[Advaita-l] Gurubala in Upanayana

[Anand Hudli]

Dear Shri Sunilji,

>I guess, in this Simhasta year it may be better to avoid the
>second half of September, even if Gurubala
>is not mandatory for the 8 year old child.
>Would you also think so?


Upanayanas are to be performed in the uttarAyaNa kAla only, i.e. when the
sun is (apparently) moving to the north, roughly between Jan 14 and July
14. So this rules out any upanayana muhUrta in September. However, you have
raised an interesting general question of siMhastha Guru and events like
marriage and upanayana. The nirNayasindhu has dealt with this issue in
sufficient detail and it is the considered opinion of the author KamalAkara
BhaTTa, concurring with the view of lalla bhaTta, that when Guru is in
siMha rAshi, the prohibition of any auspicious ceremonies such as marriage,
upanayana, etc. applies only to the geographic region between the Godavari
and Ganga rivers. People living south of the Godavari and north of the
Ganga do not face any restriction and may perform such ceremonies as usual
(following the ususal muhUrtas).

nirNayasindhu: taduktaM lallabhaTTena- godAvaryuttarato
yAvadbhAgIrathItaTaM yAmyam| tatra vivAho neShTaH siMhasthe devapatipUjye|

Anand