9 - Karnavedhan Samskara

Karnavedhan is the ninth of the 16 Samskaras of Vaidic Tradition. Karna means ear and vedhan means to pierce. It is an ear piercing ceremony. In some places it is believed that performance of Karnavedhan is as important as Upanayanam, the sacred thread ceremony.

Piercing ears is believed to help in developing the memory. It has a unique value when performed on both male and female child.