Purpose
Chudakarana is the eighth of the sixteen samskaras. The first hair is offered with prayers for the child's health and growth. Many families do it at a tirth or temple; we can perform the rituals at home or at a tirth on your behalf.
Benefits
- Marks a joyful family milestone
- Prayers for the child's health and intellect
- Simple, child-friendly timing
- At home, at a tirth, or with a local barber present
When to perform
Odd years of age (1, 3, 5) on an auspicious muhurat; Uttarayan months are preferred.
Vidhi — step by step
- Sankalp — the family states names, gotra, place and purpose of the puja
- Ganesh Puja and Gauri-Ganesh invocation for an obstacle-free ritual
- Kalash sthapana and Punyahavachan (purification)
- Kuldevata smaran
- Mundan with mantras (first cut by the father/barber)
- Applying haldi-chandan paste to the head
- Offering the hair to a river or the earth
- Aarti with camphor and ghee lamp
- Pushpanjali, prayer for forgiveness (kshama prarthana) and distribution of prasad
Samagri (items needed) – and where to find it abroad
For online pujas we send a printable list before the day. Most items are sold at Indian grocery stores and by online Indian grocers in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia; the list marks what is essential and suggests a substitute for anything you can't find locally. For tirth pujas, our pandits arrange everything.
- Kalash (copper/brass pot) with mango leaves and coconut
- Roli, kumkum, haldi, chandan and akshat (unbroken rice)
- Fresh flowers and garlands
- Ghee lamp (diya), cotton wicks, camphor, incense
- Fruits, sweets for naivedya, betel leaves and supari
- Red and yellow cloth, sacred thread (mauli)
- Panchamrit (milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar)
- New clothes for the child
- Haldi-chandan paste
- Kusha grass
What to set up at home
- A clean, quiet corner or table facing east or north if you can, with a cloth for the altar (chowki).
- A picture or murti of Ganesha, a lamp (diya), incense and a small plate (thali) for offerings.
- The samagri from our list laid out within reach, plus a jug of water and a small bowl for achaman.
- A phone or laptop on a stand so pandit ji can see the altar, with charger plugged in and notifications muted.
- For the havan: a havan kund or a heat-proof tray in a ventilated spot, or ask for our smoke-free havan option for flats and condos with smoke alarms.
- Names, gotra and the wish (sankalp) for each family member written down, so the sankalp goes smoothly.
Duration & pandits
1 – 1.5 hours; 1 pandit(s).
Booking from abroad: time zones & what we send you
You choose a date and send a request (or message us on WhatsApp). We reply with a muhurat for your city, written in your local time and in IST, because our pandits work from India. Daylight-saving changes in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand shift the gap to India by an hour, so we recheck the time when a clock change falls near your date.
- Before the puja: the confirmed time in both zones, the dakshina, the samagri list and a short guide to setting up the altar.
- On the day: a Zoom / Google Meet / WhatsApp video link. Relatives in India or other countries can join the same call.
- Language: the mantras are in Sanskrit; pandit ji explains each step in Hindi or English.
How you'll know it was done
The puja is not done out of sight: it happens live on the video call with you. Pandit ji reads out the sankalp with your names, gotra and wish while you watch, and guides each offering you make at home. You receive the recording after the puja, and for pujas at a tirth in India we also send photos. Every muhurat is confirmed to you in writing beforehand.
Also available at a tirth in India
New to online puja? Read how online puja works · Your pandit: Pandit Shastri Gyan Nidhi Pandey · More Sanskars (life-cycle ceremonies)
Puja is a spiritual practice. We do not promise specific outcomes, and puja is never a substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
