Simantonnayana (literally: parting the hair) is the third of the 16 saṃskāra

Samskara

Samskara may refer to:* Saṃskāra, Hindu rites* Saṃskāra , in Buddhism, mental and volitional formations* Samskara , a technique in ayurvedic medicine...

s (sacrament

Sacrament

A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...

s) practiced by the Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

s in which hairs of a pregnant woman are ceremoniously parted. According to the Grhya Sutras, the proper time to perform this saṃskāra is the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy but according to the smrtis and the astrological works, the period can be extended up to the eighth month or even birth of the child. The authorities are not unanimous whether this saṃskāra should be performed at each pregnancy or it should be performed only during the first conception. According to Ashvalayana, Baudhayana

Baudhayana

Baudhāyana, was an Indian mathematician, whowas most likely also a priest. He is noted as the author of the earliest Sulba Sūtra—appendices to the Vedas giving rules for the construction of altars—called the , which contained several important mathematical results. He is older than the other...

, Apastamba

Apastamba

The Dharmasutra of Āpastamba forms a part of the larger Kalpasūtra of Āpastamba. It contains thirty praśnas, which literally means ‘questions’ or books. The subjects of this Dharmasūtra are well organized and preserved in good condition...

, Paraskara, Harita

Harita

Harit/Harita was an ancient and great prince of the Suryavansha dynasty, best known because he is the ancestor of the Brahmin lineage, Harita gotra....

 and Devala

Devala

In Hinduism, Devala was one of the great rishis or sages. He is acknowledged to be a great authority like Narada and Vyasa and is mentioned by Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita....

 it should be performed only once. But other authorities think that it should performed during every pregnancy.

Ceremony

According to the Paraskara Gryha Sutra, at the beginning of the ceremony, the pregnant wife seats on a soft chair and with caressing attention, the husband himself parts her hairs upwards from the forehead three times, first with a bunch containing an even number of unripe udumbara (Ficus racemosa) fruits and three bunches of darbha grass, next with a porcupines quill having three white spots and finally with a stick of the Viratara wood and a full spindle, chanting each time three Mahavyahrtis (great mystical mantra

Mantra

A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...

s), Bhur, Bhuvah and Svah. But according to Baudhayana different two verses are chanted.

According to Paraskara (I.15.6), after the partition of the hair, the husband ties the udumbara branch round her neck with a string of three twisted threads with the words, "Ayaṃūrjjāvato vrikṣaḥ urjjīva phalinī bhava" (Rich in sap is this tree; like the tree rich in sap, you be fruitful). But according to Baudhayana barley-sprouts instead of udumbara branch are used.