What is vidyarambha, a child's first letters?

Arthashastra (Kautilya)

Kautilya's book on statecraft sets out a prince's schooling in order. After the ceremony of the first haircut, the child learns the letters and arithmetic. Only after the sacred thread (upanayana) does he go on to the Vedas and the other sciences, each under its own teachers. This is one of the oldest places where the first letters are tied to the first haircut.

Sources for this reading

• Arthashastra 1.5, in R. Shamasastry (tr.), Kautilya's Arthasastra, with an introductory note by J. F. Fleet (Bangalore: Government Press, 1915), chapter 5, “Association with the Aged”: “Having undergone the ceremony of tonsure, the student shall learn the alphabet (lipi) and arithmetic. After investiture with sacred thread, he shall study the triple Vedas …”. The archive.org item is dated 1915 and carries Fleet's note in its contents; its title leaf is not in the scan. Shamasastry died 1944 and Fleet 1917: public domain under the launch rule. Checked on the page image (the 1967 eighth edition on archive.org, dli.ernet.30500, is not used). (p. 10 (leaf n38))

Family custom in Kerala

A 1906 record from Travancore describes vidyarambham among Nambudiri Brahmins in the boy's fifth year, usually on Vijayadashami, though other auspicious days are also chosen. Ganesha is worshipped first and gifts are given to Brahmins. The father takes the boy on his knees, writes with a piece of gold, usually a ring, and whispers the sacred word into his ears. The letters written on the boy's tongue are Hari Sri Ganapataye Namah, a salutation to Vishnu, Lakshmi and Ganesha. Then the father moves the child's ring finger to draw the letters of the alphabet in rice spread on the floor. This is done before Sarasvati, who has been worshipped for the nine days of Navaratri. Among Nayar families the record places vidyarambham in the third or fifth year.

Sources for this reading

• The Travancore State Manual, by V. Nagam Aiya, vol. II (Trivandrum: Travancore Government Press, 1906) (Nambudiris, “Vidyarambham”, p. 256 (leaf n295); Nayars, “Ceremonies”, p. 352 (leaf n395); both checked on the page images. The page prints that the father writes with the gold “on his temple”, and later that the letters are written “on the tongue”; the summary gives both without the place of the first.)

Family custom in Maharashtra

A 1916 account of festivals in the Bombay Presidency says that Dasara, Vijayadashami, is held a very auspicious day to begin a boy's education. Books, manuscripts and family papers are worshipped as Sarasvati, who presides over learning. The priest then starts boys of four or five on their letters: he draws a sign of the goddess on a slate and shows them the alphabet of their own language. He receives his fee and a set of clothes, and a family meal follows.

Sources for this reading

• Hindu Holidays and Ceremonials, with dissertations on origin, folklore and symbols, by B. A. Gupte (Calcutta: Thacker, Spink, 1916) (“Dasara”, p. 183 (leaf n238), checked on the page image; also the entry “Akshara-rambh”, the ceremony of setting a child to learn the alphabet (p. 5, read in the OCR))

Family custom in Gujarat

A record of Gujarati Brahmin families from 1920 marks the child's first day at school. Among Nagar Brahmins the parents give the boy a small silver slate covered with red powder and a small gold pen. The family priest writes Shri, the name of Lakshmi, on the slate, and the child says it three times. The older rule asks the priest to write salutations to Ganesha, to the Siddhas and to Sarasvati, and the child to write over them. The boy then gives the slate and a coconut to his teacher.

Sources for this reading

• Margaret Stevenson (Mrs Sinclair Stevenson), The Rites of the Twice-Born (London: Oxford University Press, 1920), chapter 1, “Birth and babyhood”: the first day at school; among Nagar Brahmins, a tiny silver slate covered with red powder and a small gold pen; the family priest writes Sri (Lakshmi) on the slate and the child says it three times; by the scriptures the priest should write salutations to Ganesha, to Siddha and to Sarasvati; the slate, pencil and a coconut given to the teacher. Stevenson died in 1957 (Library of Congress name authority n86817364): the book is public domain in the US and India, but in copyright in the UK, the EU and Australia until December 31, 2027. Cited only: facts restated in our own words, nothing quoted; the author's own judgements and the inauspicious-year belief she reports are not repeated. Checked on the page image. (p. 25 (leaf n52))

Family custom in Mysore (Kannada country)

A 1928 account of Brahman families in the Mysore State, in the Kannada country, calls the rite aksharabhyasa, "the teaching of the alphabet". It is done when the boy is five, usually on Vijayadashami, the last day of Dasara. The books of the house, set together two days before to stand for the goddess of learning, are worshipped. Rice is spread on a broad plate, and the priest writes in it "Om Namo Narayanaya", a salutation to Narayana (Vishnu), sometimes followed by "Iti Siddham". The father repeats the words after the priest, and the boy after the father. Then the father writes the letters of the alphabet in order with the boy's forefinger. The boy bows to the goddess, the priest, his parents and the elders. The account adds that "Om Nama" had come to mean the ABC, the first steps of anything.

