Seemantham (sīmantonnayana): what the Gṛhyasūtras say

When

Texts disagree: 4th month (Āśv, Hir, Āp; Gobh/Khād as first option), 6th (Pār, Gobh, Khād), 7th (Śāṅkh), 8th (Pār, Gobh; Vaikh). Several restrict it to the first pregnancy.

What the texts describe

• Śāṅkhāyana Gṛhyasūtra — ŚāṅkhGS 1.22.1–5

  1. saptame māsi prathamagarbhe sīmantonnayanaṃ | 2. snātām ahatavāsasaṃ paścād agner upaveśya | 3. anvārabdhāyāṃ mahāvyāhṛtibhir hutvā | 4. sthālīpākaṃ śrapayitvā | 5. mudgaudanam ity eke

  1. In the seventh month, at her first pregnancy, the Simantonnayana (or parting of the hair). 2. He causes her, after she has bathed and put on a (new) garment which has not yet been washed, to sit down behind the fire. 3. He sacrifices, while she takes hold of him, with the Mahavyahritis. 4. He cooks a mess of food, 5. According to some (teachers) boiled rice with Mudga beans.

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 47. Public domain.

• Śāṅkhāyana Gṛhyasūtra — ŚāṅkhGS 1.22.8–18

  11. triḥśvetayā śalalyā darbhasūcyā vodumbaraśalāṭubhiḥ saha madhyād ūrdhvaṃ sīmantam unnayati bhūr bhuvaḥ svar iti | 12. utsaṅge nidhāya | 13. trivṛti pratimucya kaṇṭhe badhnāty ayam ūrjāvato vṛkṣa ūrjīva phalinī bhaveti | 14. athāha vīṇāgāthino rājānaṃ saṃgāyateti | 15. yo vāpy anyo vīratara iti | 16. udapātre 'kṣatān avaninīya viṣṇur yoniṃ kalpayatu rākām aham iti ṣaﾱṛcena pāyayet | 17. athāsyā udaram abhimṛśet | 18. suparṇo 'si garutmāṃs trivṛt te śiro gāyatraṃ cakṣuḥ | 19. chandāṃsy aṅgāni yajūṃṣi nāma sāma te tanūḥ | 20. modamānīṃ gāpayet | 21. mahāhemavatīṃ vā | 22. ṛṣabho dakṣiṇā

  8. (The husband then) parts her hair, upwards, beginning from the middle, with a porcupine's quill that has three white spots, or with a Darbha needle together with unripe Udumbara fruits, with the words, 'Bhur bhuvah svah.' 9. He lays down (the thing he has used) in her lap, 10. Ties (the fruits) to a string of three twisted threads and fastens them to her neck with the words, 'Rich in sap is this tree; like the sappy one be thou fruitful.' 11. (The husband) then says to lute-players, 'Sing ye the king-- 12. 'Or if anybody else is still more valiant.' 13. Having poured fried grain into a water-pot, let him cause her to drink it with the six verses, 'May Vishnu take care of thy womb,' 'I call Raka' (Rig-veda X, 184, 1; II, 32, 4-8). 14. Let him then touch her (with the words), 15. 'The winged one art thou, the Garutmat; the Trivrit (stoma) is thy head, the Gayatra thy eye, the metres thy limbs, the Yagus thy name, the Saman thy body.' 16. Let him cause her to sing merrily, 17. Wearing, if she likes, many gold ornaments. 18. A bull is the fee for the sacrifice.

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 48–49. Public domain.

• Āśvalāyana Gṛhyasūtra — ĀśvGS 1.14.1

  1. caturthe garbha māse sīmantonnayanam

  1. In the fourth month of pregnancy the Simantonnayana (or parting of the hair, is performed).

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 181. Public domain.

