📜 Significance:
Vidyarambh Sanskar, also known as Aksharabhyasam or Haate Khodi, marks a child’s formal entry into the world of education. It involves writing the first letters or alphabets, usually in front of Goddess Saraswati or Lord Ganesha. This sanskar is rooted in invoking divine blessings for wisdom, learning, memory power, and success in academics. In Maharashtra, it is performed with devotion during festivals like Vasant Panchami or Navratri, or on a personally auspicious muhurat.

🗓️ When It’s Performed:

  • Ideal age: 2.5 to 5 years (before the child starts formal schooling)
  • Auspicious occasions: Vasant Panchami, Vijayadashami (Dussehra), Akshaya Tritiya, Navratri
  • Muhurat chosen as per child’s Janma Kundali by a Panditji
  • Also performed on the first day of school in many families

🛐 Who Can Perform:

  • Performed for young children by parents
  • Ceremony led by a Panditji at home, temple, or school
  • Can be done individually or in group rituals at educational institutions

📦 Puja Samagri (Items Required):

  • Picture or idol of Goddess Saraswati / Lord Ganesha
  • Rice spread on a brass/silver plate (for writing)
  • Turmeric and kumkum
  • Chalk/slate or banana leaf and stylus
  • Flowers, garlands, diya, agarbatti, camphor
  • Books, notebooks, pencil, pen, slate
  • Honey, sandalwood paste, ghee
  • Fruits, sweets, and prasad

🕯️ Main Rituals:

  1. Ganesh and Saraswati Puja – For removing obstacles and seeking knowledge
  2. Child is made to sit on parent’s lap or in front of the deity
  3. Panditji chants Saraswati Vandana and writes ॐ (Om) or Sri on the child’s tongue with honey
  4. Child writes their first alphabets (usually ‘अ’ or ‘ॐ’) in rice or slate with assistance
  5. Blessings from elders and Panditji are taken
  6. Distribution of prasad and gifts

⏳ Duration:
Approximately 30 to 45 minutes

🎁 Benefits of Vidyarambh Sanskar:

  • Initiates the child into the path of formal learning and wisdom
  • Invokes blessings of Saraswati Devi for memory, speech, and intelligence
  • Develops concentration and curiosity in early childhood
  • Ensures a positive, spiritually enriched beginning to education

Strengthens the parent-child bond through sacred interaction