History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c72.313

v5.c72.313

Abortion in the first four months⁶¹⁶ of pregnancy is called *srāva*, abortion in the 5th or 6th month is called *pāta* and from the 7th month of pregnancy onwards it is called *prasūti* or *prasava* (according to Parāśara III. 16, Saḍaśīti verse 9). When there is *srāva* the mother incurs impurity for three days, in the case of *pāta* the mother has to observe impurity for as many days as correspond to the months of pregnancy (i. e. 5 days or 6 days). The impurity consists in the mother being untouchable. The father alone has to bathe when there is *srāva*, but when there is *pāta* the father and sapiṇḍas have to observe impurity for three days (according to Madana-pārijāta p. 380-381 and others) but they don't incur impurity as on death. These rules hold good for all castes. But when the foetus comes out dead in any month from the 7th or the child is still-born, then the impurity is for ten days for both parents and the sapiṇḍas for all varṇas or for 10, 12, 15 and 30 days respectively for the four varṇas as laid down in Yāj. (III. 22) and the samānodakas have to observe āśauca for three days and sagotras for one day (Dharmasindhu p. 427). The above rules are more or less laid down by Gautama 14. 15-16, Baud. Dh. S. I. 5. 136, Parāśara III. 24, Manu V. 66, Yāj. III 20 (latter half) and the first verse of Aśaucadaśaka. The mother is untouchable for ten days on birth, still-birth or abortion in 7th, 8th or 9th month but the father and sapiṇḍas⁶¹⁷ when they take a bath after the *prasava* are not untouchable (Yāj. III. 19). In ancient times there were several differing views about *jananāśauca* for the father as vouched for by Baud.⁶¹⁸ Dh. S. I. 5 125-128. Although a woman becomes touchable in ten days after delivery she is not fit to take part in religious rites for 20 days after she becomes touchable (i. e. 30 days from birth) if she gave birth to a son but for 30 days (i. e. 40 days from birth) if a daughter was born.⁶¹⁹ Women of all varnas become pure (i. e. touchable) ten days after delivery—says Pracetas.⁶²⁰ Devala states that there is no āśauca on the ground of birth when the period of (ten or twelve) days has expired.⁶²¹ If a woman was delivered at her father's or brother's house, then her parents and her brothers staying with the father had to observe āśauca for one day (Dharmasindhu p. 427), but if a woman was delivered of a child at her husband's house then her father or brother had to observe no āśauca (on birth). Even when sagotras have to observe āśauca on birth they are not untouchable (Ṣaḍaśīti verse 6).