Annaprashan (first rice feeding)
Annaprashan is the ceremony of a baby’s first solid food, usually rice, and one of the sixteen samskaras. It is traditionally held in the sixth or eighth month for boys and the fifth or seventh for girls.
Also known as: Annaprashana, Annaprasan, Annaprasana, Mukhe Bhaat, Choroonu, Rice ceremony
Annaprashan, ‘feeding of grain’, is the seventh of the sixteen samskaras. After a short puja, a parent or grandparent gives the baby a first taste of cooked rice, often as kheer. In Bengal it is called Mukhe Bhaat, and in Kerala Choroonu, often held at Guruvayur.
Many families follow the custom of even months for boys, usually the sixth or eighth, and odd months for girls, the fifth or seventh, though others simply choose a convenient time after six months. The muhurat looks for gentle, auspicious nakshatras, a good tithi and weekday, and avoids Rikta tithis, Amavasya, Bhadra and Rahu Kaal.
Today, families usually plan around their paediatrician’s advice on starting solids, then pick the best muhurat within that window.