1The investiture with a sacred girdle marks the initiation of minors into adult life in both the Old Indian and Old Iranian societies. This rite du passage was mandatory only for boys of the three upper castes in the former but generalized to boys and girls in the latter. Moreover, it entailed that they had access to religious instruction, and were not only capable of performing rituals, but also legally responsible for their own deeds, insofar as the knowledge of the religion implied that of its regulations.

2According to Boyce (1989, 257), the initiation with a sacred girdle apparently was an Indo-Iranian custom, which, according to Stausberg (2004a, 27), goes back to an Indo-European period. Nevertheless, as the latter author (2002–2004, 3.405) rightly pointed out, the differences between the investitures therewith in the Vedic and the Zoroastrian religions are as numerous as their similarities, a fact that poses the question about which elements of this rite can be traced back to a common origin. In this contribution, I will compare the post-Vedic texts with the Avestan sources dealing with this topic, in order to test whether or not the different age at which children were invested with the sacred girdle depended on the socio-religious group they belonged to.

3The post-Vedic ritual and normative literature, especially the Gr̥hyasūtra and the Dharmasūtra, abounds in references about the age at which children of the three upper castes must be invested with a sacred girdle, called in Vedic mékhalā-, and a sacrificial cord, commonly designated as yajñopavīta- (lit. “sacrificially covered”). The ceremony of investiture, known in Vedic as upanayana- or upāyana-,1 was prescribed at the age of 12 for a brāhmaṇa- by Chāndogya Upaniṣad (ChUp) 6.1.2, belonging to the Sāmaveda, and generally at the age of seven or nine, without distinction of caste, by Mānava Gr̥hyasūtra (MGS) 1.22.1, belonging to the Black Yajurveda:

ChUp 6.1.22 
sa ha dvādaśavarṣa upetya
Indeed, he was invested on the twelfth year.

MGS 1.22.13 
sapṭame navame vopāyanam
In the seventh or ninth (year) the investiture (takes place).

4Most post-Vedic texts, however, agree upon the fact that this ceremony must be performed by each caste at a different age, the brāhmaṇa- being the first probably because of their ritual duties. Furthermore, each school recommended a diverse age for the investiture of the same caste. Thus, according to Kāthaka Gr̥hyasūtra (KGS) 41.1–3, belonging to the Black Yajurveda, it must take place at the age of seven if the child is a brāhmaṇa-; at the age of nine if he is a kṣatriya-; and at the age of 11 if he is a vaiśya-:4

1. saptame varṣe brāhmaṇasyopāyanam
2. navame rājanasya
3. ekadaśe vaiśyasya
1. In the seventh year the investiture of a brāhmaṇa- (takes place);
2. in the ninth that of a kṣatriya-;
3. in the eleventh that of a vaiśya-.

5 Hiraṇyakeśi Gr̥hyasūtra (HGS) 1.1.2–3, also belonging to the Black Yajurveda, prescribed the age of seven for a brāhmaṇa-, 11 for a kṣatriya-, and 12 for a vaiśya-:5

2. saptavarṣaṁ brāhmaṇam upanayīta
3. ekādaśavarṣaṁ rājanyaṁ dvādaśavarṣaṁ vaiśyam
2. In the seventh year a brāhmaṇa- must be invested;
3. in the eleventh year a kṣatriya-; in the twelfth a vaiśya-.

6Members of these three castes could also be invested up to the age of 16, 22, and 24 respectively, according to Khādira Gr̥hyasūtra (KhGS) 2.4.1–6, belonging to the Sāmaveda:6

1. aṣṭame varṣe brāhmaṇam upanayet
2. tasyā ṣoḍaśād anatītaḥ kāla
3. ekadaśe kṣatriyam
4. tasyā dvāvm̐i̇śād
5. dvādaśe vaiśyam
6. tasyā caturvim̐śāt
1. In the eighth year let him invest a brāhmaṇa-.
2. Until his sixteenth (year) the time has not passed (for him).
3. In the eleventh a kṣatriya-.
4. Until his twenty-second (year the time has not passed for him).
5. In the twelfth a vaiśya-.
6. Until his twenty-fourth (year the time has not passed him).

