Annaprashana is the ceremony in which a baby is first given solid food, usually a little sweet rice, in the presence of the family. In Bengal it is the mukhe bhat, in the south the choroonu, and in many homes it is simply the day the baby is fed kheer for the first time while relatives look on. It is one of the sixteen samskaras, and one of the most cheerful.
When in the first year
The tradition links the ceremony to the child’s age and not to the sky. By common custom a boy is given his first rice in the sixth, eighth, tenth or twelfth month, and a girl in the fifth, seventh, ninth or eleventh. Modern families often follow the paediatrician’s advice on when to start solid food and then pick the nearest good day, and there is no conflict in that: the ceremony is a blessing on a step the child is ready for. This page does not choose the month for you. It lists the days on which the classical rules are met, and you choose among them.
If you have questions about when or what to feed a baby, please ask your child’s doctor. The ceremony is a tradition, and nothing on this page is advice about feeding.
What the Samskara prakarana asks for
The Muhurta Chintamani collects the rules for the sacraments of childhood in its Samskara prakarana. For annaprashana the conditions are these.
Nakshatra. The fixed ones, Rohini and the three Uttaras; the movable ones, Punarvasu, Swati, Shravana, Dhanishta and Shatabhisha; the gentle ones, Mrigashira, Chitra, Anuradha and Revati; and the quick ones, Ashwini, Pushya and Hasta. That is sixteen of the twenty-seven.
Weekday. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
Tithi. Here the list is narrower than for naming, and it distinguishes the two fortnights. In the bright fortnight, the tithis Dwitiya, Tritiya, Panchami, Saptami, Dashami, Trayodashi and Purnima are accepted. In the dark fortnight, Dwitiya, Tritiya, Panchami, Saptami, Dashami and Trayodashi are. Ekadashi, which is a fasting day for many families, is not on the list, which is practical as well as traditional, since a feast and a fast are best kept apart.
The sky. The Vishti karana and the two yogas Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are avoided. The leaped month is excluded. Venus and Jupiter asta and Chaturmas are not counted against annaprashana, as the text does not ask for them.
The tradition also prefers the bright fortnight and the forenoon, and a child’s own astrology may refine the choice. Those are preferences, so the table lists both fortnights and leaves the choice to you.
How the list compares with the others
Annaprashana sits between naming and mundan in strictness. It asks for the same sixteen nakshatras as a naming, but a shorter list of tithis, and unlike mundan it is not tied to the northward months. The table therefore has days in every season, with gaps only where the weekday, tithi and nakshatra do not meet. If you are comparing it with the naming ceremony list or the mundan list, that is the reason for the difference in length.
Reading a row
A row is a day that meets all the conditions for part of its length. The time window is when the nakshatra, tithi, yoga and karana agree. Because the ceremony is usually held in the morning, the window matters less than the day, though the forenoon is the traditional time. A window that begins after midnight belongs to the previous day, because a panchang day runs from sunrise to sunrise.
What the table cannot check is the child’s own chart: tarabala for the child’s birth star, chandrabala for the Moon, and the lagna for the hour. The family astrologer will also keep in mind your family’s practice, which varies widely. Some households hold the ceremony in a temple, others at home with a small havan, and some do it with no priest at all.
For another city, and further reading
The days depend on the place, since sunrise and the times at which tithis and nakshatras change move with it. The table is for New Delhi. The muhurat finder works out the same method for any town. The ceremony and its customs are described on the annaprashana page of the samskara series, and the muhurat hub lists the other events.
Planning the day
A baby’s first rice is a gentle ceremony and does not need a long programme. Choose a listed day when the baby is well and the family can gather, and keep the food simple and freshly made, as your doctor advises. Many families place a few objects before an older baby, such as a book, a coin and a pen, and watch which the child reaches for, a game that belongs to custom and not to the text. Photographs, a small feast and blessings from the elders complete the day. If the baby is unwell on the day, postponing to the next listed day is always acceptable.