of the 16 Hindu 'samskaras' or rituals. In the Vedic traditional, 'Namkaran' (Sanskrit 'nam' = name; 'karan' = create) is the formal naming ceremony performed to select a newborn's name using traditional methods and astrological rules of naming. This is generally a happy ritual - with the tensions of childbirth now over, the family comes together to celebrate the birth of the child with this ceremony. Namkaran is also called 'Palanarohan' in some traditions, which refers to putting a child into the cradle (Sanskrit 'palana' = cradle; 'arohan' = onboard).