Brahman boys are invested with the sacred thread between the ages of
five and nine. The ceremony is called Upanayana or the introduction to
knowledge, since by it the boy acquires the right to read the sacred
books. Until this ceremony he is not really a Brahman, and is not bound
to observe the caste rules and restrictions. By its performance he
becomes Dvija or twice-born, and the highest importance is attached
to the change or initiation. He may then begin to acquire divine
knowledge, and perhaps in past times it was thought that he obtained
the divine character belonging to a Brahman. The sacred thread is
made of three strands of cotton, which should be obtained from the
cotton tree growing wild. Sometimes a tree is grown in the yard of
the house for the provision of the threads. It has several knots
in it, to which great importance is attached, the number of knots
being different for a Brahman, a Kshatriya and a Vaishya, the three
twice-born castes. The thread hangs from the left shoulder, falling
on to the right hip. Sometimes, when a man is married, he wears a
double thread of six strands, the second being for his wife; and after
his father dies a treble one of nine strands. At the investiture the
boy's nails are cut and his hair is shaved, and he performs the _hom_
or fire sacrifice for the first time. He then acquires the status of
a Brahmachari or disciple, and in former times he would proceed to
some religious centre and begin to study the sacred books. The idea
of this is preserved by a symbolic ritual. Some Brahmans shave the
boy's head completely, make a girdle of _kusha_ or _munj_ grass round
his waist, provide him with a begging-bowl and tongs and the skin of
an antelope to sit on and make him go and beg from four houses. Among
others the boy gets on to a wooden horse and announces his intention
of going off to Benares to study. His mother then sits on the edge of
a well and threatens to throw herself in if he will not change his
mind, or the maternal uncle promises to give the boy his daughter
in marriage. Then the boy relinquishes his intention and agrees to
stay at home. The sacred thread must always be passed through the
hand before saying the Gayatri text in praise of the sun, the most
sacred Brahmanical text. The sacred thread is changed once a year on
the day of Rakshabandhan; the Brahman and all his family change it
together. The word Rakshabandhan means binding or tying up the devils,
and it would thus appear that the sacred thread and the knots in it
may have been originally intended to some extent to be a protection
against evil spirits. It is also changed on the occasion of a birth
or death in the family, or of an eclipse, or if it breaks. The old
threads are torn up or sewn into clothes by the very poor in the
Maratha districts. It is said that the Brahmans are afraid that the
Kunbis will get hold of their old threads, and if they do get one
they will fold it into four strings, holding a lamp in the middle,
and wave it over any one who is sick. The Brahmans think that if this
is done all the accumulated virtue which they have obtained by many
repetitions of the Gayatri or sacred prayer will be transferred to
the sick Kunbi. Many castes now wear the sacred thread who have no
proper claim to do so, especially those who have become landholders
and aspire to the status of Rajputs.