The Existential, Social, And Cosmic Significance of the Upanayana Rite [v24n2_s4]

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THE EXISTENTIAL, SOCIAL, AND COSMICSIGNIFICANCE OF THE UPANAYANA RITE

BY

CARL OLSON

Madison, New Jersey, U.S.A.

For the Hindu as depicted in the Grhyastras, life moves along in a

succession of periods. For each of these periods there are proper rites

to perform. The most critical periods of life are birth, puberty, mar-

riage, and death. These crucial times in the life of religious man are

periods of transition. They are times of great danger. In order for

man to pass over the danger, he must occasionally take a leap. The

anthropologist-

Mary Douglas-

cogently expresses the situation,

as she writes:

Danger lies in transitional states, simply because transition is neither onestate nor the next, it is undefinable. The person who must pass from oneto another is himself in danger and emanates danger to others. The dangeris controlled by ritual which precisely separates him from his old status,segregates him for a time and then publicly declares his entry to his new

status i).

Thus the succesful leap entails a transition into a new realm of reality.

For the Hindu the transition of various danger periods is accomplished

by means of numerous Saikskiras (sacraments). Traditionally one of

the most important Samskdras has been the Upanayana (initiation)ceremony.

This paper will not be primarily concerned with the general struc-

ture of the rite. This investigation will focus on those aspects of the

Upanayana rite which will enable us view the existential, social, and

cosmic significance of this rite for the Hindus. Thus this paper will

attempt to show the significance of the U panayana rite in terms of

three levels of being.

1) Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollutionand Taboo (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966), p. 96.


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I

In speaking of initiation in general terms, one finds that it denotes

a body of rites and oral teachings. It is the purpose of these rites and

teachings to produce a radical modification in the religious and social

status of the person to be initiated 2). In more precise philosophical

terms, initiation is equivalent to a basic change in existential condition.

In other words, the initiate emerges from his ordeal endowed with

a totally different being from that which he possessed before his

initiation 3). Thus there is a change in status from one ontological

level of existence to another.

In the U panayana ceremony, there are some examples of this changein ontological status of the initiate. There are, for example, several

preparations before the actual ceremony. The day before the ceremony

the auspicious god Ganesa and several other deities were propitiated.

On the night before the ceremony, the body of the candidate was

smeared with a yellow substance. A silver ring was tucked into the

top-knot of his hair. The child was also instructed to remain silent

during the night 4). The yellow substance on the child's body may

have symbolized his embryonic state, as did the command to absolute

silence. For example, what is silent is undetermined (S.B.VII.2.2. 14) .

The Hindus also believe that every man is born a Sudra 5). The color

yellow is the color of the southern direction. The southern direction

is symbolic of the Suclra caste 6). The south is also the direction of

Yama who is the lord of the dead. Furthermore, yellow is one the

colors symbolic of demons 7) who are residents of Yama's realm.

He views transition as a process and in the case of rites de passages

a transformation. In the transitional or liminal period, the individual is

structurally invisible. This structural invisibility has a twofold char-

2) Mircea Eliade, The Quest: History and Meaning in Religion (Chicago :University of Chicago Press, 1960), p. 112.

3) Mircea Eliade, Rites and Symbols of Initiation: The Mysteries of Birthand Rebirth (trans.) Willard R. Trask (New York : Harper and Row, Publishers,

1965), p. x.

4) Raj Bali Pandey, Hindu Samskaras (Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass, 1969),

p. 128.

5) Ibid., p. 30.6) Willibald Kirfel, Symbolik des Hinduismus und des Jinismus (Stuttgart:

Anton Hiersemann, 1959), pp. 100-101.7) Arthur Berriedale Keith, The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and

Upanishads Vol. I (Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass, 1970), p. 237.


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acter. Turner writes concerning the initiates, "They are at once no

longer classified and not yet classified" 8). In other words, neophytes

are similar to embryos or newborn infants. "Their condition is oneof ambiguity and paradox, a confusion of all the customary cate-

gories" 9). A common characteristic of transitional beings is that they

have nothing. They possess no status, property, rank or kinship posi-

tion. This process of which Turner writes seems to be also evident in

the Upanayana rite.

It may be possible to elucidate this argument by considering thc

position of Victor Turner.

