In Hindu traditions, a human being is born at least twice — once at physical birth and second at intellectual birth through teacher's care. The first is marked through the "Jatakarman" sanskara ritual; the second is marked through "Upanayanam" or "Vidyarambha" rites of passage. A sacred thread was given by the teacher during the initiation to school ceremony and was a symbolic reminder to the student of his purpose at school as well as a social marker of the student as someone who was born a second time (dvija, twice born); he went about collecting fire wood in forests and food donations from villages on a daily basis.