7The age for the investiture was calculated from conception in Āśvalāyana Gr̥hyasūtra (Āśgs) 1.19.1–7 and Śāṅkhāyana Gr̥hyasūtra (ŚGS) 2.1.1–8, both belonging to the R̥gveda; in Gobhila Gr̥hyasūtra (GGS) 2.10.1–4, belonging to the Sāmaveda; in Pāraskara Gr̥hyasūtra (PGS) 2.2.1–3, belonging to the White Yajurveda; and in Bhāradvaja Gr̥hyasūtra (BhGS) 1.1 and Yājñavalkya Dharmasūtra (YDhS) 1.14, both belonging to the Black Yajurveda:

Āśgs 1.19.1–77 
1. aṣṭame varṣe brāhmaṇam upanayet
2. garbhāṣṭame vā
3. ekadaśe kṣatriyam
4. dvādaśe vaiśyam
5. ā ṣoḍaśād brāhmaṇasyānatītaḥ kālaḥ
6. ā dvāvim̐śāt kṣatriyasya
7. ā caturvim̐śād vaiśyasya
1. In the eighth year let him invest a brāhmaṇa-,
2. or in the eighth year after conception;
3. in the eleventh a kṣatriya-;
4. in the twelfth a vaiśya-.
5. Until the sixteenth (year) the time has not passed for a brāhmaṇa-;
6. until the twenty-second for a kṣatriya-;
7. until the twenty-fourth for a vaiśya-.

ŚGS 2.1.1–88 
1–2. garbhāṣṭameṣu brāhmaṇam upanayetaiṇeyenājinena
3. garbhadaśameṣu vā
4. garbhaikādaśeṣu kṣatriyaṁ rauraveṇa
5. garbhadvādaśeṣu vaiśyaṁ gavyenā ṣoḷaśād
6. varṣād brāhmaṇasyānatītaḥ kāla
7. ā dvāvim̐śāt kṣatriyasyā
8. caturvim̐śād vaiśyasyā
1–2. In the eighth year after conception let him invest a brāhmaṇa- with an antelope skin,
3. or in the tenth year after conception;
4. in the eleventh year after conception a kṣatriya- with the skin of a spotted dear;
5. in the twelfth year after conception a vaiśya- with a cow hide.
6. Until the sixteenth year the time has not passed for a brāhmaṇa-;
7. until the twenty-second for a kṣatriya-;
8. until the twenty-fourth for a vaiśya-.

GGS 2.10.1–49 
1. garbhāṣṭameṣu brāhmaṇam upanayed
2. garbhaikādaśeṣu kṣatriyaṁ
3. garbhadvādaśeṣu vaiśyam
4. ā ṣoḍaśād varṣād brāhmaṇasyānatītaḥ kālo bhavaty ā dvāvim̐śāt kṣatriyasyā caturvim̐śād vaiśyasyā
1. In the eighth year after conception let him invest a brāhmaṇa-;
2. in the eleventh year after conception a kṣatriya-;
3.1in the twelfth year after conception a vaiśya-.
4. Until the sixteenth year the time has not passed for a brāhmaṇa-; until the twenty-second for a kṣatriya-; until the twenty-fourth for a vaiśya-.

PGS 2.2.1–310 
1. garbhāṣṭameṣu brāhmaṇam upanayed garbhāṣṭame vā
2. ekādaśavarṣaṁ rājanyam
3. dvādaśavarṣaṁ vaiśyam
1. In the eighth year after conception let him invest a brāhmaṇa-, or in the eighth (year) after conception;
2. a rājanya- when he is eleven years old;
3. a vaiśya- when he is twelve years old.

PGS 2.5.36–38:
36. ā ṣoḍaśād brāhmaṇasyānatītaḥ kālaḥ
37. ā dvāvim̐śāt rājanyasya
38. ā caturvim̐śād vaiśyasya
36. Until the sixteenth (year) the time has not passed for a brāhmaṇa-;
37. until the twenty-second for a rājanya-;
38. until the twenty-fourth for a vaiśya-.

BhGS 1.1.4:11 
garbhāṣṭameṣu brāhmaṇam upanayīta garbhaikādaśeṣu rājanyaṁ garbhadvādaśeṣu vaiśyaṁ
In the eighth year from conception a brāhmaṇa- must be invested; in the eleventh year from conception a rājanya-; in the twelfth year from conception a vaiśya-.

YDhS 1.1412 
garbhāṣṭame ’ṣṭame vābde brāhmaṇasyopanāyanam rājñām ekādaśe saike viśām eke yathākulam
In the eighth year from conception or in the eight from birth, the investiture of a brāhmaṇa- (takes place); in the eleventh, that of the kings; a year more, that of the vaiśya-, according to the family.

