states, " yajñopavītam means a particular mode of wearing the upper garment, and it is not necessary to have the yajñopavīta at all times".
There is no mention of any rule or custom, states Patrick Olivelle, that "required Brāhmaṇas to wear a sacred string at all times", in the Brāhmaṇya literature (Vedic and ancient post-Vedic). Yajñopavīta, textual evidence suggests, is a medieval and modern tradition. However, the term yajnopavita appears in ancient Hindu literature, and therein it means a way of wearing the upper garment during a ritual or rites of passage. The custom of wearing a string is a late development in Hinduism, was optional in the medieval era, and the ancient Indian texts do not mention this ritual for any class or for Upanayana.
The Gobhila Gṛhya Sutra (verse 1.2.1) similarly states in its discussion on Upanayana, that "the student understands the yajnopavita as a cord of threads, or a garment, or a rope of kusa grass", and it is its methods of wearing and the significance that matters. The proper manner of wearing the upper garment or thread, state the ancient texts, is from over the left shoulder and under the right arm. yajñopavīta contrasts with Pracinavīta method of wearing the upper garment, the latter a reverse and mirror image of former, and suggested to signify rituals for elders/ancestors (for example, funeral).
The idea of wearing the upper garment or sacred thread, and its significance, extended to women. This is reflected in the traditional wearing of sari over the left shoulder, during formal occasions and the celebration of rites of passage such as Hindu weddings. It was also the norm if a girl undertakes the Upanayana ceremony and begins her Vedic studies as a Brahmavadinī.
The sacred Yajnopavita is known by many names (varying by region and community), such as Bratabandha, Janivaara, Jaanva, Jandhyam, Poita, Pūṇūl, Janeu, Lagun, Yajnopavita, Yagyopavit, Yonya and Zunnar.
Kane, in his History of Dharmasastra reviews, as well as other scholars,Arun Kumbhare (2009), Women of India: Their Status Since the Vedic Times, , page 56J Sinha (2014), Psycho-Social Analysis of the Indian Mindset, Springer Academic, , page 5 state that there is high likelihood of interpolation, insertion and corruption in dharma sutras and dharma sastra texts on the Upanayana-related rite of passage. Patrick Olivelle notes the doubts in postmodern scholarship about the presumed reliability of Manusmriti manuscripts.Patrick Olivelle (2004), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, , pages 353-354, 356-382 He writes, "Manusmriti was the first Indian legal text introduced to the western world through the translation of Sir William Jones in 1794". This was based on the Calcutta manuscript with the commentary of Kulluka, which has been assumed to be the reliable vulgate version, and translated repeatedly from Jones in 1794 to Wendy Doniger in 1991. The reliability of the Manusmṛti manuscript used since colonial times, states Olivelle, is "far from the truth. Indeed, one of the great surprises of my editorial work has been to discover how few of the over fifty manuscripts that I collated actually follow the vulgate in key readings."
This Sanskara involves the participation of entire family and a teacher who then accepts the boy as a disciple in the Guru–shishya tradition of Hinduism. Gayatri Mantra marks as an individual's entrance to a school of Hinduism. This ceremony ends after the boy goes for his first alms round to relatives and leave for the guru's ashram. Traditionally, these boys were sent to learn in a system of education but in modern times, this act is only done symbolically.
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