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We have a lot of things that we can't do on certain week days. (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday).

They include cutting nails, getting a hair cut, shampooing hair etc. Why is it so?

ram
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Vishal
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    because Shastras dictate us not to do so. You may ask why Shastras say so... When you're a small child who has not seen fire, you don't know that fire burns the fingers. So when you go to touch fire, your mom will simply yell 'DON'T TOUCH". She won't bother to explain why during that instant, because there is no time, and her priority is to save you. Similarly, Shastras dictate a lot of rules, but don't give reason for it. When you grow up later (i.e. gain knowledge from a guru), you'll understand why it says those rules. – ram Apr 20 '17 at 17:55
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    @ram Do you follow Dharma Shāstra ardently (100%) with 100% efficiency? – ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ May 02 '17 at 13:06
  • @RohitSinghRathore, no I do not. But I do follow this particular rule about cutting nails. – ram May 03 '17 at 06:36
  • http://www.salagram.net/sstp-NityaKriya.html - has the days on which to avoid hair/nail cut. It quotes from other shastras like smritis, puranas and agamas – ram May 03 '17 at 13:21
  • Bhai @ram bahut Bada page hai. – ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ May 03 '17 at 17:14
  • @RohitSinghRathore, mera chotta jawaab is page mein neche hai – ram May 03 '17 at 17:20
  • Haan Bhai @ram pad liya. – ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ May 03 '17 at 17:21
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    @ram Shastras also tell us to not believe anything without any basis at all. If you have realised why such rule is there please tell us. Because I have honestly tried to find why such a rule exist but couldn't find any reason. If your response is that we should just take it for granted, then sorry I won't. – Lokesh Sep 12 '20 at 04:05
  • @Lokesh, shastras are the basis. shastras do not say 'always question shastras and only believe them if you find some other logic based on your limited knowledge and intellect'. the very word 'shastras' means 'orders that protect'. there are lot of atheists and semi-atheists who do not take shastras for granted, nothing new.. – ram Sep 13 '20 at 10:01
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    @ram Shastras except Veda are all creation of human and humans can make error as per their conditioned knowledge and intellect. Nothing new. – Lokesh Sep 13 '20 at 11:15
  • @Lokesh, you and I did not receive Vedas through revelation. We know Vedas only because of Rishis who revealed them to us. By your logic, since these rishis are also human, they could have erred during repeating the Vedas to us, so even Vedas (as we know them) can contain errors, so nothing is worth believing, which is same as nastika.. nothing new. – ram Sep 13 '20 at 19:08
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    @ram No, this cannot be the case, because mantras were revealed to many rishis not just a single one. Yajnavalkya received the same mantras from Surya Deva which were already known with addition of few more. BTW what you are saying here about nail cutting rule is not derived from Veda, not even closely. Same kutarka are made to legitimize many other superstitions. Nothing new. – Lokesh Sep 14 '20 at 01:01
  • @Lokesh, all those rishis who discovered it are still humans. and humans can make mistakes. while the probability of error is low, it is not zero. so, we can't trust vedas 100%. there are many things in life that are 99% sure. so why is Vedas any better than those. Of course nail cutting rule is not derived from Veda. everyone knows that. it is derived from Vedanga called kalpa, the explanation of which are the dharma sutras, including Manu Smriti. Those who stick to saying 'only sruti, no smriti' are just trying to find a way to escape dos and donts. nothing new. – ram Sep 14 '20 at 02:46
  • @Lokesh, nevertheless, can u give evidence for the claim that only Sruti is flawless, while Smriti is flawed ? and by evidence, i mean a flawless evidence. and since only Sruti is flawless according to you, give evidence from Sruti itself that says only Sruti is flawless and the rest are flawed. In other words, see this question – ram Sep 14 '20 at 02:58
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    @ram I have high regard for smriti and vedanga but if you present something very counterintuitive like cutting nails on certain days can shorten one's lifespan, the burden of proof lies in you to explain how is it derived from Veda because the purana, smriti etc must be interpreted in light of Veda only. And ofcourse Shruti is flawless, if you think it's not you are an atheist. – Lokesh Sep 15 '20 at 04:25
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    @ram If you want to be 100% sure that Veda which we have today are without error, you can become a mantra drshta and verify for yourself (I'm not kidding). I won't do it because I'm satisfied with what mantras we have because they are not counterintuitive like your nail cutting rule. – Lokesh Sep 15 '20 at 04:37
  • @Lokesh, so you choose to believe certain humans, but you choose to disbelieve certain other humans, simply because you have a personal feeling that one set of humans is not error-prone, while another set of humans is error-prone. Your belief system is a classic example of scientific and logical inconsistency. – ram Sep 15 '20 at 17:16
