Vidyarambham (vidyārambha): what the Gṛhyasūtras say

When

Vidyārambha: 5th year per the verse quoted in the Smṛticandrikā (Sanskrit; pending translation). Kerala practice: Vijayadashami (see modernPractice).

What the texts describe

• Smṛticandrikā (nibandha digest) — Smṛticandrikā, Saṃskārakāṇḍa, "vidyārambhaḥ" section (print ed. page marker [67] inside the passage)

  atha vidyārambhaḥ tatra mārkaṇḍeyaḥ | prāpte tu pañcame varṣe aprasupte janārdane | ṣaṣṭhīṃ pratipadaṃ caiva varjayitvā tathāṣṭamīm || [67] riktāṃ pañcadaśīṃ caiva sarabhaumadine tathā | evaṃ suniścite kāle vidyārambhaṃ tu kārayet || pūjayitvā hariṃ lakṣmīṃ devīṃ caiva sarasvatīm | svavidhyasūtrakārāṃś ca svāṃ vidyāṃ ca viśeṣataḥ || eteṣām eva devānāṃ nāmnā tu juyuyād ghṛtam | dakṣiṇābhir dvijendrāṇāṃ kartavyaṃ cātra pūjanam || prāṅmukho gurur āsīno vāruṇābhimukhaṃ śiśum | adhyāpayet tu prathamaṃ dvijāśīrbhiḥ supūjitam || tataḥ prabhṛty anadhyāyān varjanīyān vivarjayet | aṣṭamīdvitayaṃ caiva pakṣānte ca dinadvayam || āśauca indrayātrāyāṃ bhūkampe rāhudarśane | vyatīpāte tv ahorātram ulkāpāte tathaiva ca || iti | iti smṛticandrikāyāṃ vidyārambhaḥ

  No public-domain English translation available.

• Śāṅkhāyana Gṛhyasūtra — ŚāṅkhGS 2.1.1–6

  1. garbhāṣṭameṣu brāhmaṇam upanayeta | 2. aiṇeyenājinena | 3. garbhadaśameṣu vā | 4. garbhaikādaśeṣu kṣatriyaṃ rauraveṇa | 5. garbhadvādaśeṣu vaiśyaṃ gavyena | 6. ā ṣoﾱaśād varṣād brāhmaṇasyānatītaḥ kālaḥ

  1. In the eighth year after the conception let him initiate a Brahmana, 2. With an antelope-skin, 3. Or in the tenth year after the conception. 4. In the eleventh year after the conception a Kshatriya with the skin of a spotted deer, 5. In the twelfth year after the conception a Vaisya with a cow-hide. 6. Until the sixteenth year the time has not passed for a Brahmana,

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 58–59. Public domain.

• Āśvalāyana Gṛhyasūtra — ĀśvGS 1.19.1–6

  1. aṣṭame varṣe brāhmaṇam upanayet | 2. garbhāṣṭame vā | 3. ekādaśe kṣatriyam | 4. dvādaśe vaiśyam | 5. ā ṣoḍaśād brāhmaṇasyānatītaḥ kālaḥ | 6. ā dvāviṃśāt kṣatriyasya

  1. In the eighth year let him initiate a Brahmana, 2. Or in the eighth year after the conception; 3. In the eleventh a Kshatriya; 4. In the twelfth a Vaisya. 5. Until the sixteenth (year) the time has not passed for a Brahmana; 6. Until the twenty-second for a Kshatriya;

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 187. Public domain.

• Pāraskara Gṛhyasūtra — PārGS 2.2.1–4

  1. aṣṭa varṣam brāhmaṇam upanayet garbha aṣṭame vā ekādaśa varṣam rājanyam dvādaśa varṣam vaiśyam yathāmaṅgalam vā sarveṣām

  1. He should initiate a Brahmana, when he is eight years old, or in the eighth year after the conception, 2. A Raganya, when he is eleven years old, 3. A Vaisya, when he is twelve years old. 4. Or according as it is considered auspicious by all (the different families).

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 303–304. Public domain.

• Gobhila Gṛhyasūtra — GobhGS 2.10.1–4

  1. garbhāṣṭameṣu brāhmaṇam upanayet | 2. garbhaikādaśeṣu kṣatriyaṃ | 3. garbhadvādaśeṣu vaiśyam | 4. ā ṣoḍaśād varṣād brāhmaṇasyānatītaḥ kālo bhavaty ā dvāviṃśāt kṣatriyasyā caturviṃśād vaiśyasya

  1. In the eighth year after the conception let him initiate a Brahmana, 2. In the eleventh year after the conception a Kshatriya, 3. In the twelfth year after the conception a Vaisya. 4. Until the sixteenth year the time has not passed for a Brahmana, until the twenty-second for a Kshatriya, until the twenty-fourth for a Vaisya.

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part II, Sacred Books of the East 30 (1892), p. 63. Public domain.

• Khādira Gṛhyasūtra — KhādGS 2.4.1–6

  1. aṣṭame varṣe brāhmaṇam upanayet | 2. tasya ā ṣoḍaśāt an atītaḥ kālaḥ | 3. ekādaśe kṣatriyam | 4. tasya ā dvāviṃśāt | 5. dvādaśe vaiśyam | 6. tasya ā caturviṃśāt

  1. Let him initiate a Brahmana in his eighth year. 2. For him the time (for being initiated) has not passed until his sixteenth (year). 3. In the eleventh a Kshatriya. 4. For him (the time has not passed) until the twenty-second. 5. In the twelfth a Vaisya. 6. For him (the time has not passed) until the twenty-fourth.

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 29 (1886), p. 399–400. Public domain.

• Hiraṇyakeśi Gṛhyasūtra — HirGS 1.1.1–4

  1. upanayanam vyākhyāsyāmaḥ | 2. sapta varṣam brāhmaṇam upanayīta ekādaśa varṣam rājanyam dvādaśa varṣam vaiśyam | 3. vasante brāhmaṇam grīṣme rājanyam śaradi vaiśyam

  1. We shall explain the Upanayana (i.e. the initiation of the student). 2. Let him initiate a Brahmana at the age of seven years, 3. A Raganya, of eleven, a Vaisya, of twelve. 4. A Brahmana in the spring, a Raganya in the summer, a Vaisya in the autumn.

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part II, Sacred Books of the East 30 (1892), p. 136. Public domain.

• Āpastamba Gṛhyasūtra — ĀpGS 10.1–4 (Paṭala 4, Khaṇḍa 10)

  1. upanayanam vyākhyāsyāmaḥ | 2. garbha aṣṭameṣu brāhmaṇam upanayīta garbha ekādaśeṣu rājanyam garbha dvādaśeṣu vaiśyam | 3. vasantaḥ grīṣmaḥ śarad iti ṛtavaḥ varṇa ānupūrvyeṇa

  1. We shall explain the Upanayana (or initiation of the student). 2. Let him initiate a Brahmana in the eighth year after the conception, 3. A Raganya in the eleventh, a Vaisya in the twelfth year after the conception. 4. Spring, summer, autumn: these are the (fit) seasons (for the Upanayana), corresponding to the order of the castes.

  Hermann Oldenberg, The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part II, Sacred Books of the East 30 (1892), p. 270–271. 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.

A modern custom

In Kerala, Vidyarambham is held on Vijayadashami; the child writes letters on a plate of rice with the help of elders. (Kerala Tourism (Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala) — Navarathri Festival)