Note 87 — B (continued 3)

The wearing of the sacred thread is a sign that the boy has gone through the upanayanam ceremony. It is noted87 by the Rev. A. Margöschis that “the son of Brāhman parents is not reckoned to be a Brāhman (i.e., he may not take part in religious ceremonies) until he has gone through the ceremony of assuming the sacred thread; and I have heard Brāhman boys wearing the thread taunting a boy of Brāhman birth, and calling him a Sūdra, because he had not yet assumed the holy thread.” The thread is composed of three threads of cotton secured together in one spot by a sacred knot of peculiar construction, called Brahma Grandhi. The knot in the sacred thread worn by Vaishnava Brāhmans is called Vishnu Grandhi, and that in the thread of Smarthas Rūdra Grandhi. In the preparation of the thread, cotton sold in the bazaar may not be used; the bolls ought to be secured direct from the plant. Here and there Brāhmans may be seen in villages, removing the cotton from the bolls, and preparing it into pads for spinning into thread. Those who teach students the Vēdas may be seen spinning the thread from these pads. The spinning rod is a thin piece of bamboo stick weighted with a lead or soapstone disc about half an inch in diameter. The thin thread is kept in stock, and twisted into the sacred thread whenever it is required. Three or more people usually take part in the twisting process, during which they chant Vēdic verses. In the Srutis and Sūtras, it is enjoined that the Yagnopavita (sacred thread) is to be put on only on occasions of sacrifice. It ought really to be a vestment, and is a symbolical representation thereof. Ordinarily the thread is worn over the left shoulder in the position called Upavītham. In ceremonies connected with the dead, however, it is worn over the right shoulder in the position called prāchinavīthi. At the time of worshipping Rishis and Ganas, the thread should be over both shoulders and round the neck in the position called nivīthi.