8The investiture could also be either advanced or postponed, depending on the result desired, according to Gautamīya Dharmasūtra (GDhS) 1.6–8 and Jaiminīya Gr̥hyasūtra (JGS) 1.12, both belonging to the Sāmaveda; Āpastamba Dharmasūtra (ĀpDhS) 1.1.1.19–27, Baudhāyana Gr̥hyasūtra (BGS) 2.5.2–5, and Vaikhānasa Gr̥hyasūtra (VGS) 1.2.3 and 5.1.1–3, the three of them belonging to the Black Yajurveda; and Mānava Dharmaśāstra (Mān.) 2.36–38:

GDhS 1.6–813 
upanayanaṁ brāhmaṇasyāṣṭame navame pañcame vā kāmyam
The investiture of a brāhmaṇa- (takes place) in the eighth (year), in the ninth, or in the fifth according to the desire.

JGS 1.1214 
saptame brāhmaṇam upanayīta pañcame brahmavarcasakāmaṁ navame tv āyuṣkāmam ekādaśe kṣatriyaṁ dvādaśe vaiśyaṁ
In the seventh year a brāhmaṇa- must be invested; in the fifth for desire of spiritual pre-eminence, but in the ninth for desire of long life; in the eleventh a kṣatriya-; in the twelfth a vaiśya-.

ĀpDhS 1.1.1.19–2715 
19. garbhāṣṭameṣu brāhmaṇam garbhaikādaśeṣu rājanyaṁ garbhadvādaśeṣu vaiśyam
20. atha kāmyāni
21. saptame brahmavarcasakāmam
22. aṣṭama āyuṣkāmam
23. navame tejaskāmam
24. daśame ’nnādyakāmam
25. ekādaśa indriyakāmam
26. dvādaśe paśukāmam
27. ā ṣoḍaśād brāhmaṇasyānātyaya ā dvāvim̐śāt kṣatriyasyā caturvim̐śād vaiśyasya yathā vrateṣu samarthaḥ syād yāni vakṣyāmaḥ
19. In the eighth year from conception a brāhmaṇa- (must be invested); in the eleventh year from conception a rājanya-; in the twelfth year from conception a vaiśya-.
20. Likewise (depending on what) they are desiring:
21. in the seventh for desire of spiritual pre-eminence;
22. in the eighth for desire of long life;
23. in the ninth for desire of power;
24. in the tenth for desire of abundance of food;
25. in the eleventh for desire of strength;
26. in the twelfth for desire of cattle.
27. Until the sixteenth (year the time) has not passed for a brāhmaṇa-; until the twenty-second for a kṣatriya-; until the twenty-fourth for a vaiśya-, until he is eventually capable in the observances that we are about to mention.

BGS 2.5.2–516 
2. garbhāṣṭameṣu brāhmaṇam upanayīta garbhaikādaśeṣu rājanyaṁ garbhadvādaśeṣu vaiśyam
3. ā ṣoḍaśād brāhmaṇasyānatyaya iti
4. evam evetarayoḥ dvāvim̐śātiśca caturvim̐śātiśca
5. athāpi kāmyāni bhavanti saptame brahmavarcasakāmam aṣṭama āyuṣkāmaṁ navame tejaskāmaṁ daśame ’nnādyakāmam ekādaśa indriyakāmaṁ dvādaśe paśukāmaṁ trayodaśe medhākāmaṁ caturdaśe puṣṭikāmaṁ pañcadaśe bhrātr̥vyavantaṁ ṣoḍaśe sarvakāmam iti
2. In the eighth year from conception a brāhmaṇa- must be invested; in the eleventh year from conception a rājanya-; in the twelfth year from conception a vaiśya-.
3. Until the sixteenth (year the time) has thus not passed for a brāhmaṇa-;
4. also for the other two until the twenty-second and twenty-fourth respectively.
5. Likewise (depending on what) they are desiring: in the seventh for desire of spiritual pre-eminence; in the eighth for desire of long life; in the ninth for desire of power; in the tenth for desire of food; in the eleventh for desire of strength; in the twelfth for desire of cattle; in the thirteenth for desire of wisdom; in the fourteenth for desire of wealth; in the fifteenth for desire of overcoming rivals; in the sixteenth for desire of all (this).

