Aksharabhyasam: A Child's First Letters — the Age, the Muhurtham and What Is Written

Aksharabhyasam (అక్షరాభ్యాసం) is the ceremony at which a child writes their first letters. The word means the practice of letters, and across India the same rite is also called Vidyarambham, the beginning of learning. In a Telugu home it is one of the samskaras families plan for most carefully: the child is seated on a parent's lap before Goddess Saraswati, and with their hand guided, writes ఓం for the first time.

This guide explains what the ceremony is, the age at which it is usually done, how the day is chosen, what the child writes and on what, and what to keep ready. At the end is how Jataka Remedies performs it.

What Aksharabhyasam is

Aksharabhyasam marks the moment a child is formally set on the path of learning. Two deities are invoked. Ganapathi, who removes obstacles, is worshipped first, as at the start of any undertaking. Then Saraswati, the goddess of learning, speech and the arts, is worshipped and asked to bless the child's mind and words.

The heart of the ceremony is brief: the first letters, written by the child's hand with a parent's hand over it. Everything around it, the sankalpam, the pooja and the blessings, exists to dedicate that moment.

At what age

Aksharabhyasam is usually done when the child is between two and a half and five years old, most often shortly before they start school or pre-school. There is no single correct age. Families look for a time when the child can sit through a short pooja and hold chalk or trace with a finger, and many simply choose the next auspicious day once the child is ready.

Choosing the day and the muhurtham

Two days in the year are especially favoured, because both are sacred to Saraswati:

• Vijayadashami, the tenth day of Ashwayuja masam, which closes the Navaratri and is the day learning and new work are traditionally begun.
• Sri Panchami, the fifth day of the bright half of Magha masam, which Telugu households keep as Saraswati's own day.

Both dates move each year with the lunar calendar. The panchangam on this site shows when the next ones fall.

On any other day, a muhurtham is chosen from the child's birth chart: the tithi, the weekday and the nakshatra of the day are read against the child's own birth star, and a time is chosen when they agree. This is why the child's date, time and place of birth are asked for when you book.

What the child writes, and on what

The first word written is ఓం. In Telugu tradition the child then writes a short line of invocation, and after it the first letters of the alphabet:

ఓం నమః శివాయ సిద్ధం నమః

Om namah Shivaya, siddham namah

Salutations to Shiva; salutations to that which is accomplished. Written as the child's first line, it asks that the learning now begun be brought to completion.

Then come అ and ఆ, the first two vowels. Some families also have the child write their own name.

The letters are written either on a slate with chalk (పలక, బలపం), or traced with a finger in a plate of rice, the older way, since rice is itself an offering. Either way a parent, usually the father, holds the child's hand and writes with it.

How the ceremony goes

1. 1.Sankalpam

   The purohit takes the sankalpam in the child's name and gotram, naming the parents, and states the purpose: that the child be blessed in learning.

2. 2.Ganapathi pooja

   Ganapathi is worshipped first, so that the child's learning meets no obstacle.

3. 3.Saraswati pooja

   Saraswati is worshipped with flowers, turmeric and kumkum, and the slate or plate of rice, the chalk and a book are placed before her.

4. 4.The first letters

   At the muhurtham the child, on a parent's lap, writes ఓం, then ఓం నమః శివాయ సిద్ధం నమః, then అ and ఆ.

5. 5.Aarti and blessings

   Aarti is offered, the elders bless the child, and the sweets offered to Saraswati are shared as prasadam.

At home or at a temple

Many families travel to a Saraswati temple for the day. The best known in the Telugu states is the Gnana Saraswati temple at Basara in Telangana, where Aksharabhyasam is done every day and the crowds are largest on Sri Panchami and through Navaratri. The ceremony is just as complete at home, and for families living far from such a temple, or abroad, home is where it is usually done.

What to keep ready

• A slate and chalk, or a plate with a few handfuls of rice spread evenly
• A picture of Saraswati and one of Ganapathi, and a lamp
• Turmeric, kumkum and flowers
• A new book and pen for the child, to be placed before Saraswati
• Fruit or a sweet to offer, to be shared afterwards
• New clothes for the child, if the family wishes

Aksharabhyasam with Jataka Remedies

Our purohits choose the muhurtham from the child's birth chart and perform the Ganapathi and Saraswati pooja online in the child's name and gotram, with the videos shared on your WhatsApp. At the muhurtham, the child writes the first letters at home, on a parent's lap. Before the day we tell you exactly what to keep ready and what the child writes, so the family is prepared.

Because it is performed online, families outside India, or far from a Saraswati temple, can keep the ceremony at the right time wherever they live.

Questions families ask