The Second Birth

Upanayana is the initiation that admits a boy to the study of the Veda, traditionally reserved to the upper social classes and, in the old phrase, making him twice-born, the sacred birth that qualifies him for Vedic learning. Its central act is the investiture with the sacred thread (yajnopavita), a cord worn over the left shoulder that thereafter marks the initiate, and the entrusting to him of the Gayatri, the sacred verse he is taught to recite, along with his acceptance as a student by a teacher (guru) under whom he undertakes a period of study and discipline (brahmacharya).

Described in detail in the classical ritual texts as among the most important of the samskaras, it functioned historically as the gateway to religious learning and full ritual standing. It continues to be performed, especially among Brahmin families, though often in abbreviated form and detached from the extended residence with a teacher that once followed it; the wearing of the sacred thread remains its lasting mark.