9th of 16 sanskars – Karna = ear, Vedh = piercing. Piercing of the earlobe typicall with a clean gold or silver thread needle.
Karnavedha Sanskar is an ear-piercing ceremony of a baby where Karna means ‘ear,’ and Vedha means ‘piercing’ as per the Sanskrit language. It is one of the important sanskaras out of the ultimate sixteen significant sacraments of the Hindu religion.
The suggested time to perform this ritual is between 6 months to 6 years of age, but some prefer to have this later in life. As per traditional beliefs, this ritual is very essential for boys and girls to enable inner ears for sacred sounds and cleansing of the soul. But in modern times parents prefer to have this only for their girl child.
Moreover, the brahmin community or people who still study Vedas never skip this Sanskar for boys as well as girls. It is considered to be a Vedic rite that provides many spiritual benefits by wearing silver or gold in the earlobe.
In this ritual, the child is supposed to sit facing the sun direction, and then a goldsmith or surgeon would perform this ritual by placing gold, silver, or steel wire in the hole. As per Vedic authorities, the holes in an earlobe are crucial for bringing balance to the child’s health, and that’s the primary motive of this ceremony.
Traditional Hindu texts and mystical concepts have more significant intentions and deeper explanations for all sixteen sanskaras, and Karnavedha is one of them with immense spiritual and health benefits.