VGS 1.2.317 
atha garbhādhānādivarṣe pañcame brahmavarcasakāmam āyuṣkāmam aṣṭame navame śrīkāmaṁ vasante brāhmaṇam upanayītaikādaśe grīṣme rājanyaṁ dvādaśe śaradi vaiśyam ā ṣoḍaśād brāhmaṇam ā dvāvim̐śāt kṣatriyam ā caturvim̐śād vaiśyam iti
Then, in spring, in the fifth year from conception, a brāhmaṇa- must be invested for desire of spiritual pre-eminence; in the eighth for desire of long life; in the ninth for desire of fortune. In the eleventh, in summer, a rājanya-. In the twelfth, in autumn, a vaiśya-. Until the sixteenth (year the time has not passed) for a brāhmaṇa-; until the twenty-second for a rājanya-; until the twenty-fourth for a vaiśya-.

VGS 5.1.1–318 
1. garbhāṣṭameṣu brāhmaṇam upanayet ṣaṣṭe saptame pañcame vā 2. tato garbhaikādaśeṣu kṣatriyam
3. garbhadvādaśeṣu vaiśyam
1. In the eighth year from conception let him invest a brāhmaṇa-, in the sixth, in the seventh or in the fifth;
2. thereafter in the eleventh year from conception a kṣatriya-;
3. in the twelfth year from conception a vaiśya-.
Mān. 2.36–38:19
 36. garbhāṣṭame ’bde kurvīta brāhmaṇasyopanāyanam |
garbhād ekādaśe rājño garbhāt tu dvādaśe viśaḥ
37. brahmavarcasakāmasya kāryo viprasya pañcame |
rajño balārthinaḥ ṣaṣṭhe vaiśyasyaihārthino ’ṣṭame
38. ā ṣoḍaśād brāhmaṇasya sāvitrī nātivartate |
ā dvāvim̐śāt kṣatrabandor ā caturvim̐śater viśaḥ
36. In the eighth year from conception, the investiture of a brāhmaṇa- must be carried out; in the eleventh from conception, that of the king, but in the twelfth from conception, that of the vaiśya-.
37. For desire of spiritual pre-eminence, (the investiture) is to be done in the fifth for the wise one; for a king wishing power, in the sixth; for the vaiśya-wishing (success in his) business, in the eighth.
38. Until the sixteenth (year the time for) the Sāvitrī does not pass for a brāhmaṇa-; until the completion of the twenty-second for a kṣatriya-; until the completion of the twenty-fourth for a vaiśya-.

9On the Iranian side, the Avestan textual material shows that the ancient Zoroastrians had to wear a sacred girdle too. Nevertheless, the scanty references in the Avestan corpus to the age of the investiture therewith apparently depict a simpler situation than the one reflected in the Indian literature, and wrongly led Boyce (1989, 257) to assume that Zoroastrian children were generally invested when they were 15 years old.20 The Avestan sources attest nonetheless differences of age, which might be relevant not only for our understanding of the multiplicity of the Zoroastrian customs in antiquity, but also for tracing back the practice of the investiture to a common Proto-Indo-Iranian period.

10The age limit at which Zoroastrian children were invested with the sacred girdle, called in Avestan auui.yāh- or aiβiiā̊ŋhana-, and in Pahlavi kustīg or ēbyānghan,21 was 15 years, according to the Avestan text of Yašt 8.13–14:22

Yt 8.13
paōiriiā̊ dasa. xšapanō. spitama. zaraϑuštra. tištriiō. raēuuā̊ x^varәnaŋ^vhā̊ kәhrpәm. raēϑβaiieiti. raōxšnušuua. vazәmnō. narš. kәhrpa. paṇca.dasaŋhō. xšaētahe. spiti.dōiϑrahe. bәrәzatō. auui.amahe. amauuatō. hunairiiā̊ṇcō.
For the first ten nights, Spitama Zaraϑuštra, the bright, the glorious Tištriia mixes (his) shape moving among the lights with the shape of a 15 years old man, radiant, with clear eyes, high, with full strength, strong, charming.

Yt 8.14
taδa. aiiaōš. yaϑa. paōirīm. vīrәm. auui.yā̊ bauuaiti. taδa. aiiaōš. yaϑa. paōirīm. vīrәm. auui.amō. aēiti. taδa. aiiaōš. yaϑa. paōirīm. vīrәm. әrәzušąm. adaste.
This is the age in which for the first time the warrior is girded. This is the age in which for the first time the warrior reaches his full strength. This is the age in which for the first time the warrior achieves majority.