Anotherpreparatory practice

is the final meal the initiate has with

his mother (G.G.S.II.io.7). This last meal seems to symbolize the

cutting of the umbilical cord. This observation makes sense, if one

recalls that the yellow substance smeared on the boy's body and the

command to keep silent represent an embryonic state. Thus the last

meal with his mother represents the final nourishment that he is to

receive from his mother before he is born. These actions appear to

represent a re-enactment of the child's natural birth. The rite, by the

symbolic returning of the child to an embryonic state, is communicating

that this is the true or spiritual birth of the child. In the Vedic period

the initiation was regarded as a second birth (A.V. II.5.3). The rebirth

is expressed in terms of a teacher changing the boy into an embryo

and keeping him in his belly for three nights. This entire scenario

represcnts a rite of passage in the sense of a rite of separation to use

van Gennap's terminology 10). This passage is from the child's

natural profane condition to the threshold of the sacred.

To cite another example, after one year, three nights or immediately,

the teacher recites the Svitri ll?layr.tra to the student. The two partici-pants sit north of the fire. The teacher sits with his face turned

eastward and the student faces westward (P.G.S. II. 3.3 ) . The teacher

recites the Svitri ll?Iavctra (R.V. III.62.IO) in (-,Ctyatri verse to the

Brahman student. The teacher, however, recites a Trishtubla verse to a

Kshatriya and a Gayat to a Vaisya II.5.4-6). The teaching

8) Victor Turner, The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembn Ritual (Ithaca :Cornell University Press, 1967), p. 96.

9) Ibid., p. 97.10) Arnold van Gennap, The Rites of Passage (trans.) Monika B. Vizedom

and Gabrielle L. Caffee (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969), p. 20.


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of the sacred mantra signalized the second birth of the child 1 ) . The

teacher was regarded as the father and the Sfiiitri l?Iaoatra was under-

stood as the mother of the initiate (M.S. II. 170) .In existential terms the student has emerged from the initiation

ceremony endowed with a totally different being. According to the

Hindus, every man is born a Sudra. "By birth every one is a Sudra,

by performing the Upanayana he is called a twice-born, by reading

the Vedas he becomes a Vipra and by realizing Brahman he attains

the status of a Brahman" 1 2) . To achieve this condition he must bc

reborn. This rebirth is attained through the initiation rite. In other

words,the student has

experienceda

spiritualtransformation. His

body has been sanctified. He has been purified from all sin and evil

in his present existence and after death (M.S. 11.26). The student is

now fit for union with Brahman (M.S. 11.28).

II

There is also a change in social status for the initiate. As van Genr?ap

has indicated, the initiate is incorporated into a new social reality 13) .

He has passed from his former profane state of ignorance, inequality

and irresponsibility into a sacred social position of enlightenment,

equality and responsibility. In other words, the Hindu initiate is takcn

from the caste structure. It is the secrets and ways of this society

that the transformed initiate learns. And it is eventually into this

social realm that the newly initiated individual is incorporated.

The caste structure is emphasized throughout the U panayana rite.

For example, a Brahman student was initiated in the eighth year

after conception and had until sixteen years of age to be initiated.

The ages for a Kshatriya and Vaisya are eleven to twenty-two andtwelve to twenty-four respectively (S.G.S. II, i ) . Oldenberg feels

the numbers were artificially prepared 14). On the other hand, Gonda

sees the numbers as having a mystical significance 1 5) .Caste distinction

11) Alfred Hillebrant, Ritual-Litteratur Vedische Opfer und Zaubcr (Strass-burg: Karl J. Trubner, 1897), pp. 53-54.

12) Quoted from Pandey, op. cit., p. 30.13) van Gennap, op. cit., p. 106.

14) Hermann Oldenberg, Die Religion Des Veda (Stuttgart: J. G. Cotta'

Sche, 1923), p. 464.15) Jan Gonda, Die Religionen Indiens I: Veda und lterer Hinduismus

(Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1960), p. 119.


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is also evident in the giving of the kaitpina vvhich is a small piece of

cloth used to cover the private parts of an individual. The Brahman

student was given an antelope skin (ajina), the Kshatriya was offeredthe skin of a spotted deer and the Vasiya was presented a cowhide or

goat's skin (.G.S. II.T3.2-4.5; G.S.G. ll.io.9). The Gopatha Brh-

1nana states that the antelope skin is symbolic of spiritual and intel-

lectual pre-eminence (G.1lr. 1-2. 1-8). This assertion parallels the

accepted superiority of the Brahman caste. There are also differences

based on the material used to make the sacred thread (yajii-.opazita).

Another distinction arises with the giving of the staff The

Brahman studcnt wasgiven

a staff made of Palasa wood; the Ksha-

triya was given one made of Bilva wood; and the Vaisya was offered

a staff of Udumbara wood (P.G.S. 11.5.25-27). There are also dif-

ferences of length to be observed depending upon the initiates caste.

Thus the caste that the individual was evidentually to re-enter was

continually emphasized throughout the rite.

