A traditional sequence of sixteen sacraments marking a person's life from before birth to after death, each meant to refine and prepare the individual for the next stage.
चलन-बलन · Chalan-Balan
The sequence traditionally begins before birth with garbhadhana and continues through naming (namakarana), a child's first solid food (annaprashana), the sacred thread ceremony (upanayana) marking the start of formal Vedic study, marriage (vivaha), and ultimately antyeshti, the funeral rites.
Not every household observes all sixteen today, and regional practice varies considerably in which rites are kept and how, but naming ceremonies, first-feeding, and marriage remain among the most widely observed across nearly every Hindu community regardless of how closely the fuller sequence is followed.