11This is the same age limit after which children must wear the sacred girdle and the sacred shirt, according to the Avestan texts of Vīdēvdād 18.54–55 and 58–59. Indeed, if they do not wear them after being 15 years old, and walk more than three steps, they commit a sin that makes pregnant the she-demon Lie:

V18.54
āat̰. hē. hā. paiti.dauuata. yā. daēuui. druxš. sraōša. aṣ̌iia. huraōδa. hō. bā. mē. aētaēšąm. aršnąm. tūiriiō. yat̰. nā. jahika. pasca. paṇcadasīm. sarәδәm. frapataiti. anaiβiiāsta. vā. anabdātō. vā.
And she replied to him, the she-demon Lie: “Righteous, well-grown Sraōša, this is indeed the fourth of these males: when a man (or) a woman, after he/she exceeds the age of 15, (is) ungirded or unclothed,

V18.55
pasca. tūirīm. gāmō.bәrәtīm. išarә. pascaēta. vaēm. yōi. daēuua. hakat̰. vaēm. auua.miuuāmahi. hizuuasca. pīuuasca. xšaiiamna. pascaēta. mәrәγәṇte. gaēϑā̊ astuuaitīš. aṣ̌ahe. yaϑa. zәṇda. yātumәṇta. mәrәṇcīta. gaēϑā̊ astuuaitīš. aṣ̌ahe. hō. mąm. auuaϑa. vәrәnūiti. yaϑa. aniiā̊scit̰. aršānō. auui. xšudrā̊ xšaϑrišuua. hąm. vәrәnauuaiṇti.
after walking a fourth step, just then, we, the demons, at once we rip off their tongue and fat. Then they are able to destroy the material creatures of Righteousness, like the heretic sorcerer would be able to destroy the material creatures of Righteousness. This makes me pregnant, as when other males conceal their semen in their females.

V18.58
yat̰. nā. jahika. pasca. paṇcadasīm. sarәδәm. frapataiti. anaiβiiāsta. vā. anabdātō. vā.
When a man (or) a woman, after he/she exceeds the age of 15, (is) ungirded or unclothed,

V18.59
pasca. tūirīm. gāmō.bәrәtīm. išarә. pascaēta. vaēm. yōi. daēuua. hakat̰. vaēm. auua.miuuāmahi. hizuuasca. pīuuasca. xšaiiamna. pascaēta. mәrәγәṇte. gaēϑā̊ astuuaitīš. aṣ̌ahe. yaϑa. zәṇda. yātumәṇta. mәrәṇcīta. gaēϑā̊ astuuaitīš. aṣ̌ahe.
after walking a fourth step, just then, we, the demons, at once we rip off their tongue and fat. Then they are able to destroy the material creatures of Righteousness, like the heretic sorcerer would be able to destroy the material creatures of Righteousness.”

12A similar age, but reckoned from conception, as in some of the post-Vedic sources mentioned before, is attested in the Pahlavi text of Šāyist nē šāyist 10.13. Although this text is not written in Avestan, it quotes the Pahlavi translation and commentary of a lost Avestan normative book, the Duzd-sar-ōzad:23

ēk ēn kū <az> duzd-sar-ōzad paydāg kū andar sāl rōz-ē nimūd ēstēd kū har kē az cahārdah sāl sē māh <ud> rōz-ē freh ā kustīg frāz bandišn ōwōn xūbtar kū ka andar pānjdah sāl ēstēd kustīg bē bandēd ud kē pahrēzōmandtar ōwōn kū nōmāhagān ī andar aškomb ī mādar abar gīrēd
One (is) this: (from) the Duzd-sar-ōzad it is manifest that a day in the year is shown, in which everyone who (is) more than 14 years, three months and one day has to tie the sacred girdle; (it is) better so than when one ties the sacred girdle when one (is) 15 years old. And who (is) more careful (acts) so that he/she takes into account the nine months in which (he/she was) in his/her mother’s womb.

