Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c12.s7.t2: Period of Pregnancy
Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c12.s7.t2
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Period of Pregnancy
c12.s7.t2.1
Then we come to the period of pregnancy which is very delicate for women During this period the women are asked to be very careful while standing, sitting, sleeping and taking meals which should be neither too cold nor too hot, nor too acrid, pungent, sour or sweet but good and nutritious for the safety of the unborn babe They should avoid sickness, sorrow and terror and being moderate in the use of clothing, perfumes and garlands, should comfortably carry the unborn babe ²⁴
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During the period of pregnancy, *dohada* or pregnancy longing played an important part in ancient India When two or three months of pregnancy had passed, the women had peculiar cravings. We are told that in the third month of her pregnancy, Dhārinī had a pregnancy longing to roam about in the outskirts of Vebhāra in the monsoon riding on an elephant When the longing of the queen was not fulfilled she became sick, emaciated, unhappy and lost all her beauty This was brought to the notice of the king who saw Dhārinī immediately and asked her the reason of her sadness. Later on, Abhayakumāra satisfied the pregnancy longing of his step-mother ²⁵ Queen Satyavatī was another woman who had a pregnancy desire to play in an ivory palace ²⁶ The *Uttarādhyayana* commentary refers to another craving of “drinking the moon” (*candapiyana*) ²⁷
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The desire to eat meat to fulfil the pregnancy longing seems to be very common. We are told of a woman who had a pregnancy longing to relish various kinds of wine and flesh of various cattle ²⁸ We know of Cellanā, who had a chronic longing to eat the flesh of her husband's belly together with wine When prince Abhaya came to know this, he sent a confidential man to get fresh meat, blood and the entrails from a slaughter house (*ghāyatthāna*) ²⁹ This flesh was placed on the belly of the king who pretended to be unconscious ³⁰ The king simulated that the meat came from his body and thus satisfied the longing of the queen. Then we are told of queen Sudamsanā, who went to visit the painting-hall where having seen the painted deer she had a craving to eat their flesh ³¹ Khandasiri was another woman who had a desire to taste plenty of food, drink, spices, sweetmeats and wine.³²
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³¹ Piṇḍ Nir 80
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³² Vivā 3, p. 23 For pregnancy longings see also Suśruta Saṃhitā, Śarīrasthāna, ch, III, pp. 90-92, also cf Mahāvagga X, 2 5, p. 343. Also Kathāsaritsāgara, Appendix III, pp 221-8