A Literature Study of Ayurveda Philosophy on the Cultural Ceremonies Carried out During Socialization of the Child

Abstract

Philosophy of Ayurveda starts thousands of years ago when the Vedic literature was born in India. From that period onwards Ayurveda influence on the lifestyle was commenced. Special rituals for infants were introduced for infants by various acharyas to socialize the infants. Literature of socialization of child was taken from Ayurveda classical texts, published articles gathered from PubMed and Google scholar. From the reviewed literature it was found that Samskara was the name given by the Acharyas which can be categorized under Jathakarma Samskara and Bala Samskara. Number of Samskara varies with the Acharyasand about 16-40 Samskarawere described by them but16 samskaras were widely accepted. That includes Swarnaprashana, Rakshakarma, Namakarana, Surya/Chandra Darshana, Bahir Nishkramana, Phala Prashana, Anna Prashana, Upaveshana, Karnavedana, Chuda karma, Vedaarambhaand Upanayana. All the Samskara have a specific relevance to the socialization of child. When an infant is exposed to the environment after being born, they should be resuscitated and protected from germs and the establishment of immunity is essential. And infant should be practiced eating, drinking and sitting independently to make them stable in the society. With the enlightenment of this study further studies can be carried out to find the relevance of each Samskarato make aware the society and to give the maximum benefits of ayurveda in the management of socialization of an infant.