CONCEPT OF SAMSKARA IN AYURVEDA AND ITS UTILITY IN TODAY'S WORLD FOR PEDIATRIC

Dr. Anupama Prashant Kale*, Dr. Adesh Charandaspant Raut, Dr. Pratima Dilip Ghate

ABSTRACT

In the Pauranic era, different kinds of Samskaras have been talked about. According to Ayurveda, Samskara denotes the process of bringing all kinds of changes in the individual. It means to provide some good qualities to the person. The main objectives of Samskara are giving the child a good start in life, making sure that the diet and feeding are in the right direction, helping physical and mental development of the child. Thus, it is evident that one can understand Samskara as practices that are aimed at making the body and mind better through methods of purification. The childhood Samskaras are targeted primarily at ensuring the child is well-prepared for life outside the womb and has access to proper nutrition and development. Samskaras help in fulfilling the four objectives of living; Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Therefore, it can be inferred that implementing the Samskaras during childhood of an individual means that every phase of life is included in the process of development, including the physical development, cognitive development and socio-psychological development.

Keywords: Ayurveda, Samskaras, Childhood, Dharma, Moksha.