  • @Lokesh, i'm drawing the equivalence between calling Sruti as flawed and calling Smriti as flawed - because both are revealed to you by humans. If you have high regard for Vedanga, then you have high regard for Kalpa (one of the 6 vedangas), which means you have high regard for Dharma Sutras, which explain meaning of kalpa sutras mean, which means you have high regard for the nail cutting rule which are mentioned in dharma sutras. Why don't u ask ur elders if it's ok to nail cut on tuesdays ? I'm sure you have high regard for elders. – ram Sep 15 '20 at 17:59
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    @ram Smriti is error prone while Shruti is flawless because it is not a work of any human whose knowledge is conditioned. I'm not saying Smriti is useless. If today a scientist gives a theory, based on some evidence while another gives a fake one with no evidence, don't I have the liberty to judge them? Your argument is that I should either trust no one or everyone. Lol – Lokesh Sep 18 '20 at 14:19
  • @Lokesh, my argument is that your basis for trust should be the same if you're being scientific. It cannot be - I trust X because he is human, and I don't trust Y because he is human. Who said Shruti is flawless ? Did Bhagavan tell you ? No. Another human being only told you, right ? Why do you trust that human's words that Shruti is flawless ? – ram Sep 18 '20 at 17:06
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    @ram Shruti is flawless. This is not based on testimony of just one human. And I have already explained it above that it can be verified by testimony of our various Rishis, still you are making the same argument over and over again. As far as my faith in human in concerned it is governed by reasoning rather than just my whim. I analyse the argument of another human to know whether they are right or wrong. And I'm open minded, I never say what I have understood is the final verdict. Purpose of shastra is to generate vivek and reasoning in us rather than mindlessly follow something. – Lokesh Sep 22 '20 at 01:50
  • @Lokesh, you keep repeating the same thing that you trust the testimony of 10, or 100 humans, but you refuse to trust the testimony of 10 or 100 other humans - based solely on your intellect & reasoning capacity. That means you are being subjective, and not objective. I'm not objecting to you using your faculties, but simply to you labeling your ideology as neutral/scientific/objective/unbiased. It's not. – ram Sep 22 '20 at 01:53
  • @Lokesh, You choosing to trust Sruti but not Smriti based on your intellect, is no different from someone else choosing to trust both Sruti and Smriti based on their intellect - because, if you go by the 'made-by-humans' argument, either both are flawed, or both are not-flawed. Because both of these were revealed to you only by humans. Just as you use your viveka to reject Smriti, I use my viveka to reject the notion that Smriti should be rejected. You have no higher pramana or standing than me on a logical basis. – ram Sep 22 '20 at 01:56
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    @ram you are misquoting me. I never said Smriti / human knowledge is flawed. If I said this, then I'm sorry, what I mean is that they are prone to error (unlike Shruti). There's a difference between prone to be flawed vs is flawed. For example, if I say Sun rises on Sunday. It doesn't mean Sun doesn't rise on other days. – Lokesh Sep 22 '20 at 08:36
  • @Lokesh, ok let me go one level deeper and ask you this - who told you that Smriti is prone to flaws and Sruti is not ? Is it written in Vedas ? If so, can you point me which verse? If it's not in Vedas, then on what basis do you believe it? – ram Sep 22 '20 at 15:19
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    पुरुषविद्यानित्यत्वात् कर्मसम्पत्तिर्मन्त्रे वेदे’ (निरुक्त 1.2) Acharya Yaska in Nirukta clearly says that knowledge coming from humans is anitya (falliable) while that coming from Vedas is infallible. The divine origin of Veda is mentioned in all puranas, bramanas, Upanishads and itihas. – Lokesh Sep 23 '20 at 01:29
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    @ram Also since you asked from proof from Vedas. Please see Brihadaranyak Upanishad 2.4.10 (https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-brihadaranyaka-upanishad/d/doc117950.html). The 4 Veda and Bramhan are breadth of Supreme realty. Shankaracharya writes in His commentary: "It is the eternally composed and already existent Vedas that are manifested like a man’s breath—without any thought or effort on his part. Hence they are an authority as regards their meaning, independently of any other means of knowledge." – Lokesh Sep 23 '20 at 01:52
  • @Lokesh, the link doesn't open. Does it say Smritis can be disregarded ? The whole point of Smriti is to understand Sruti correctly without misinterpreting. It's like book & dictionary. Of course book is more important than dictionary, but without dictionary you cannot understand book. so both are equally important – ram Sep 23 '20 at 02:02
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    @ram The link opens fine for me. Try again. I never said Smritis can be disregarded. I just said that they still need to be verified, kept in check whether it is based on Shruti or not. If they are neither based on Shruti nor any type of reasoning, we can freely disregard them. We are not bounded to abide by them at all. Smritis also contradict among themselves because they are limited by time and place, where as this is not the case with Shruti. This is the same with Guru. If a Guru's teaching is based on Veda, then only it has to be accepted, otherwise not. – Lokesh Sep 23 '20 at 04:26

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This question has nothing to do with the Hindu religion. This is all superstition. Superstition is not religion, nor is it Hindu. This is in not in the Vedas.

