My lil one’s Annaprashan was held at Kochu Guruvayur Temple, Matunga on 13th of January 2013 when she entered her sixth month.
Annaprasham is also known as choroon,annaprashana vidhi, annaprasan or Anna-prasanam, among Hindus ; a rite of passage ritual where in a new born is offered Annam (rice) ,for the first time in his/her life other than breastmilk.
As per the Kerala tradition/ ritual, the infant is dressed in a ‘ kasavu mundu ‘ (cream coloured dhoti with golden jari/border) , made to sit in the lap of his/her father/ maternal uncle and offered various offerings like chandanam( Sandal paste), tulsi leaves,flowers etc by the priest of the temple. Her/ his name is whispered to the baby thrice ,offered a bit of rice preferably brown rice , salt, a sweet porridge made of jaggery, ghee and rice known as payasam, and banana thrice so that the baby could taste it. Then the mother is asked to give the same to the baby followed by relatives/cousins.
My baby just loved this whole thing as she was exclusively breastfed till 6 months,even water was not given to her ! So this whole concotion of sweet and salt felt sooo good for her. She smacked her lips over and over again and started opening her mouth for more which was sooooo cute to watch 🙂
In certain parts of Kerala like Calicut, there is a ritual in which the child is offered an array of different things and made to choose anything that he/she likes to hold/play with. These will include a bangle or jewel (symbolising wealth), a book (symbolising learning), a pen (symbolising career) and a clay pot or container of earth/soil (symbolising property). The child’s future direction and prospects in life are indicated by the object which it prefers to touch/hold.
How about the ceremony of your child ? Share with us 🙂
17 Comments
Hi. My baby’s choroonu is fixed on 13 th of this month. My doubt is whether mother can perform this ritual instead of father or uncle.. His father and uncle both are working abroad and are not able to come.
In guruvayurappan temple choroonu function, after the food feeded to the baby, whether parents can eat the remaining food
Do they all us to take photo , are the temple has there photographer.
Janani, there are no photographers at Matunga temple, though I guess there will be at Guruvayur temple.
Hi, my baby completing 180 days on coming may 1st, but I have one doubt that’s in Tamil calendar chitirai (katiri) starts, that time we are not doing any function. I dont know the kerala term and conditions. Is that correct time to feed food for my baby
Hello Sangeetha,
My nieces (twin girls) are having their Annaprashan in a few weeks. I have not attended an Annaprashan before, would you be willing to share what kind of gift is appropriate for such an event.
Thank you!!!
Monica, so sorry for the delay in replying. How about a new dress that too ethnic ones or a silver feeding set for both.
hai sangeetha,
i want to clear one doubt.my daughter was born on 28/03/2015 (meenam 14). when will be her chorunnu should be conducted?
Neethu, add exactly 180 days to her DOB, that would be her choroon date.
From what I’ve seen being followed, normally Choroon can be performed upon completion of the baby’s 5 th month and before end of 6th month.in this case the months are calculated as per Malayalam calendar.
Look into the calendar and find out the Malayalam month corresponding to the birth star(nakshatram) and date of birth. Then the birth nakshatram of next Malayalam month means ur baby has completed on the and so on. This way Choroon can be done after completion of 5th month and before end of 6th month.
Note: In some cases the nakshatram may occur twice within the same Malayalam month.in such cases only the first occurrence is taken as it’s normally the first occurance which is chosen for auspicious occasions.normally the 2nd occurance is taken for in-auspicious things
I have an dought. For male baby boy after how many months choroon will be give.
Binesh,
I don’t know if there is a different method/month for boys. You can add 180 days to his date of birth and that’s the proper annaprashan date for your son.
Hi Sangeetha Menon,
should we prepare food for the baby or temple people give the food for first feeding…
Sadhana,
The temple authorities provide everything 🙂
Hi, my baby girl was born on 20-01-2014. We are confused about the choroon date. Not sure whether we need to do it when she on her 5th-6th month or 6th-7th month. Any suggestion will be highly appreciated. if possible, suggest a date as per her date of birth. regards;
krishnakanth S
Hi Krishnakanth,
Please calculate 180 days from the date of birth. That would be the ideal choroon date for her.
Thank you so much