Item 1
Kumkum, turmeric, sandal paste, akshata and loose flowers
The archana set for the Ganapathi Pooja and the punyahavachanam; turmeric and kumkum mark the cradle and the child's forehead.
🎁 For Namakaranam
Namakaranam Kit — the Namakaran Puja Samagri List
The namakaran puja samagri list for the naming ceremony on the eleventh, twelfth or twenty-first day, in one box: the cradle decoration, the honey and gold for the child's first taste, the rice tray the name is written in, and the new cloth. Each item is annotated below with its use in the Namakaranam.
About this kit
What the Namakaranam Kit is for
Namakaranam is the samskara at which the child is named — the father whispers the name in the right ear, the name is written in a tray of rice, and the child is placed in a decorated cradle for the first time. The pooja before it is a short Ganapathi Pooja and a punyahavachanam to purify the house after the birth. Its samagri is therefore small but particular: honey with a gold piece for the first taste, rice for the naming plate, the new cloth the child wears, and the cradle's flowers.
The kit carries the honey and the gold piece, the naming rice, the new cloth, the archana set, camphor, agarbatti and wicks, and supplies the cradle flowers and the tamboolam fresh against the date. The cradle, the child's ornaments and the sweets are the family's own. The naming date and the letter the name should start with are muhurtham questions; the Naming Ceremony Muhurtham page is the place to ask.
What is in the box
Contents — 7 items, and what each is for
Item 2
Cradle decoration and flowers
Flower strings and a garland for the cradle in which the child is laid for the first time, supplied fresh.
Item 3
Honey and a gold piece for the naming
A small vessel of honey and a gold ring or coin: the father touches the honey to the child's tongue with the gold as the name is given.
Item 4
Rice for the naming plate
Rice spread in a tray on which the child's name is written with the gold piece or the father's finger, in the family's script.
Item 5
New cloth for the child
The new dress the child is changed into before being named and placed in the cradle.
Item 6
Betel leaves, areca nuts and coins
Tamboolam for the purohit and for the women who attend, with the coins for the dakshina.
Item 7
Camphor, agarbatti and cotton wicks
Lamps, dhoopam and the harathi for the child at the end.
Samagri requirements vary with regional tradition, family custom and the performing priest. This list is what the kit is normally assembled with — confirm the final contents with your purohit before dispatch. Fresh items are supplied against your ceremony date.
Through the ceremony
How the samagri is used in Namakaranam
Punyahavachanam
The house is purified with kalasam water and the mantras of the punyahavachanam; the cradle is decorated with the flowers from the kit.
Sankalpam and Ganapathi Pooja
The parents state the sankalpam for the naming with their gotram; Ganapathi is worshipped with turmeric, akshata and flowers.
Dressing the child
The child is bathed, dressed in the new cloth from the kit, marked with turmeric and kumkum, and placed in the mother's lap facing east.
The naming
The father whispers the chosen name into the child's right ear three times, touches honey to the tongue with the gold piece, and writes the name in the rice tray.
The cradle
The child is placed in the decorated cradle for the first time while the women sing the cradle songs, and the elders bless the child with akshata.
Harathi and tamboolam
Harathi is offered to the child, tamboolam and dakshina go to the purohit, and sweets are shared with everyone present.
Not in the box
What the house provides
- The cradle itself, and the child's ornaments and the black-thread bangle if the family keeps it
- A tray for the naming rice
- A kalasam and water for the punyahavachanam
- The sweets and the meal for the guests
- Gifts for the child from the family, if given at the ceremony
- Plates, a bell and the harathi plate
Common questions
Before you book
What is on the namakaran puja samagri list?
The archana powders and flowers; cradle decoration and flowers; honey and a gold piece; rice for the naming plate; a new cloth for the child; betel leaves, areca nuts and coins; camphor, agarbatti and cotton wicks. The cradle, a tray, a kalasam and the sweets are the family's own.
On which day is Namakaranam performed?
The eleventh, twelfth or twenty-first day after the birth by tradition, or a later muhurtham fixed for the child's nakshatra. The first letter of the name is chosen from the birth nakshatra; the Naming Ceremony Muhurtham and Nakshatra-based Names pages cover both.
Why honey and gold?
The first taste of honey given with a gold piece is the traditional wish for a sweet and prosperous life, and gold on the tongue is held to be auspicious — the same act as at the jatakarma soon after birth.
Does the kit include the cradle?
No — the cradle is the family's, often a gift from the maternal grandparents. The kit carries the flowers and strings that decorate it, supplied fresh.
Can Namakaranam be combined with Annaprasana?
They are separate samskaras — Annaprasana, the first solid food, comes in the sixth month — but families who missed the naming date sometimes do both together. Tell us if so and the kit can carry the Annaprasana items.
How do I order?
Tell us the ceremony date when you enquire. We confirm availability, the final contents and the price before anything is charged; fresh items are supplied against the date.
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Ordering the Namakaranam Kit?
Send us the ceremony date and we will confirm availability, the final contents and the price before anything is charged.