• Āśvalāyana Gṛhyasūtra — ĀśvGS 1.14.4–9

  3. atha asyai yugmena śalāṭu grapsena treṇyā ca śalalyā tribhiḥ ca kuśa piñjūlaiḥ ūrdhvam sīmantam vyūhati bhūḥ bhuvaḥ svar om iti tris catuḥ vā | 4. vīṇā gāthinau saṃśāsti somam rājānam saṃgāyetām iti | 5. somaḥ naḥ rājā avatu mānuṣīḥ prajāḥ niviṣṭa cakrā asau iti yām nadīm upavasitāḥ bhavanti | 6. brāhmaṇyaḥ ca vṛddhāḥ jīva patyaḥ jīva prajāḥ yat yat upadiśeyuḥ tat tat kuryuḥ | 7. ṛṣabhaḥ dakṣiṇā

  4. He then three times parts her hair upwards (i.e. beginning from the front) with a bunch containing an even number of unripe fruits, and with a porcupine's quill that has three white spots, and with three bunches of Kusa grass, with (the words), 'Bhur bhuvah, svar, om!' 5. Or four times. 6. He gives orders to two lute-players, 'Sing king Soma.' 7. (They sing) 'May Soma our king bless the human race. Settled is the wheel of N.N.'--(here they name) the river near which they dwell. 8. And whatever aged Brahmana woman, whose husbands and children are alive, tell them, that let them do. 9. A bull is the fee for the sacrifice.

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 181–182. Public domain.

• Pāraskara Gṛhyasūtra — PārGS 1.15.1–9

  1. atha sīmantonnayanam | 2. puṃsavanavat | 3. prathamagarbhe māse ṣaṣṭhe'ṣṭame vā | 4. tilamudgamiśraṃ sthālīpākaṃ śrapayitvā prajāpater hutvā paścād agner bhadrapīṭha upaviṣṭāyā yugmena saṭālugrapsenaudumbareṇa tribhiśca darbhapiñjūlais tryeṇyā śalalyā vīrataraśaṅkunā pūrṇacātreṇa ca sīmantam ūrdhvaṃ vinayati bhūrbhuvaḥ svariti | 5. pratimahāvyāhṛtibhir vā | 6. trivṛtamābadhnāti | 7. ayam ūrjāvato vṛkṣa urjīva phalinī bhaveti | 8. athāha vīṇāgāthinau rājānaṃ saṃgāyetām yo vāpyanyo vīratara iti | 9. niyuktāmapyeke gāthām upodāharanti | 10. soma eva no rājemā mānuṣīḥ prajāḥ | 11. avimuktacakra āsīraṃstīre tubhyamasāviti yāṃ nadīm upāvasitā bhavati tasyā nāma gṛhṇāti | 12. tato brāhmaṇabhojanam

  1. Now the Simantonnayana (or parting of the pregnant wife's hair). 2. (it is performed) like the Pumsavana; 3. In her first pregnancy, in the sixth or eighth month. 4. After he has cooked a mess of sacrificial food, containing sesamum and Mudga beans, and has sacrificed to Pragapati, he parts for the wife, who is seated to the west of the fire on a soft chair, her hair upwards (i.e. beginning from the front) with a bunch containing an even number of unripe Udumbara fruits, and with three bunches of Darbha grass, with a porcupine's quill that has three white spots, with a stick of Viratara wood, and with a full spindle. with the words, 'Bhur bhuvah svah.' 5. Or (he parts the hair once) with each of the (three) Mahavyahritis. 6. He ties (the Udumbara fruits, &c.) to a string of three twisted threads with (the words), 'Rich in sap is this tree; like the tree, rich in sap, be thou fruitful.' 7. (The husband) then says to two lute-players, 'Sing ye the king, or if anybody else is still more valiant.' 8. Here some also prescribe a certain stanza (to be sung by the lute-players): 'Soma alone is our king. May these human tribes dwell on thy banks, O (river) whose dominion is unbroken, N.N.!'--here he names the name of the river near which they dwell. 9. Then (follows) feeding of the Brahmanas.

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 292–293. Public domain.

• Gobhila Gṛhyasūtra — GobhGS 2.7.1–12

  1. atha sīmantakaraṇaṃ prathamagarbhe | 2. caturthe māsi ṣaṣṭhe 'ṣṭame vā | 3. prātaḥ saśiraskāplutodagagreṣu darbheṣu paścād agner udagagreṣu darbheṣu prācy upaviśati | 4. paścāt patir avasthāya yugmantam audumbaraṃ śalāṭugrathnam ābadhnāty ayam ūrjāvato vṛkṣa iti | 5. atha sīmantam ūrdhvam unnayati bhūr iti darbhapiñjūlībhir eva prathamaṃ bhuvar iti dvitīyaṃ svar iti tṛtīyam | 6. atha vīratareṇa yenāditer ity etayarcā | 7. atha pūrṇacāttreṇa rākām aham ityetayarcā | 8. triḥśvetayā ca śalalyā yās te rāke sumataya iti | 9. kṛsaraḥ sthālīpāka uttaraghṛtas tam avekṣayet | 10. kiṃ paśyasītyuktvā prajām iti vācayet | 11. taṃ sā svayaṃ bhuñjīta | 12. vīrasūr jīvasūr jīvapatnīti brāhmaṇyo maṅgalyābhir vāgbhir upāsīran

