Mundan sanskar is one of the sixteen sanskaras in a child’s life. This ceremony of shaving off a baby’s first hair after birth is often performed at the first or third odd-numbered year of age. The belief is that the hair a child is born with carries impressions from the womb and past life, and shaving it off signifies a fresh start, both physically and symbolically.
The age and year tradition
Mundan is commonly done on completing the first, third, or fifth year. Some families choose the seventh year based on family tradition or kul-riti. Even-numbered years (second, fourth) are generally avoided.
Why odd years specifically? The traditional reasoning ties back to the concept of growth cycles and the association of odd numbers with auspiciousness in Vedic tradition. Practically, most families opt for the first or third year. First-year mundans are popular because the child is still small enough to be held comfortably during the shaving. By the third year, some children are more resistant to sitting still, which makes the ceremony more of an adventure.
Regional variations exist too. In South India, the mundan (called “chudakarana”) is sometimes performed during the child’s first visit to a temple, like Tirupati. Many families from Andhra and Tamil Nadu combine the mundan with a temple visit, offering the hair at the temple itself. In Bihar and UP, it’s common to do the mundan at a family’s kul-devta temple or at a riverside ghat.
Which months and tithis are considered favorable
Chaitra, Vaishakh, Jyeshtha, Ashadha, and Magh months are considered auspicious for Mundan. Dwitiya, Tritiya, Panchami, Saptami, and Dashami tithis in Shukla Paksha get priority. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday are considered favorable days.
Months to avoid: Bhadrapada and Ashwin are generally considered less favorable. The monsoon months (Shravan, Bhadrapada) are often avoided for practical reasons too, the child’s scalp is more prone to infection in humid weather.
A common real-life scenario: the family wants to do the mundan during a specific relative’s visit from abroad, but that visit falls in a month or on a day that isn’t traditionally ideal. Most pandit-ji will work to find the best available date within that window. A Panchami tithi on a Saturday in Jyeshtha month isn’t perfect (Saturday isn’t in the preferred days list), but it’s workable if the tithi and nakshatra are strong. Flexibility within the framework is the norm, not the exception.
What happens during the ceremony
The child is seated on the father’s or maternal uncle’s (mama’s) lap. A barber performs the shaving, usually starting from the right side. Before the first cut, the pandit recites mantras and applies a paste of haldi and water to the scalp. After the head is shaved, the scalp is washed with water and haldi paste is applied again as an antiseptic.
The shaved hair is typically collected and disposed of in a sacred river, buried under a peepal tree, or offered at a temple. Some families immerse it in flowing water during the ceremony itself.
Check your date’s day-of timing
Once a month and tithi are fixed, Rahu Kaal and Abhijit Muhurat fall at different times within that same day. Select your city on the muhurat page to see that day’s Rahu Kaal and Abhijit Muhurat, and keep the ceremony within a good choghadiya window with Rahu Kaal avoided.
The final call is the family’s
If the child has a skin condition, is recovering from illness, or is simply not in the mood, postpone. No muhurat is more important than the child’s comfort and health. The best mundan is one where the baby is calm and the family is happy.