Annaprasana (Week 25-Week 28) Annaprasanna Samskar is a ritual that marks an infant’s first intake of food other than milk. The ceremony is usually arranged in consultation with a priest, who suggests an auspicious date on which to conduct the ceremony. The ceremony is usually carried out when the child is about 6 – 7 months of age. The mother or grandmother will prepare a small bowl of payesh (boiled rice, milk & sugar) which is blessed in a brief pooja. The child will generally be held in the mother's lap, and a senior male family member (grandfather or uncle) will feed it a small spoonful of the payesh. Other members of the family then take turns to give the child a taste. The feeding ceremony is often followed with a game, in which the child is presented with a tray containing a number of objects. These will include a bangle or jewel (symbolizing wealth), a book (symbolizing learning), a pen (symbolizing career) and a clay pot or container of earth/soil (sym...
