Hinduism

=== Life-cycle rites of passage ===
{{Main|Saṃskāra}}
Major life stage milestones are celebrated as ''sanskara'' (''saṃskāra'', [[rites of passage]]) in Hinduism.<ref name="pandey">{{Cite book |last=Pandey |first=R |title=Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-Religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1969 |isbn=978-81-208-0434-0 |edition=2nd |location=Delhi}}</ref><ref name="knipe">{{Cite book |last=Knipe |first=David |title=Vedic Voices: Intimate Narratives of a Living Andhra Tradition |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-19-939769-3 |page=52}}</ref> The rites of passage are not mandatory, and vary in details by gender, community and regionally.<ref name="pvkanesamsk">{{Cite book |last=Kane |first=PV |title=History of Dharmasastras |publisher=Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |series=Part I |volume=II |pages=190–417 |chapter=Saṁskāra |year=1941 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n248/mode/2up}}</ref> Gautama [[Dharmasutra]]s composed in about the middle of 1st millennium BCE lists 48 sanskaras,<ref name="patrick" /> while [[Kalpa (Vedanga)|Gryhasutra]] and other texts composed centuries later list between 12 and 16 sanskaras.<ref name="pandey" /><ref name="carlolson">{{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Carl |title=The Many Colors of Hinduism: A Thematic-historical Introduction |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8135-4068-9 |pages=93–94}}</ref> The list of sanskaras in Hinduism include both external rituals such as those marking a baby's birth and a baby's name giving ceremony, as well as inner rites of resolutions and ethics such as [[Compassion#Hinduism|compassion]] towards all living beings and positive attitude.<ref name="patrick">{{Cite book |last=Olivelle |first=Patrick |title=Dharmasutras – The Law Codes of Ancient India |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-19-955537-6 |pages=90–91}}</ref>

The major traditional rites of passage in Hinduism include<ref name="pvkanesamsk" /> [[Garbhadhana]] (pregnancy), [[Pumsavana]] (rite before the fetus begins moving and kicking in womb), [[Simantonnayana]] (parting of pregnant woman's hair, baby shower), ''Jatakarman'' (rite celebrating the new born baby), ''Namakarana'' (naming the child), ''Nishkramana'' (baby's first outing from home into the world), ''Annaprashana'' (baby's first feeding of solid food), ''Chudakarana'' (baby's first haircut, tonsure), ''Karnavedha'' (ear piercing), ''Vidyarambha'' (baby's start with knowledge), [[Upanayana]] (entry into a school rite),<ref>For Vedic school, see: {{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Brian K. |year=1986 |title=Ritual, Knowledge, and Being: Initiation and Veda Study in Ancient India |journal=Numen |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=65–89 |doi=10.2307/3270127 |jstor=3270127}}</ref><ref>For music school, see: {{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Alison |title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia |publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8240-4946-1 |volume=5 |page=459 |display-authors=etal}} For sculpture, crafts and other professions, see: {{cite book|first=Heather |last=Elgood |year=2000 |title=Hinduism and the religious arts |isbn=978-0-304-70739-3 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |pages=32–134}}</ref> ''Keshanta'' and ''Ritusuddhi'' (first shave for boys, menarche for girls), [[Samavartana]] (graduation ceremony), Vivaha (wedding), ''Vratas'' (fasting, spiritual studies) and [[Antyeshti]] (cremation for an adult, burial for a child).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Siqueira |first=Thomas N. |date=March 1935 |title=The Vedic Sacraments |journal=Thought |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=598–609 |doi=10.5840/thought1935945}}</ref> In contemporary times, there is regional variation among Hindus as to which of these [[Saṃskāra|sanskaras]] are observed; in some cases, additional regional rites of passage such as ''[[Śrāddha]]'' (ritual of feeding people after cremation) are practised.<ref name="pvkanesamsk" />{{sfn|Heitzman|Worden|1996|pp=146–148}}