Sources for this reading

• H. V. Nanjundayya and L. K. Ananthakrishna Iyer, The Mysore Tribes and Castes, vol. II (Mysore, 1928), “Brahman”: “Aksharābhyāsa, or the teaching of the alphabet is done when the boy is five years old, generally on the Vijayadaśami day of the Dasarā”; the books of the house worshipped as the goddess of learning; “Om Namo Nārayanāya” written in rice, sometimes followed by “Iti Siddham”; the alphabet written with the boy's forefinger by the father. The authors died in 1920 and 1937: public domain. Summarised in our words. (p. 385 (leaf n479), checked on the page image)

Family custom in the Telugu country

Telugu-speaking families call the rite aksharabhyasam. A Telugu dictionary printed in 1862 gives the word aksharabhyasamu and explains it as beginning to learn the first principles of a language. A photograph printed in 1917 shows the state elephant of the Rajah of Pithapuram, in the Telugu-speaking Godavari country, dressed for an Aksharabhyasam. A Telugu grammar of 1857 says that the alphabet itself is called onamalu, a name taken from the words "Om namah Sivaya, siddham namah". These words begin with a salutation to Shiva. A study printed in 1922 says that Telugu people put these words at the head of their alphabet. None of the records from before 1931 that we found describes the steps of the Telugu rite.

Sources for this reading

• Telugu-English Dictionary, with the Telugu words printed in the Roman as well as in the Telugu character, by the Rev. P. Percival (Madras: Public Instruction Press, 1862) (p. 38, first column (leaf n49), checked on the page image: aksharabhyasamu, 'Beginning to learn the first principles of a language')
• The Illustrated London News, June 16, 1917, p. 722, photograph caption "A Sunbeam in the East: a State elephant at the salute": the elephant, in the courtyard of the Rajah of Pittapur (Pithapuram), is in State array for the occasion of the Aksharabhyasam. Unsigned caption: cited only, nothing else used. Checked on the page image. (p. 722 (leaf n29))
• A Grammar of the Telugu Language, by Charles Philip Brown, second edition (Madras: Christian Knowledge Society's Press, 1857) (p. 15, footnote (leaf n52), checked on the page image: the alphabet is called onamalu from the words 'Om namah Sivaya siddham namah')
• Studies in South Indian Jainism, Part II: Andhra Karnata Jainism, by B. Seshagiri Rao (Part I by M. S. Ramaswami Ayyangar) (Madras, 1922) (Part II, p. 64 (leaf n273), checked on the page image: Telugu people put the formula 'Om Namah Sivaya Siddham Namah' at the head of their alphabet (varna mala))

Sources

• The Travancore State Manual, by V. Nagam Aiya, vol. II (Trivandrum: Travancore Government Press, 1906) (p. 256 (leaf n295): Vidyarambham in the fifth year, usually on Vijaya Dasami, before Sarasvati)
• The Illustrated London News, June 16, 1917, p. 722, "The Chronicle of the Car", photograph caption "A Sunbeam in the East: a State elephant at the salute": "... in the courtyard of the Rajah of Pittapur. The elephant is in State array for the occasion of the Aksharabhyasam." Pittapur is Pithapuram, in the Telugu-speaking Godavari country (today Andhra Pradesh). The record shows the Telugu name of the rite in use before 1931; it does not describe the rite, so the page uses it only for the name. Unsigned caption: cited only, nothing else used. Checked on the page image. (p. 722 (leaf n29))
• Hindu Holidays and Ceremonials, with dissertations on origin, folklore and symbols, by B. A. Gupte (Calcutta: Thacker, Spink, 1916) (p. 183 (leaf n238): Dasara as the day to begin a boy's education; boys of four or five)

Samskaras and family rites

Muhurat rules for this rite, and windows for your city. Every date is computed by our calendar, with its rule and source named. The family priest’s choice comes first.

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