Upanayana Sanskar (Janeu)

Upanayana means leading near: the child is brought near to the teacher, to the Veda and, devotees say, to the divine. In the tradition it is regarded as a second birth, with the Gayatri as mother and the teacher as father, which is why one who has undergone it is called dvija, twice-born.

It marks the beginning of brahmacharya, the student stage of life, with its disciplines of study, service to the teacher, simple living and daily prayer. The sacred thread worn from this day is a lifelong reminder of those vows.

The Paraskara Grihya Sutra opens its account plainly: one should initiate a Brahmin at eight years, or the eighth from conception; a Kshatriya at eleven; a Vaishya at twelve; or all of them as is auspicious in the family. It then gives the rite in order, with a mantra for each gift: the garment, the girdle, the thread, the skin and the staff.

The same text says the Savitri should be taught in the Gayatri metre to a Brahmin, in the Trishtubh to a Kshatriya and in the Jagati to a Vaishya, or the Gayatri to all. In practice, the Rigvedic Gayatri below is the mantra taught almost everywhere, preceded by Om and the three vyahritis, bhur bhuvah svah.

The order below follows the Paraskara Grihya Sutra, which many North Indian families of the Shukla Yajurveda tradition use; other Vedic branches differ in details and mantras. A Ganesh puja, sankalpa, the worship of the family deity and the ancestors (nandi shraddha) usually come first.

The yajnopavita is made of three strands, each itself of three threads, joined by a knot often called the brahma-granthi. It is normally worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm (upaviti). It is moved to the right shoulder for rites to the ancestors (prachinaviti), and worn around the neck like a garland (niviti) for certain other acts. Many traditions give a married man a thread of two sets of three strands.

The thread is renewed every year at Upakarma, held on Shravana Purnima in much of North India, where it is also called Shravani, and as Avani Avittam in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is also changed after a birth or death in the family and whenever it breaks.

Upanayana is called Janeu in the Hindi belt, Munj or Munji in Maharashtra and Konkan, Poonal in Tamil, Jandhyam in Telugu, Poite in Bengal and Bratabandha in Nepal and Odisha. In Bengali families the boy traditionally spends three days in seclusion after the ceremony, wearing ochre and observing restrictions, a custom known as dandi ghar. In Nepal the Bratabandha is often combined with the first tonsure, and in Maharashtra the Munj is a large family festival.

In many communities today the thread ceremony is performed just before the wedding if it was not done in childhood.

Scholars note that some ancient texts describe girls undergoing Upanayana and studying the Veda as brahmavadinis, and that the rite was later restricted. In the modern era Arya Samaj and several reform movements perform Upanayana for girls as well as boys, and Upanayana is today open to anyone at any age in many institutions.

The newly initiated student is taught Sandhyavandana, the twilight prayers in which the Gayatri is recited, and is expected to keep the thread clean and wear it at all times. The Grihya Sutra lists the student's discipline: carrying the staff, tending the fire, serving the teacher, begging alms, and avoiding honey, meat, luxury and untruth. Most families today keep the spirit of these vows through daily prayer, respect for teachers and a disciplined life of study.