Annaprashan (annaprāśana): what the Gṛhyasūtras say

When

Sixth month in every text that has the rite (5 GS + Manu).

What the texts describe

• Śāṅkhāyana Gṛhyasūtra — ŚāṅkhGS 1.27.1–11

  1. ṣaṣṭhe māsy annaprāśanam | 2. ājam annādyakāmaḥ | 3. taittiraṃ brahmavarcasakāmaḥ | 4. mātsyaṃ javanakāmaḥ | 5. ghṛtaudanaṃ tejaskāmaḥ | 6. dadhimadhughṛtamiśram annaṃ prāśayet | 7. annapate 'nnasya no dehy anamīvasya śuṣmiṇaḥ pra pradātāraṃ tāriṣa ūrjaṃ no dhehi dvipade catuṣpade yacciddhi mahaś cid imam agna āyuṣe varcase tigmam ojo varuṇa soma rājan mātevāsmā aditiḥ śarma yaṃsad viśve devā jaradaṣṭir yathāsad iti hutvā | 8. agna āyūṃṣīty abhimantrya | 9. udagagreṣu kuśeṣu syonā pṛthivi bhavety upaveśya | 10. mahāvyāhṛtibhiḥ prāśanam | 11. śeṣaṃ mātā prāśnīyāt

  1. In the sixth month the Annaprasana (i.e. the first feeding with solid food). 2. Goat's flesh, if he is desirous of nourishment, 3. Flesh of partridge, if desirous of holy lustre, 4. Fish, if desirous of swiftness, 5. Boiled rice with ghee, if desirous of splendour-- 6. (Such) food, prepared with milk curds, honey, and ghee, he should give (to the child) to eat. 7. After he has made oblations with (the verses), 'Lord of food, give us food, painless and strong; bring forward the giver; bestow power on us, on men and animals;' 'Whatsoever' (Rig-veda IV, 12, 4); 'Even of great' (ibid. 5), 'Him, Agni, (lead) to long life and splendour; sharp strength (mayst thou), Varuna, king Soma, protection may Aditi, like a mother, afford to him, and all the gods that he may reach old age'-- 8. And has recited over (the child) the verse, 'Powers of life, Agni' (Rig-veda IX, 66, 19), 9. And has set him down on northward pointed Kusa grass with (the verse), 'Be soft, O earth' (Rig-veda I, 22, 15)-- 10. The act of feeding is performed with the Mahavyahritis. 11. Let the mother eat the remnant.

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 54–55. Public domain.

• Āśvalāyana Gṛhyasūtra — ĀśvGS 1.16.1–6

  1. ṣaṣṭhe māsi annaprāśanam | 2. ājam annādya kāmaḥ taittiram brahmavarcasa kāmaḥ ghṛta odanam tejaskāmaḥ | 3. dadhi madhu ghṛta miśram annam prāśayet annapate annasya naḥ dehi anamīvasya śuṣmiṇaḥ pra pradātāram tāriṣaḥ ūrjam naḥ dhehi dvipade catuṣpadāya iti | 4. āvṛtā eva kumāryai

  1. In the sixth month the Annaprasana (i.e. the first feeding with solid food). 2. Goat's flesh, if he is desirous of nourishment, 3. Flesh of partridge, if desirous of holy lustre, 4. Boiled rice with ghee, if desirous of splendour: 5. (Such) food, mixed with curds, honey and ghee he should give (to the child) to eat with (the verse), 'Lord of food, give us food painless and strong; bring forward the giver; bestow power on us, on men and animals.' 6. The rite only (without the Mantra) for a girl.

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 183–184. Public domain.

• Pāraskara Gṛhyasūtra — PārGS 1.19.1–13

  1. ṣaṣṭhe māse 'nnaprāśanam | 2. sthālīpākaṃ śrapayitvājyabhāgāviṣṭvājyāhutī juhoti devīṃ vācamajanayanta devāstāṃ viśvarūpāḥ paśavo vadanti | 3. sā no mandreṣamūrjaṃ duhānā dhenur vāg asmān upa suṣṭutaitu svāheti | 4. vājo no adyeti ca dvitīyām | 5. sthālīpākasya juhoti prāṇenānnam aśīya svāhāpānena gandhān aśīya svāhā cakṣuṣā rūpāṇyaśīya svāhā śrotreṇa yaśo 'śīya svāheti | 6. prāśanānte sarvān rasānt sarvam annamekata uddhṛtyāthainaṃ prāśayet | 7. tūṣṇīṃ hanteti vā hantakāraṃ manuṣyā iti śruteḥ | 8. bhāradvājyā māṃsena vākprasārakāmasya | 9. kapiñjalamāṃsenānnādyakāmasya | 10. matsyair javanakāmasya | 11. kṛkaṣāyā āyuṣkāmasya | 12. āṭyā brahmavarcasakāmasya | 13. sarvaiḥ sarvakāmasya | 14. annaparyāyo vā tato brāhmaṇabhojanam annaparyāya vā tato brāhmaṇabhojanam