  1. Now (follows) the Simantakarana (or parting of the hair), in her first pregnancy,-- 2. In the fourth, or sixth, or eighth month (of her pregnancy). 3. In the morning, after she has been washed, sitting on northward-pointed Darbha grass, (all over her body), including her head, she sits down to the west of the fire on northward-pointed Darbha grass, facing the east. 4. Her husband, standing behind her, ties (to her neck) an Udumbara branch with an even number of unripe fruits on it, with (the verse), 'Rich in sap is this tree' (MB. I, 5, 1). 5. He then parts her hair upwards (i.e. beginning from the front), the first time with Darbha blades, with (the word), 'Bhuh!' the second time with (the word), 'Bhuvah!' the third time with (the word), 'Svah!'-- 6. Then with (a splint of) Viratara (wood) with this verse, 'With which Aditi's' (ibid. 2); 7. Then with a full spindle, with this verse, 'I invoke Raka' (ibid. 3. 4) 8. And with a porcupine's quill that has three white spots, with (the verse), 'Which are thy blessings, O Raka' (ibid. 5). 9. (There should be prepared) a mess of boiled rice with sesamum seeds, covered with ghee; at that he should make her look. 10. Let him say to her, 'What dost thou see?' and make her answer, 'Offspring!' 11. That (food) she should eat herself. 12. Brahmana women should sit by her side, pronouncing auspicious words (such as), 'A mother of valiant sons! A mother of living sons! A living husband's wife!'

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part II, Sacred Books of the East 30 (1892), p. 54–55. Public domain.

• Khādira Gṛhyasūtra — KhādGS 2.2.24–27

  17. atha asyāḥ caturthe māsi ṣaṣṭhe _ sīmantonnayanam | 18. snātām ahatena ācchādya hutvā patiḥ pṛṣṭhatas tiṣṭhan | 19. anupūrvayā phala vṛkṣa śākhayā sakṛt sīmantam unnayet tri śvetayā ca śalalyā ayam ūrjāvataḥ vṛkṣaḥ iti | 20. kṛsaraḥ sthālīpākaḥ | 21. uttara ghṛtam avekṣatīm pṛccheta kim paśyasi iti | 22. prajām iti vācayet

  24. Then in the fourth or sixth month (of her pregnancy) the Simantonnayana (or parting of the hair is performed) for her. 25. After she has bathed, her husband should put on her a garment that has not yet been washed, and after having sacrificed, he should stand behind her and should part her hair once with a well-proportioned (?) branch of a tree, on which there are fruits, (and) with a porcupine's quill that has three white spots, with (the verse), 'Rich in sap is this tree' (MB. I, 5, 1). 26. While she looks at a mess of boiled rice with sesamum seeds, covered with ghee, he should ask her, 'What dost thou see?' 27. He should make her reply, 'Offspring!'

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 394–395. Public domain.

• Hiraṇyakeśi Gṛhyasūtra — HirGS 2.1.1–3

  1. atha atas sīmantonnayanam | 2. prathama garbhāyāḥ caturthe māsi āpūryamāṇapakṣe puṇye nakṣatre agnim upasamādhāya vyāhṛti paryantam kṛtvā dhātā dadātu naḥ rayim iti catasraḥ dhātrīḥ juhoti | 3. imam me varuṇa tat tvā yāmi tvam naḥ agne sa tvam naḥ agne tvam agne ayāsi prajāpate yat asya karmaṇaḥ atyarīricam iti ca atra eke jaya abhyātānān rāṣṭrabhṛtaḥ iti upajuhvati yathā purastāt | 4. brāhmaṇān annena pariviṣya puṇya aham svastyayanam ṛddhim iti vācayitvā snātām prayata vastrām alaṃkṛtām brāhmaṇa saṃbhāṣām apareṇa agnim maṇḍala āgāre prācīm upaveśya treṇyā śalalyā śalālu grapsam upasaṃgṛhya purastāt pratyaṅ tiṣṭhan vyāhṛtībhiḥ rākām aham yāḥ te rāke iti dvābhyām ūrdhvam sīmantam unnīya abhimantrayate somaḥ eva naḥ rājā iti āhuḥ brāhmaṇīḥ prajāḥ vivṛtta cakrāḥ āsīnāḥ tīre tubhyam gaṅge viśvāḥ uta tvayā vayam dhārāḥ udanyāḥ iva atigāhemahi dviṣaḥ | 5. iti

