Samskara #8 of 16 · Childhood (Bālya)
चूडाकरण
Chudakarana
Cūḍākaraṇa
Timing: 1st or 3rd year (odd years) — the first head-shave (mundan)
Purpose
To remove the hair the child was born with (considered impure from the womb), symbolically clearing past karma + freshening the body-temple.
The ritual
At a temple (Tirupati, Vaishno Devi, family deity), a barber shaves the head leaving sometimes a small tuft (shikha). The hair is offered to the deity. The child is then bathed and dressed in new clothes.
Key elements
- ●Shaving at sacred site
- ●Hair offered to deity
- ●Optional shikha (tuft) retained
- ●Ritual bath after shave
Performed by
Family + temple barber
Modern relevance
Mundan at Tirumala alone draws ~75,000 pilgrims daily — one of the most universally observed samskaras across India.