  1. In the sixth month the Annaprasana (or first feeding with solid food). 2. Having cooked a mess of sacrificial food, and sacrificed the two Agyabhagas, he offers two Agya oblations, (the first with the verse,) 'The gods have generated the goddess Speech; manifold animals speak her forth. May she, the sweet-sounding, the cow that (for milk) gives sap and juice to us, Speech, the highly-praised one, come to us. Svaha!' 3. And the second (oblation) with (the verse), 'May vigour us to-day' (Vag. Samhita XVIII, 33). 4. He then sacrifices (four oblations) of cooked food with (the formulas), 'Through up-breathing may I enjoy food. Svaha! 'Through down-breathing may I enjoy smells. Svaha! 'Through my eye may I enjoy visible things. Svaha! 'Through my ear may I enjoy renown. Svaha!' 5. After he has eaten (himself), he should set apart food of all kinds, and of all different sorts of flavour, and should give it to him (i.e. to his son) to eat, 6. Silently or with (the word), 'Hanta' (i.e. Well!). For it is said in the Sruti, 'Men (live on) the word hanta.' 7. (He feeds the child) with flesh of (the bird called) Bharadvagi, if he wishes (to the child) fluency of speech, 8. With flesh of partridge, if abundance of nourishment, 9. With fish, if swiftness, 10. (With flesh) of (the bird) Krikasha, if long life, 11. (With flesh) of (the bird) Ati, if desirous of holy lustre, 12. With all, if desirous of all. 13. Or each (sort of) food one by one. Then (follows) feeding of the Brahmanas, or each (sort of) food one by one. Then feeding of the Brahmanas. End of the First Kanda.

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 299–300. Public domain.

• Hiraṇyakeśi Gṛhyasūtra — HirGS 2.5.1–3

  1. atha ṣaṣṭhe māsyannaprāśanam | 2. āpūryamāṇapakṣe puṇye nakṣatre 'gnim upasamādhāya vyāhṛtiparyantaṃ kṛtvā juhotīmaṃ me varuṇa | 3. tattvā yāmi | 4. tvaṃ no agne | 5. sa tvaṃ no agne | 6. tvamagne ayāsi | 7. prajāpate | 8. yadasya karmaṇo 'tyarīricam | 9. iti ca atraike jayābhyātānān rāṣṭrabhṛta ityupajuhvati yathā purastāt | 10. brāhmaṇānannena pariviṣya puṇyāhaṃ svastyayanamṛddhimiti vācayitvāthainaṃ dadhi madhu ghṛtamiti trivṛtprāśayati | 11. bhūstvayi dadhāmi bhuvastvayi dadhāmi suvastvayi dadhāmīti | 12. athainamannaṃ prāśayati | 13. apāṃ tvauṣadhīnāṃ rasaṃ prāśayāmi śivāsta āpa oṣadhayaḥ santvanamīvāsta āpa oṣadhayo bhavantu | 14. iti

  1. Then (follows) in the sixth month the Annaprasana (i.e. the first feeding with solid food). 2. In the fortnight of the increasing moon, under an auspicious constellation, he puts wood on the fire, performs the rites down to the Vyahriti oblations, and sacrifices (with the Mantras), 'This, O Varuna' (&c.; see I, chap. 27, Sutra 2, down to): 'Hail! Good luck!' Then he gives (to the child) threefold food to eat, curds, honey, and ghee, with (the formula), 'Bhuh I lay into thee! Bhuvah I lay into thee! Suvah I lay into thee!' 3. Then he gives him (other) food to eat with (the formula), 'I give thee to eat the essence of water and of the plants. May water and plants be kind towards thee. May water and plants do no harm to thee.'

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part II, Sacred Books of the East 30 (1892), p. 216. Public domain.

• Āpastamba Gṛhyasūtra — ĀpGS 16.1–2 (Paṭala 6, Khaṇḍa 16)

  1. janmano 'dhi ṣaṣṭhe māsi brāhmaṇān bhojayitvāśiṣo vācayitvā dadhi madhu ghṛtam odanam iti saṃsṛjyottarair mantraiḥ kumāraṃ prāśayet | 2. taittireṇa māṃsenety eke

  1. In the sixth month after the child's birth he serves food to Brahmanas and causes them to pronounce auspicious wishes; then he should pour together curds, honey, ghee, and boiled rice, and should give (the mixture) to the boy to eat, with the next (four) Mantras (II, 14, 7-10); 2. (He should feed him) with partridge, according to some (teachers).

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part II, Sacred Books of the East 30 (1892), p. 283. Public domain.

• Manusmṛti (Mānava-dharmaśāstra) — Manu 2.34 (Bühler numbering)

  caturthe māsi kartavyaṃ śiśor niṣkramaṇaṃ gṛhāt / ṣaṣṭhe 'nnaprāśanaṃ māsi yad veṣṭaṃ maṅgalaṃ kule

  In the fourth month the Nishkramana (the first leaving of the house) of the child should be performed, in the sixth month the Annaprasana (first feeding with rice), and optionally (any other) auspicious ceremony required by (the custom of) the family.

  Georg Bühler, The Laws of Manu, Sacred Books of the East 25 (1886), p. 36. Public domain.

Sanskrit: Oliver Hellwig, Digital Corpus of Sanskrit (DCS), 2010–2021, licensed CC BY 4.0. English: Hermann Oldenberg (trans.), The Grihya-Sutras, Sacred Books of the East 29/30 (1886/1892), public domain, except where marked otherwise.