Annaprashana, 7th of 16 Sankars, is a joyful ceremony of a baby’s first solid food. It involves family and friends on an auspicious day to officially start giving food to a baby other than the mother’s milk. It is performed six months after baby’s birth.
Annaprashana, 7th of 16 Sankars, is a joyful ceremony of a baby’s first solid food. It involves family and friends on an auspicious day to officially start giving food to a baby other than the mother’s milk.
The word Annaprashana means ‘feeding food’ as per Sanskrit terminology. And it is also known as Annaprashana Vidhi or Anna-Prasanam ritual in some regions.
This ceremony is performed after six months of the baby’s birth, and it allows to be performed anytime before the baby’s first birthday. For boys, it is required to be performed only on even months, and for girls only on odd months.
In this ceremony, the priest guides the family members and performs the ritual as per Vedic discipline. All family members take turns and feed the baby spoonful of rice and milk and enjoy the whole celebration with other guests.
It also includes some games and fun activities like placing bowls of jewels, pens, books, and clay to see what baby’s future career interest will be based on which bowl he picks first.
Annaprashana is a beautiful traditional Hindu Sanskar that signifies a baby’s first solid food intake by gathering family and friends together and celebrating this moment to pray for his health and future.