  1. Now (follows) the Simantonnayana (or parting of the pregnant wife's hair). 2. In the fourth month of her first pregnancy, 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 makes four oblations to Dhatri with (the verse), 'May Dhatri give us wealth' (and the following three verses, Taitt. Samh. III, 3, II, 2. 3). 3. 'This, O Varuna' (&c.; see I, chap. 27, Sutra 2, down to): 'Hail! Good luck!' He then makes the wife who has taken a bath, who wears a clean dress and ornaments, and has spoken with a Brahmana, sit down to the west of the fire, facing the east, in a round apartment. Standing to the east (of the wife), facing the west he parts her hair upwards (i.e. beginning from the front) with a porcupine's quill that has three white spots, holding (also) a bunch of unripe fruits, with the Vyahritis (and) with the two (verses), 'I invoke Raka,' (and), 'Thy graces, O Raka' (Taitt. Samh. III, 3, 11, 5). Then he recites over (his wife the formulas), 'Soma alone is our king, thus say the Brahmana tribes, sitting near thy banks, O Ganga, whose wheel does not roll back (?)!' (and), 'May we find our way with thee through all hostile powers, as through streams of water' (above I, 20, 5).

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part II, Sacred Books of the East 30 (1892), p. 208–209. Public domain.

• Āpastamba Gṛhyasūtra — ĀpGS 14.1–8 (Paṭala 6, Khaṇḍa 14)

  1. sīmantonnayanaṃ prathame garbhe caturthe māsi | 2. brāhmaṇān bhojayitvāśiṣo vācayitvāgner upasamādhānādyājyabhāgānte 'nvārabdhāyāmuttarā āhutīrhutvā jayādi pratipadyate | 3. pariṣecanāntaṃ kṛtvāpareṇāgniṃ prācīm upaveśya treṇyā śalalyā tribhir darbhapuñjīlaiḥ śalāluglapsenety ūrdhvaṃ sīmantamunnayati vyāhṛtībhir uttarābhyāṃ ca | 4. gāyatamiti vīṇāgāthinau saṃśāsti | 5. uttarayoḥ pūrvā sālvānāṃ brāhmaṇānām itarā | 6. nadīnirdeśaśca yasyāṃ vasanti | 7. yavān virūḍhān ābadhya vācaṃ yacchaty ā nakṣatrebhyaḥ | 8. uditeṣu nakṣatreṣu prācīmudīcīṃ vā diśamupaniṣkramya vatsamanvārabhya vyāhṛtīśca japitvā vācaṃ visṛjet

  1. The Simantonnayana (or parting of the pregnant wife's hair, is performed) in her first pregnancy, in the fourth month. 2. (The husband) serves food to Brahmanas and causes them to pronounce auspicious wishes; then, after (the ceremonies) from the putting (of wood) on the fire down to the Agyabhaga oblations (have been performed), he offers the oblations (indicated in the) next (Mantras, M. II, 11, 1-8), while (the wife) takes hold of him, and enters upon the (performance) of the Gaya and following oblations. 3. Having performed (the rites) down to the sprinkling (of water) round (the fire), he makes her sit down to the west of the fire, facing the east, and parts her hair upwards (i.e. beginning from the front) with a porcupine's quill that has three white spots, with three Darbha blades, and with a bunch of unripe Udumbara fruits, with the Vyahritis or with the two next (verses, II, 11, 9. 10). 4. He says to two lute-players, 'Sing!' 5. Of the next two (verses, II, 11, 11. 12) the first (is to be sung on this occasion) among the (people of the) Salvas. 6. The second (is to be used) for Brahmanas; and the river near which they dwell is to be named. 7. He ties barley-grains with young shoots (to the head of the wife); then she keeps silence until the stars appear. 8. When the stars have appeared, he goes (with his wife) towards the east or north, touches a calf, and murmurs the Vyahritis; then she breaks her silence.

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part II, Sacred Books of the East 30 (1892), p. 279–280. 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.