Chudakarana (“tonsure”) is a Samskara. It is the eighth and last ceremony in the traditional life cycle (samskaras).
The hair on the child's head is shaved off in the chudakarana samskara, but a tuft of hair (chuda) is often left.
This is the final of the childhood samskaras, and it is still done in contemporary India, especially by brahmin households, to commemorate the ceremonial end of childhood.
This ritual is typically done when the child's age is an odd number, although it is sometimes performed when the child's age is an even number (most commonly at one, three, or five years old).
- Because most Indian infants are born with hair, which is thought to retain pollutants, the chudakarana is seen as a purification ritual in which the remainder of the impurities from delivery are removed.
- This cut-off hair is seen to maintain a strong link with the kid, as it is in many other cultures.
- Traditional belief says that if this hair falls into the wrong hands, it may be used to perform black magic on the kid.
- Because of this, the hair is typically carefully collected and disposed of, most often by running water.
