A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c23.240

Language: English

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The subjects are: the saumya character of śukra (semen), the āgneya (fiery) character of ārtava (the female procreational fluid); the reasons for positing that the other mahābhūtas are present in them too, although in small amounts (3.3);³⁵ the description of conception: tejas (the fiery principle), activated by vāta, makes the male discharge his semen during sexual intercourse into the female genitals; semen and ārtava unite and, through (this) conjunction of agni and soma, (the product) reaches the uterus (garbhāśaya); the kṣetrajña, endowed with many names,³⁶ enters, impelled by vāta, and accompanied by the bhūtātman, at the same moment (anvakṣam), the same organ and remains settled there, together with sattva, rajas, tamas and all their derivatives (3.4);³⁷ predominance of śukra leads to the formation of a male, predominance of ārtava to the formation of a female child; if both are present in equal amounts, the child will be a napuṃsaka (neither male nor female) (3.5);³⁸ the period suitable to impregnation (ṛtu) consists of twelve days after (the cessation of) the menses; some are of the opinion that the same rule holds good when the woman has not menstruated visibly (adṛṣṭārtava) (3.6); the characteristics of a woman in the fertile part of the menstrual cycle (ṛtumatī) (3.7–8); on expiry of the fertile period (ṛtu), the uterus (yoni) contracts, in the same way as the flower of a water-lily at the end of the day (3.9);

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the ārtava, which comes from two vessels (dhamanī), accumulates in the course of a month and is led to the opening of the female genitals (yonimukha) by vāta; its normal colour is slightly dark (kṛṣṇa) and different from (that of normal blood)³⁹ (3.10);⁴⁰ menstruation starts at the age of twelve years and stops at the age of fifty (3.11); intercourse on even days leads to the conception of a male, on odd days to the conception of a female child (3.12); signs indicating that a woman has recently conceived (3.13);⁴¹ signs indicating pregnancy (3.14–15);⁴² things to be avoided by a pregnant woman (3.16);⁴³ disorders of particular parts of the mother's body, caused by the doṣas, manifest themselves in the same parts of the unborn child (3.17); in the first month of pregnancy the embryo becomes what is called a kalala;⁴⁴ in the second month, due to the action of the mahābhūtas, it develops into a solid mass, which is globular (piṇḍa), elongated (peśī) or like an arbuda, which are characteristics pointing to the formation of a male, female or napuṃsaka child;⁴⁵ in the third month the arms, legs and head begin to appear, and all the major and minor divisions of the body are already present in a subtle form;⁴⁶ in the fourth month the major and minor body parts become visible, and the cetanā-dhātu (the principle of consciousness) begins to manifest itself because the heart of the foetus has been formed; the heart is the seat of cetanā;

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for this reason the foetus begins to long after the objects of the senses; the mother, now possessing two hearts, is called dauhṛdinī from this time onwards;⁴⁷ the defects of children, resulting from neglect of the pregnant woman's longings; the importance of their satisfaction (3.18– 21);48 the effects on the child of particular longings (3.22–28); the pregnancy longings are determined by fate (daiva), just like the actions in a former existence determine those during the present life (3.29); in the fifth month the mind (manas) of the foetus awakens more fully, in the sixth month the buddhi; in the seventh month the major and minor body parts go on to develop; in the eighth month the ojas becomes unstable; a child born in this month will not survive, because of the deficiency of its ojas (nirojastva), and also because it belongs to Nirṛti,49 to whom propitiatory offerings (bali) of māṃsaudana50 should be given in this period;51 delivery takes place in the ninth, tenth, eleventh or twelfth month; if otherwise, it should be regarded as an abnormality (3.30);52 the umbilical cord (garbhanābhināḍī) is attached to the rasa-transporting vessel (nāḍī) of the mother, which carries the vīrya of the āhārarasa53 of the mother to the foetus, which grows thanks to the upasneha (nutrients) this rasa contains;

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this upasneha, carried by the rasa-transporting vessels (dhamanī), which run through the whole body, supports the life of the unborn child (3.31);54 the opinions of a number of authorities on the question which part of the embryo develops first; this part is the head according to Śaunaka, the heart according to Kṛtavīrya, the umbilical region according to Pārāśarya, hands and feet according to Mārkaṇḍeya, the trunk according to Subhūti Gautama; the final verdict came from Dhanvantari who, declaring all these opinions to be false, expounded that all major and minor parts of the body develop simultaneously, although they cannot be distinguished clearly in the early stages (3.32);55 the constituents of the foetus derive from father, mother, rasa, ātman, and sātmya; of paternal origin are all the firm (sthira) parts: hair of the head (keśa), face (śmaśru) and body (loman), bones, nails and teeth, sirās, snāyus and dhamanīs, semen (retas), etc.; derived from the mother are all the soft (mṛdu) parts: muscles, blood, fat (medas), bone marrow, heart, umbilical region, liver, spleen, intestines, ano-rectal region, etc.; derived from rasa are: bodily solidity (upacaya), strength (bala), complexion (varṇa), maintenance (sthiti) and decay (hāni); derived from the ātman are: the senses, spiritual and worldly knowledge (jñāna and vijñāna), span of life (āyus), happiness (sukha), grief (duḥkha), etc.; the constituents derived from sattva will be discussed in one of the subsequent chapters;

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derived from sātmya are: vīrya, health, strength (bala), complexion (varṇa) and intelligence (medhā) (3.33);56 signs indicating that the child carried is male, female, or a napuṃsaka; the sign indicating that a twin-birth is to be expected (3.34);57 the formation of the major and minor body parts is due to svabhāva, but the good or bad features of these parts are due to (the balance of) dharma and adharma (in previous lives) (3.36).