There are also other examples of social signifance in the ceremony.

After receiving the staff f (dayida) from his teacher, the student went

to beg for food, which was to be the primary means of subsistence

throughout his career. The food obtained by begging was supposedto be pure (M.S. And the brahmacari who subsists on food

obtained by begging is like one observing a fast (M.S. II.188). The

student begged initially from those who would not refuse him on the

day of the This usually entailed his tnother and other

relatives. The practice of begging emphasized to the student that he

was a non-economic entity. He was thus dependent on public chari-

ty 16). When the student became a full member of society he knew

that he mustperform

his social duties. Thepractice

ofbegging

also

emphasized the sacred value of food. Of course, food has many social

implications for the Hindus.

It has been noted that the Upanayana ceremony was not only a

passport to the literary tradition of the Hindus. It was also necessary

for entrance into Hindu society, because without the completion of the

initiation rite one could not marry an Aryan girl and be accepted as a

full member of society.

In the transitional period of initiation the young mcn were released

16) Pandey, op. cit., p. 139.


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from the structure of Hindu society to the immediacy of communitas.

Victor Turner understands c011lmunitas as that which emerges in the

liminal period. It is "society as an unstructured or rudimcntarilystructured and relatively undifferentiated comitatus, community, or

even communion of equal individuals who submit together to the

general authority of the ritual elders" 17). After initiation they return

to the given structure revitalized by their experience of cOl1ununitas.

As Turner has noted there is a dialectic present without which no

society can function 18).

There were severe social consequences for those who failed to com-

pletethe

Upanayanarite. These individuals were referred to as

'vrtyas.Manu states that because they have failed to go through the Upana-

yana, the vrtyas are excluded from the Svitri Jll antra and become

despised by the Aryans. The vratyas are outcasts who are excluded

from the Vedic writings and Aryan marriage (M.S. II. The

vrcityas wrere probably eastern tribes. According to Winternitz 19), it

is not known if they were Aryan but they were outside the pale of

Brahmanism. This position is challenged by Heesterman who argues

that the vrtyas were not outside the brahmanical pale or even non-

Aryan 20). Irregardless of these positions, those who dissented from

the Vedic religious tradition in later times were debarred from all

religious and social activities.

III

The existential and social implications of the Upanayana rite have

been noted. It is now necessary to view its cosmic significance.

Due to the fact that one of the main purposes of the (7panayana was

the acquisition of knowledge and the building of character, the bestpossible teacher was sought. In the A tharaz,,eda (XI.5) the term crya

appears. In his instance, it literally means "the man who knows, adheres

to and practices the traditional good behaviour, customs, practices,

17) Victor Turner, The Ritual Process: Stucture and Anti-Structure (Chi-cago: Aldine Publishing Company, 1969), p. 96.

18) Ibid., p. 129.19) M. Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature Vol. I (trans.) S. Ketkan

(Calcutta: University of Calcutta Press, 1927), p. 154.20) J. C. Heesterman, "Vrtya and Sacrifice", Indo-Iranian Journal Vol. VI

NR I (1962), p. 18.


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establishes rules or institutions" 21 ) . It must be noted that the religious

teacher had a divine character (S.B.2.2.2.6). The spiritual guide oc-

cupied a very important place in Hindu society The

significance of the teacher had cosmic implications. Jan Gonda aptly

expresses this point:

The potent word, the 'holy power' of which the brahman who has studiedthe Veda is the bearer must be transmitted and remain a living force in the

world; the dharma must be known by those who reach maturity lest societyand the universe fall into decay and be reduced to chaos 22).

Thus only a teacher who was the paragon of wisdom, good character,

andpurity

wasthought

able to lead and teach ayoung

child. Therefore,

the best possible teacher was sought to attain the best possible results.

During the rite, the teacher initiates the student while standing. The

teacher ties the girdle (iitekhala) around the student three times from

left to right (S.G.S. 11.2.). The girdle possessed a mystical power by

means of its ability to bind 23). The girdle served as an umbilical cord

symbolic of a new birth. It also afforded protection from evil

powers 24).

After the girdle was tied to the waist of the student, he was invested

with the sacred thread. This practice was unknown to early writers.

For example, the Grhyasiltras do not contain any prescription for the

wearing of the sacred thread. The sacred thread (yajzio?awita) could

be made of cotton and worn by all castes, although distinctions were

also made. The thread is equal to the height of a man which is meas-

ured in terms of ninety-six times his four fingers. These four fingers

symbolize the four states of the inner essence of man. They are waking,

dreaming, dreamless sleep, and silence (M. U.). On the other hand,

the three folds of the cord represent the three gui *ias or the threesubtle elements (sattva, yaja.s, tamas) which make up primal matter,

from which the universe is evolved. In order that the satt??ag?.na or

good quality of reality may predominate in a man the cord is twisted

upward. The three threads remind one that he must repay three debts:

to one's ancestors, the ancient seers, and the gods. The knot which

21) Jan Gonda, Change and Continuity in Indian Religion (The Hague:Mouton and Company, 1965), p. 235.

