Page:The Heart of Jainism (IA heartofjainism00stevuoft).djvu/221



importance of being born a man is early emphasized in Jainism; for the moment a child is born, if it be a boy, a brass tray is beaten by the proud father or other relatives in order to announce the happy event, and also, they say, to get the child used to noise from the first and to ensure that it shall never be frightened.

Whether the child be a girl or a boy, the exact moment of its birth is noted, that the astrologer may later on be able to draw its horoscope, on which its future marriage will depend.

The baby is then bathed in water and its little mouth is washed with wool dipped in a mixture of sugar-cane water and melted butter.

If the child be the first-born son of the household, the parents send presents of such things as sugar, sweets and fruits to their friends, but of course no such extravagance is indulged in if it be a girl.

When the little mite is five days old, its friends bind white threads round its neck, its hands and its feet for luck, and send presents of cooked sweetmeats to their friends.

The Jaina believe that a boy's whole future is decided the night that he is six days old, and on that night Mother Chaṭṭhī is worshipped. A little stool in the sleeping-room is covered with a piece of white cloth, and on it are placed a white sheet of paper and a white pen, a lamp of melted butter is lighted, and then some relative takes the baby on her lap, covers its head, and worships both the stool and its contents before the family retire to rest. When all is quiet they believe that Chaṭṭhī or Vidartha will come and write secretly on the paper a description of the sort of fortune that will meet the