A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c21.45

v1.c21.45

In the Bhelasamhitā he represents the view, ascribed to Kumāraśiras Bharadvāja in the Carakasamhitā, that the head is the first part of the body to appear during the development of the embryo in the womb (Śā.4.30); he also expounds (Śā.4.32) that the head of the foetus is turned downwards in the womb. In another chapter of the same treatise (Śā.6) he tries, as in the Carakasamhitā, to disprove Ātreya’s thesis on the elements leading to the formation of an embryo; he also rejects Ātreya’s statement that vāyu and agni leave the body after death.