The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2112 page)

, the piercing of the ear or nose between 3 and 5;
(x) 
Vidy
rambha
, the learning of the alphabet;
(xi) 
Upanayana
, the sacred thread;
(xii) on the day following, for those deemed competent,
Ved
rambha
, the beginning of the study of the
Vedas
;
(xiii) 
Ke
nta
, the first shaving of the beard;
(xiv) 
Sam
vartana
, the end of student life;
(xv) 
Viv
ha
,
marriage
;
(xvi) 
Antye
i
, funeral rites.
2. In Hinduism the formations in consciousness which accumulate from thoughts and actions in earlier lives, and which constitute individual character. In Buddhism, see
SANKHARA
.