The periodical ceremonials are sixteen in number and have to be observed at special turning points of one’s age. They are as follows:

1. The Garbhadhana Sanskara or the ceremony of Procreation.
2. The Punsavana Sanskara or the ceremony of protection of the foetus when the foetus is four months old.
3. The Simantonnayana Sanskara which is done at the seventh month.
4. The Jatakarma Sanskara observed just when the child is born.
5. The Namakarana Sanskara or the naming ceremony, when the child is given its name on the nth, 10 1st or 361st day of its birth.
6. The Niskramana Sanskara when the child is for the first time brought out of the home.
7.  The Annaprasana Sanskara or feeding the chlid with solid food such as rice boiled in milk. This is done usually at the 6th month.
8. The Chudakarma Sanskara or Tonsure ceremony, when the first shaving of the head takes place This is done in the first or third year.
9. The Karnavedha Sanskara or ear-piercmg ceremony in the 3rd or 5th year.
10. The Yajnopavita Sanskara or Sacred thread investiture ceremony, in which the preceptor initiates the child. This is done at the 8th year. It is necessary both for boys and girls.
11. The Vedarambha Sanskara when the teacher begins to teach the Vedas. This follows the tenth Sanskara immediately The Gayatri Mantra is the first Veda Mantra taught.
12. The Samavartana Sanskara or Home-returning ceremony, on completion of education.
13. The Vivaha Sanskara the marriage ceremony when the youth marries and enters the household life This is done usually at the age of 25.
14. The Vanaprastha Sanskara or forest going ceremony, when one is old enough to leave the household and take to the life of pure religiosity or austerities.
15. The Sanyasa Sanskara or Renunciation ceremony, when the austerities under gone during Vanprastha prepare a man to renounce all selfishness and become an ascetic. One who is free from all selfish interests and whose sole object of life is to serve the world.
16. The Antyesti Sanskara or funeral ceremony. Burning the dead body with prescribed scents and Ghee. Burials are disallowed.

Importance of Sanskaras

The first three are pre-birth Sanskaras and are meant to effect the foetus. The last one comes after death. The remaining twelve are interspersed and occur at the important turning points of life. These turning points are frequent at an early age; many things have to begin and whenever a new page is to open, some ceremony has to be done. In mature life, journeys are naturally long and turning points rarer. All these ceremonies begin with recitation of prayers and performance of Havana according to the status of the house- holder. While the five Mahayajnas are personal, these sixteen Sanskaras are social. They have a twofold purpose. First of all, the rituals observed therein give some indication of the mile- stone reached in life, and the change in duties and actions on the part of the child or the guardian. This is more or less personal The second and the more important of the two is the tacit recognition, on the part of the society, of the legitimate position which the individual, as a member of the society, holds there. A man is connected with his society through another smaller social unit called family. The integration of this family and the place of the family in the society demand that the individual who is to be a parent should not be allowed a free play. There should be rules to keep him within bounds, and the society should be consulted on the important matter of adding another member to it. A man is not separable from his society. The very structure of human beings and its evolution, require that its due relationship with the society may be maintained. The mental and physical development of the child is the concern of the society, and the family which is responsible to the society for its healthy growth, and is duty bound to reiterate this promise to the society on fixed occasions.

Here it may be mentioned, that the Arya Samaj differs from the Hindu orthodoxy in some of these. For instance, the funeral ceremony per Arya Samaj does not admit of the offering of rice balls or pindas to the departed soul. The Arya Samaj believes in the re-incarnation or transmigration of the soul. The dead body which is left does require a respectful disposal, and this is done by burning the body in fire along with scents, so that atmosphere may not be made polluted for the living. But beyond this, there is no duty of the survivors for the soul that has departed. In fact, it is beyond the reach of the survivors and the latter, even if they desire, can do nothing The next birth or any after-death conditions depend upon the dying soul’s own actions and the intervention of the survivors is unwarranted and useless.

Then, the Sanyasin, according to the Arya Samaj is not one that has renounced the world and severed his entire connection with the society. In fact the Sanyasin has more important duties to perform. He is a Sanyasin, because he renounces his individual interest and merges his self into the self of the society. He eats, diinks and sleeps, but even in the performance of these indispensable daily duties, his aim is to serve the society. He helps the society in the solution of the tangles.

In connection with Sanskaras one point needs special mention. First of all, these sanskaras are meant for both males and females. Even the sacred thread investiture ceremony is to be performed in case of girls also. Similarly, women are allowed to become sanyasins, as much as men. Secondly, there is no restriction of caste. One has simply to prove one’s worthiness and that is all. In fact the main point which distinguishes the Arya Sanaa from the orthodox Hinduism is that the Arya Samaj does not admit birth-rights or birth duties. The son of a Brahmana is not necessarily a Brahmana, just as a son of a doctor may not be a doctor. When the Arya Samaj says that only a Brahmana can be a Sanyasin, it should be clearly understood that by Brahmana is meant here a man who is capable by virtue of his education, development and temperament to help the society by his selfless service. As regards other sanskaras, even a Sudra’s child has equal rights.