13Finally, according to the Avestan text of Wizīrgard ī dēnīg 18 and its Pahlavi translation, minors were invested with the sacred girdle at the age of seven years:24

Av. yat̰.⁺aēte. yō. mazdaiiasnō. apәrәnāiiūkō. auui. hē. hapta. sarәδa. frajasāiti. stәhrpaēsaŋhō. aiβiiā̊ŋhānō. paitiš. maiδiiāi.⁺būjiiamnō. auui. hē. nara. pascaiti. nәmaŋhәṇti.
When this who (is) a Mazdean minor reaches seven years (of age), after being invested in the middle with the girdle adorned with stars, then men greet him.25

Phl. kē az awēšān māzdēsnān⁺aburnāyag abar ān ō pad dād ī haft-sālag frāz rasēd⁺ēbyānghan pad ān mayān bandēd abar ān mard pas niyāyišnōmand ast [kū frēzwānīg <ī> dēn ī weh] [rōšn guft <kū> frēzwānīg ī dēn pas az haft sāl padīriftan pādixšāy cīyōn frēzwānīg ruwānān ud abārīg hamāg kār ī dēn] [abarag guft <kū> frēz <ī> wuzurg cīyōn nō-šabag ud nōgzōd ud⁺wisparad ud rapihwin <ud> abārīg kār ī dēn pas <az> pānzdah-sālag framūd ēstēd]
Whoever (being a) minor among those Mazdeans exceeds the age of seven years will tie the girdle in the middle. Then this man is worthy of praise [that is, it is mandatory for the Good Religion]. [Rōšn said: “it is a rule to accept the mandatory religious (services) after seven years old, like the mandatory ones for the souls and all the other religious services.”] [Abarag said: “great mandatory (services) as the nine-nights (ritual), the nōgzōd, the Visperad, the Rapihwin, and other religious services are prescribed after 15 years of age.”]

14It is clear from the preceding text that not all the Avestan sources prescribe the age of 15 for the investiture with the sacred girdle. In this regard, the diversity of age of investiture reveals to be, to a lesser extent, parallel to the one attested in the post-Vedic ritual and normative literature. As we have observed, in the Indian milieu it depends on a socio-religious division. In the Iranian one, however, it is unclear whether it responds to the coexistence of diverse regulations in different Zoroastrian communities or to a parallel socio-religious division as well. The first possibility is corroborated in later Pahlavi and Zoroastrian New Persian sources by frequent references to the different opinions about the same issues, expressed by translators and commentators of Avestan texts, and other priestly authorities. Notwithstanding, the second possibility gains plausability after a deeper analysis of the Avestan examples mentioned before.

15 Yašt 8, devoted to the god Tištriia, depicts him as a warrior fighting Apaōša, demon of the drought. As rightly observed by Pirart (2010, 100) in his French translation of this hymn, Av. vīra- does not mean “man” in 8.14, but actually warrior, a more general designation contrasting with the specific term raϑaēštā- “(warrior) standing on a chariot.”26 The latter usually refers to the socio-religious class of the warriors in the Avestan literature. Notwithstanding, if we understand Av. vīra- as warrior, Yašt 8.13–14 would indicate that only a member of this, and not any other socio-religious class, was girded for the first time at the age of 15. If this passage is to match the Avestan text of Vīdēvdād 18.54–55 and 58–59, and the Pahlavi text of Šāyest-nē-Šāyest 10.13, which agree upon the fact that children were invested at the age of 15 too, either from birth or from conception, the three of them might refer to the investiture of warriors. Nevertheless, insofar as the two latter texts do not explicitly mention any concrete socio-religious class, they cannot be adduced to verify this hypothesis.

16Finally, the Avestan text of Wizīrgard ī dēnīg 18, like the post-Vedic passages of Kāthaka Gr̥hyasūtra 41.1–3 and Hiraṇyakeśi Gr̥hyasūtra 1.1.2–3, prescribed the investiture of a boy after seven years of age. If, like their Indian equivalents, the members of the Zoroastrian priestly class must be invested with the sacred girdle at an earlier age than the warriors, and warriors were supposed to be invested after 15 years of age, Wizīrgard ī dēnīg 18 might only refer to the investiture of members of the priestly class.

17Summing up, the reckoning from conception played an important role in determining the exact age at which children of the Old Indian and Old Iranian societies were invested with the sacred girdle. Moreover, the age of investiture certainly depended on the caste the person belonged to in the former, and perhaps also in the latter. If the parallel socio-religious division of the two societies was determinant in the difference of age at their ceremonies of investiture, this usage might eventually be a common remnant going back to a Proto-Indo-Iranian period.27