🪷 अन्नप्राशन · anna-prāśana
Saṁskāra #7 of 16 · The first solid-food feeding · stage: infancy
🪷 Annaprāśana · Krishna's first solid food
Krishna's annaprāśana was performed by Yaśodā at 6 months · feeding him sweetened cow-milk + a grain of rice · Bhāgavata 10.5 describes this as the moment the cosmic-Krishna chose to taste annaṁ for the first time as an infant · the food becoming Krishna's vibhūti (BG 15.14 ahaṁ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇinām dehaṁ āśritaḥ).
— BG 15.14 · "ahaṁ vaiśvānaro" — I am the digestive fire in all bodies
Dharmic Purpose
To consecrate the child's first solid food · to invoke Annapati (Lord of Food, often identified with Viṣṇu) · to recognize that food is Brahman (annam brahma) · to begin the lifelong relationship between the child and dharmic nutrition.
Canonical Timing
6th month after birth (or when teeth begin to emerge) · auspicious tithi and nakshatra
Source-Text Citations
- Manu Smṛti II.34 — "ṣaṣṭhe 'nna-prāśanaṁ māsi"
- Pāraskara Gṛhya-Sūtra I.19
anna-prāśana Source-Anchor Spine
This saṁskāra is route-linked to its lifecycle index, muhūrta doorway, paramparā boundary, exact Krishna-līlā or Bhagavad-Gītā anchors where available, and the Bindu/Philosophy constitutional pages. Manu-Smṛti and Gṛhya-Sūtra citations remain as text because they are not yet first-class local corpus routes.
Ritual Essence
Father feeds the child a small portion of cooked rice mixed with ghee (and sometimes honey) using a golden or silver spoon · while reciting Annapati-mantra · the food is first offered to Krishna, then to the child as prasāda.
Modern Adaptation
Family gathers · rice-payasam or kheer is offered to deity first · then fed to baby with mantra · the rice is from a freshly-cooked offering, never reheated food.
Jyotiṣa Considerations
Prefer Aśvinī, Rohiṇī, Mr̥gaśirā, Puṣya, Hasta, Anurādhā, Mūla, Śravaṇa, Revatī · avoid Saturday
🪷 A muhūrta-finder is available for this saṁskāra.
🪷 ॐ श्री गणेशाय नमः · श्री गुरवे नमः 🪷
📚 See Also
- anna-prāśana Muhūrta-Finder · Find auspicious dates for this rite
- All 16 Saṁskāras · index · Garbhādhāna through Antyeṣṭi · the full lifecycle
- Saṁskāra Muhūrta Finder · Pick auspicious dates for any of the 16 rites
- Paramparā · Vyāsa-Nārada lineage · The chain transmitting Manu-Smṛti through generations
- Birth-Chart Calculator · See if YOUR Lagna supports performing this rite
📖 References
- Manu Smṛti II.34 — "ṣaṣṭhe 'nna-prāśanaṁ māsi" — Manu Smṛti — the foundational source for the 16-saṁskāra enumeration
- Pāraskara Gṛhya-Sūtra I.19 — Gṛhya-Sūtra — the household-ritual treatise specifying mantra + procedure
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa · saṁskāra-context in various skandhas — Krishna-līlā models the saṁskāras (Krishna's own nāmakaraṇa · cūḍākarma · etc.)