Swami Vivekananda said (Complete Works VIII. p 184-187) "We may be under planetary influence but it should not matter much to us. Buddha says 'Those that get a living by calculation of the stars by such art and other lying tricks are to be avoided.'...Let stars come, what harm is there? If a star disturbs my life, it would not be worth a cent. You will find that astrology and all these mystical things are generally signs of a weak mind; therefore as soon as they are becoming prominent in our minds, we should see a physician, take good food, and rest. If you can get an explanation of a phenomenon from within its own nature, it is nonsense to look for an explanation from outside... I lay down as the first essential in all I teach: anything that brings spiritual, mental, or physical weakness, touch it not with the toes of your feet. Religion is the manifestation of the natural strength that is in man...You can swallow the stars by handfuls if you want; such is your real nature. Be strong, get beyond all superstitions, and be free."

hanugm
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Swami Vishwananda
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    FALSE. Have you read Manu dharma shastras, or Apasthamba sutras ? I've noticed you're tagging any question related to shastras as superstition. If you have mingled with any brahmin household, you'll realize they try to do everything based on these shastras. Every single aspect of life is governed by it - when to wake up, when to eat, when to sleep, when to procreate. Path mentioned by Swami Vivekananda maybe suitable for those who can follow jnana yoga, but not for karma yogis, who have to follow dharma shastras. – ram Apr 20 '17 at 17:23
  • @ram There's no wrong in adding [tag:superstition] (though technically they are not superstitions). Tag superstition will help in identifying such questions. – The Destroyer Apr 20 '17 at 17:51
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    why is it not wrong ? Non-Hindus or atheists might think these are superstitions, but anyone following Hinduism should know that there are detailed dharma shastras detailing these aspects of life. It would be like tagging Ramayana as 'imaginative poetry' instead of 'history'. For laymen, that is fine, or if the questioner himself tags it so, fine.. but for moderators of this site, adding that tag, it's not fine. – ram Apr 20 '17 at 17:59
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    @ram exactly which dharma shastras say this exactly? I am unaware of them. – Swami Vishwananda Apr 21 '17 at 05:35
  • @SwamiVishwananda, http://www.salagram.net/sstp-NityaKriya.html - claims it is from Hari Bhakta Vilasa which is a compilation of other smritis, puranas and agamas. – ram May 03 '17 at 13:19
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I have got a link that consists good reasons:

Since my childhood, I have been hearing from my parents that we should not cut hair or nails on Saturday. You should not shave also on this day. When asked why, they used to tell me that it brings bad luck as it brings anger of Planet Shani (Saturn) upon us. We lose money and peace of mind in our life. This belief is very common amongst Hindus, and hence, most of the Hindus do not cut hair or nails on Saturday.

The answer seems reasonable for those who believe in Astrology and do not like to question the traditions. Those who are not satisfied by the answer always try to find the actual scientific reasons behind such things.

Possible reasons behind not cutting hair on Saturdays:

  1. It is believed that cutting hair/nail would bring bad luck to the person because it would attract the anger of Planet Shani, which is considered as a deity. In Indian Astrology, Shani has great importance in terms of human life. It is believed that all the bad things that happen to us are because of Planet Shani. Especially, in Kali Yuga, Shani is very powerful and even deities have to suffer from his anger. Hence, it is advisable that one should get his/her hair/nails cut on Saturdays.
  2. The second most probable and logical reason could be that in old times, the people from barber caste used to do the job of cutting hair and they had no weekly offs. Hence, in that way, they used to get a weekly off on Saturday. Plus, many people in India prefer to cut hair/nails on Sundays. In general, there used to be only one or two barbers in a village. Therefore, on Sunday the workload would be maximum and therefore, they were able to relax and prepare themselves for the rest of the week.

There could be many other reasons behind it. We cannot tell anything certainly today. I have seen many people cutting their hair and/or nails on Saturday and nothing bad happens in their lives. Many businessmen and executives have to shave everyday; still they are earning heavily and living a good life. Problems will always be there in our lives whether you cut your hair on Saturday or not. It is our attitude that matters.

