In Hindu tradition, many ceremonies and practices are still being followed, which hails from the age-old tradition; when anyone initiates any new milestone, they start by doing a ceremony on an auspicious day. In Hinduism, there are ceremonies held to celebrate many occasions and new beginnings, such as entering a new house, new business, new vehicle, new harvest, etc.
A baby's birth brings lots of happiness, and the baby's laughter brims the household with immense joy. And very soon celebrations begin with the baby, and then customs step up into a new beginning along with a new life. One of such traditions is the Mundan ceremony which refers to a child's first ever haircut. Mundan is an abiding ritual of Hindu Tradition for which the priest considers auspicious days. They provide the day for performing the ceremony based on nakshatras and the zodiac signs under which the baby is born.
Mundan ceremony is one of 16 purification rituals known as Shodasha Samskara in Hindu tradition. According to Hindu mythology, after experiencing 84 lakh yonis, a soul gets a human body. It is believed that every yoni in the past life has its impact on human birth.
Hence, shaving off the hair is considered a gesture of purification from the previous yonis and freedom from the past.
Mundan has been performed for ages for several reasons, as some reasons are religious, while others are scientific.
So, the religious reason and importance of mundan relate it to the belief to rid the baby of past life negativity while promoting mental and spiritual development. After the mundan ceremony, the head of the baby is cleaned with holy water, and then the paste of turmeric and sandalwood is applied to heal the cuts caused during the process.
Some also believe that shaving off the head helps stimulate proper growth of the nerves and brain. Mundan also helps keep the baby's head cool during hot weather.
The scientific reason is that Vitamin D is absorbed faster and more quickly in the baby's body when bare skin is in sunlight without clothes and hair. Other than that, doctors even recommend keeping newborn babies in sunlight without clothes in the early morning.
Another reason for mundan being done is that the baby's hair is uneven; shaving the head helps even growth of hair later.
To perform mundan or not altogether depends totally upon individual perspectives as slowly many traditions have been dropped either because of deeper inquisition and seeing no such utility or wearing off of fashion. Moreover, if a practice has been followed for ages and related to auspiciousness for ages, there has to be some reason behind it.
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