Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s19.84

v1.c3.s19.84

(a) The exposure of girl infants is asserted by Zimmer³² on the strength of a passage in the Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā,³³ but it seems clear that the passage has been misunderstood,³⁴ and that it refers merely to laying the child aside, not exposing it, while a boy was lifted up. It is, however, true that the birth of a girl was not at all popular, not an unnatural sentiment in an early society, and paralleled among other Āryan peoples.³⁵