22) I bid., p. 234.23) See note no. 2 Oldenberg, op. cit., p. 465.

24) Die Religionen Indiens I: Veda und lterer Hinduismus, op. cit., p. 119.


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ties the three cords is called Brahmagranthi w?hich symbolizes Brahma,

Visnu, and Siva 25).

Furthermore, one can view the cosmic significance of the ilpanayaiiarite by looking briefly at another aspect of the sacred thread. The role

of the sacred thread is to implement a cosmic and human unity. This

primordial image serves to reveal the structure of the universe and

to describe the specific situation of man. For example, the sacred

thread is the spiritual bond holding together the universe and all beings

(S.B. VII.3.2.13). In another passage the sun binds the worlds to

itself by means of the thread (S.B. VIII./.3.10). This same thread

also binds man to the source of all life whichkeeps

him alive but

also dependent 26).

After purifying the student with water (S.G.S. 11.2.4-io) and init-

iating him ( S. G. S. II.2- r 2 ) , the teacher has the new initiate gaze at

the sun (A.G.S. 1.20.7). The sun represents the cosmic law which

governs the entire universe. It is the place of immortality, the un-

changing source of all consuming power 27). The sun gives to the

student vitality (ojas), physical strength (bala), and beauty. This

act may also represent the acknowledgement of Agni as the ultimate

teacher by the student. Agni is identified with the sun (R.V. 111.2.14)

and is the director of the rites or the great priest (R.V. VIII-49.1;

VI.i6.i; X.7.,S). Nevertheless, the student is made to witness the

symbol of the cosmic law. There is also a connection between the sun

and rebirth. Gonda writes, "W% hen the sun rises in the morning, the

world is reborn, but with this this proces the ritual rebirth of the initiate

who emerges from his hut may be regarded as runing parallel"

Thus every morning the significance of the ritual process of which

the student is a part is re-inforced.

25) Abbe J. A. Dubois, Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies (trans.)Henry K. Beauchamp (Oxford: Clarendon Press), p. 161; see also Monier

Monier-Williams, Brahmanism and Hinduism (New York: Macmillan and

Company, 1891), p. 378.26) Mircea Eliade, Mephistopheles and the Androgyne: Studies in Religious

Myth and Symbol (trans.) J. M. Cohen (New York : Sheed and Ward, 1965),p. 170.

27) Heinrich Zimmer, "Death and Rebirth in the Light of India" in Man and

Transformation: Papers from the Eranos Yearbooks, ed. Joseph Campbell (NewYork: Pantheon Books, 1964), p. 329.

28) Change and Continuity in Indian Religion, op. cit., p. 366.


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IV

In the course of this paper, it has become evident that there has

been a certain amount of overlapping in the three levels that I have

attempted to differentiate. This study has also shown that the U pana-

yaroa rite has the power to enable the initiate to leap over the dangers

inherent in a particular stage of life. With the danger behind him, the

initiate finds himself completely re-orientated. He is a totally different

person. He also has a new relationship with society and the cosmos.

The initiate's existential condition has changed. From a position

of structural invisibility, the initiate takes a leap to a secure position

lacking ambiguity. The biological umbilical cord is cut. There is areturn to an embryonic state to await his true, spiritual rebirth. This

second birth transforms the initiate into a new being. He is now na

new and higher ontological plane.

This transformation also entails a social change. From inequality

to equality, from irresponsibility to responsibility, from ignorance to

enlightenment, from chaos to ordered social structure, these are some

of the social changes that the U panayana rite entails. Admitted to a new

social status, encompassed by his new found vitality, the initiate in

turn revitalizes the social order.

It has also been noted that the Upanayana is not without its cosmic

significance. Through the initiation rite, the novice comes to know

about the sacred tradition. He learns the dharma which supports and

protects society and the universe from chaos. Man learns that he is

only part of a cosmic whole. The sacred thread symbolizes to him the

essential unity binding all social beings together in the universe. Al-

though the sacred thread binds man and keeps him dependent, it also

bestows upon him the sacred. In other words, the sacred becomes opento him. It becomes man's new possibility.

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The Existential, Social, And Cosmic Significance of the Upanayana Rite [v24n2_s4]