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Hindu Life Guide
Every life event and practice on its own page — what it means, how it is usually done, how to keep it safe and how Aaradhya can help.
Jump to: About Hinduism · Sacred texts · Pregnancy, birth & childhood · Education & coming of age · Engagement & marriage · The four ashramas · Daily worship & practice · Home, festivals & milestones · Death & ancestor remembrance · Planning a ceremony
About Hinduism
Origins, core ideas, deities and how Hindus worship.
Hinduism — Sanātana Dharma
An introduction to one of the world’s oldest living religious traditions.
Read →Dharma, karma, samsara and moksha
Four ideas at the heart of Hindu thought.
Read →Major Hindu deities
Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi and the deities families pray to.
Read →How Hindus worship
Prayer, meditation, temple visits, offerings, chanting, yoga and rituals.
Read →Sacred texts
The Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, epics and Puranas.
The Vedas
The oldest Hindu scriptures — sacred hymns, rituals and teachings.
Read →The Upanishads
Philosophical explorations of the self and ultimate reality.
Read →The Bhagavad Gita
A dialogue on duty, action, devotion, knowledge and liberation.
Read →The Ramayana
The story of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Hanuman and the struggle against Ravana.
Read →The Mahabharata
An epic of family conflict, duty and the Kurukshetra war — containing the Bhagavad Gita.
Read →The Puranas
Stories of deities, cosmology, sacred places and religious traditions.
Read →Pregnancy, birth & childhood
Samskaras from prenatal blessings to first learning.
The 16 samskaras
The traditional rites of passage across a Hindu life.
Read →Garbhadhana — conception-related prayer
A couple’s prayer as they hope to begin a family.
Read →Pumsavana — prenatal blessing
Prayers for the mother’s health and the developing child.
Read →Simantonnayana & regional baby showers
Godh Bharai, Seemantham, Valaikappu and Shaad — celebrating the mother-to-be.
Read →Jatakarma — birth blessing
Welcoming the newborn with prayers of gratitude.
Read →Namkaran — naming ceremony
Formally welcoming the child’s name into the family.
Read →Nishkramana — first outing
Marking the baby’s first formal outing.
Read →Annaprashan — first solid food
Celebrating the child’s first taste of solid food.
Read →Mundan / Chudakarana — first haircut
A traditional early-childhood milestone.
Read →Karnavedha — ear piercing
A traditional ear-piercing rite.
Read →Education & coming of age
Learning, initiation and coming-of-age ceremonies.
Vidyarambha / Aksharabhyasa — beginning learning
Celebrating a child’s first letters.
Read →Upanayana — sacred-thread initiation
Initiation into formal religious learning, in traditions that observe it.
Read →Vedarambha — beginning Vedic study
The start of Vedic recitation under a teacher.
Read →Keshanta — traditional adolescent rite
An older rite marking a transition in student life.
Read →Samavartana — completion of study
Honouring the end of formal study and the teacher who guided it.
Read →First menstruation & coming-of-age ceremonies
Celebrating a young woman’s coming of age with dignity.
Read →Engagement & marriage
From engagement to Vidaai — blessings and departure.
Hindu marriage — Vivaha / Shaadi
Among the most important Hindu samskaras, from engagement to Vidaai.
Read →Engagement — Sagai / Roka / Nishchitartham
Families formally agree to the marriage.
Read →Pre-wedding ceremonies — Haldi & Mehndi
Turmeric and henna ceremonies before the wedding.
Read →Wedding rituals — Baraat, Varmala & the wedding puja
The arrival, the exchange of garlands and the main ceremony.
Read →Agni and Saptapadi — the seven steps
The heart of the Hindu wedding: vows before the sacred fire.
Read →Vidaai — blessings and departure
The emotional farewell as the bride leaves for her new home.
Read →Griha Pravesh after marriage
Welcoming the new couple into their home.
Read →The four ashramas
The traditional stages of life.
The four ashramas
The traditional stages of life in Hindu thought.
Read →Brahmacharya — student life
A life of learning, discipline and self-control.
Read →Grihastha — household life
Marriage, family, work and support for society.
Read →Vanaprastha — gradual withdrawal
Handing on responsibilities and turning towards spiritual life.
Read →Sannyasa — renunciation
Renouncing worldly life in pursuit of moksha.
Read →Daily worship & practice
Puja, aarti, mantra, japa, yoga, vrat, yatra and dana.
Puja — worship at home and temple
A step-by-step simple home puja.
Read →Aarti
Waving a lamp before the deity with song.
Read →Mantra
Sacred sounds, words and verses for prayer and meditation.
Read →Japa
Repeating a mantra or divine name, often with a mala.
Read →Yoga and meditation (dhyana)
Disciplines for body, breath and mind.
Read →Vrat — fasting and vows
Observances such as Ekadashi, Navaratri and Karwa Chauth.
Read →Yatra — pilgrimage
Journeys to tirthas such as Char Dham, Kashi and the Jyotirlingas.
Read →Dana — charity
Giving food, help or money as an act of dharma.
Read →Home, festivals & milestones
Griha Pravesh, festivals, birthdays and new beginnings.
Death & ancestor remembrance
Antyeshti, mourning, Shraddha, Pind Daan and Tarpan.
Planning a ceremony
How a ceremony is organised and what to ask a priest.