We should remember one that things change with time. This tradition could be right for the old time. There could be some reason behind it but now a day, it seems useless. Hence, we should get off such things from our minds.

Here is the reference link: Why hindus do not cut hairnails on saturdays?

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Sourabh Upadhyay
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Well, I really do not believe of not doing these activities on certain days. Everything we have heard of to do or not to do on a certain day might be because, so that we do not overdo them. No non-vegetarian food on a Tuesday or a Saturday, some say it is due to Gods special days but he has created equal. Doing things over might hurt us.

Fasting is another activity which I see as a religious thing very similar to above activities. Gods do become happy when we control our senses against some attractions of human-made but the actual reason, we must actually not become their servants.

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From http://www.salagram.net/sstp-NityaKriya.html

Cutting hair is said to cause loss of energy. Certain days also put the body into a weak state. Therefore on these day shaving is not recommended, especially for sick or unhealthy people. Shaving at night is forbidden. It is done in the daytime, usually before the noon bath. It should never be done after eating. It is said that shaving on Sundays reduces ones life by one month; shaving on Saturdays reduces ones life by seven months; shaving on Tuesdays reduces ones life by eight months. Shaving on Wednesdays increases ones life by five months; shaving on Mondays increase life by seven months; shaving on Thursdays increases life by ten months; and shaving on Fridays increases life by eleven months. Other authorities say that shaving on Sunday brings physical well-being; shaving on Monday, bright complexion; shaving on Thursday, success; shaving on Friday, universal respect. Shaving on Tuesdays reduces life span; shaving on Saturdays causes decay of the body. Monday is good only during the waxing phase of the moon. However, brahmanas may shave on Sundays and kshatriyas may shave on Tuesdays. Sannyasis customarily shave on purnima. Of the tithis, prathipat, chaturthi, astami, chaturdasi, purnima, amavasya; and sasthis, navamis, dvadasis, sankrantis, and any day of fasting, such as ekadasi, are also unfavorable. The favorable tithis are dvitiya, tritiya, panchami, saptami dasami and trayodasi. The moon in waxing phase is favorable and in the waning phase, particularly the latter half, is unfavorable.

At the least, shaving, hair/nail cut is to be avoided on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

ram
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    Please post from scriptures not from a site which nobody in the world knows or cares about. – Pinakin May 03 '17 at 07:36
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    @ChinmaySarupria, if you stop quoting some random 'Autobiography of Yogi', then I'll think about what you said. – ram May 03 '17 at 08:35
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    When did I quote "Autobiography of Yogi"? And even if I do it in future, it will still be better than that website of yours which is written by nobody knows! So post from either scriptures or words of Swami Vivekananda, Paramahamsa Yogananada, Ramakrishna Paramahansa etc.. – Pinakin May 03 '17 at 13:06
  • You mentioned that book and Holy Science by Yukteshwar when describing newfound theories about duration of yugas. Maybe YOU do not know about that website, just like many others do not know about Yukteshwar or Paramananda. Anycase, the website I mentioned quotes from Hari Bhakti VilAsa which "is not an independent work, but based on commonly accepted scriptures: smrti shastras like Yajnavalkya, Manu and Harita; puranas like Bhavisya, Siva, Skanda, Vishnu, Bhagavat Puranas; and pancaratrika texts like Hayasirsa and Narada Pancharatra". – ram May 03 '17 at 13:15
  • I accept Ramakrishna & Vivekananda as Mahatmas and I've poured over both Kathamrita and Complete Works, but when you say 'post from scriptures', then you cannot grant special status to any person. And reading directly from scriptures is not the best way to learn because we either do not know sanskrit exactly, or we can't interpret author's true meaning. For this, we need bhashya or explanation from gurus or acharyas. Which guru one follows is based on his family, surroundings and personal tastes. – ram May 03 '17 at 13:18
  • Sri Yukteswar theory is confirmed by Vedas themselves. Chandogya Upanishad mentions that life span of human is 100 years, Sita says the same thing in Valmiki Ramayana, Manu Smriti says the same thing, in fact, the traditional yuga theory is not supported in either Vedas, Ramayana or Manu Smriti so it has to be rejected. Even I believe the same that explanation from guru is a great way to understand scriptures. But if you say don't shave on Tuesday, at least post verses from any of the scriptures or any credible source, you must back up your answer from credible source. – Pinakin May 03 '17 at 13:34
  • So its ok to shave or hair cut on Thursdays? –  Nov 20 '18 at 05:43