A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c24.73

v1.c24.73

Chapter one² (garbhāvakrānti)³ deals with the following subjects: a living being (sattva) arises, in the form of an embryo (garbha), from pure śukra (semen) and ārtava (the female procreational fluid) (1.1); this embryo, formed from subtle (sūkṣma) mahābhūtas, followed by sattva,⁴ develops gradually in the womb (1.2);⁵ the invisible entry of sattva into the womb (1.3); the various destinies of sattva (1.4); the relative proportions of śukra and ārtava determine the sex of the child (1.5); splitting of śukra and ārtava by vāta gives rise to a multiple birth;⁶ disorders of the doṣas cause abnormalities in the child (1.6); the menstrual discharge (rajas), derived from rasa, appears for three days every month; it begins to appear at the age of twelve and diminishes at the age of fifty⁷ (1.7); the union of a woman of sixteen and a man of twenty years, who are both healthy, may result in the birth of a strong child;⁸ if the ages of the partners are less, the child will be either sickly or short-lived, or conception will not take place (1.8–9);⁹ the disorders of śukra and ārtava: caused by vāta, pitta or kapha, caused by blood and called kuṇapa, caused by kapha and vāta and called granthi, caused by blood and pitta and called pūyābha, caused by vāta and pitta and called kṣīṇa, and another type, called malāhvaya; the last type is of two varieties and makes śukra or ārtava smell like either urine or faeces; these disorders are usually curable with difficulty, but the disorder caused by all three doṣas together, i.e., the malāhvaya type, is incurable (1.10–12ab);¹⁰ the treatment of these disorders (1.12cd–16);¹¹ the characteristics of normal śukra and ārtava (1.17–18ab);¹² the description of a couple fit for procreation (1.18cd–20ab);¹³ the characteristic features of a woman in her fertile period (ṛtumati) (1.20cd–21ab);¹⁴ the closure of the womb after the fertile period (1.21cd–22ab);¹⁵ the process of menstruation (1.22cd–23ab);¹⁶ rules to be observed during the three days of menstruation and on the fourth day (1.23cd–26ab);¹⁷ the fertile period (ṛtu) (1.26cd–27ab);¹⁸ the ritual ensuring conception (putrīyavidhi) (1.27cd–33);¹⁹ rules for sexual intercourse (1.34–35ab);²⁰ the signs indicating conception (1.35cd–36);²¹ the puṃsavana ritual, which determines the sex of the child to be born, should be performed during the first month of pregnancy, when the embryo is in the kalala stage and its sexual organs are still undeveloped; the description of the ritual, followed by measures to stabilize the embryo (1.37–42);²² general rules for the behaviour and diet of a pregnant woman (1.43–49ab);²³ the embryo develops from a kalala into a ghana, peśī or arbuda, dependent on its sex (male, female, klība)²⁴ (1.49cd–50a);²⁵ the characteristics of a pregnant woman(1.50b–52ab);²⁶ the longings (śraddhā)²⁷ of a pregnant woman (1.52cd–54ab);²⁸ the development of the foetus from the third up to the ninth month and onwards; dietary rules for the mother; the treatment of disorders occurring during the seventh and eighth months of pregnancy (1.54cd–69ab);29 signs indicating that a male, respectively female child will be born (1.69cd–71); signs indicating the birth of a klība; signs indicating the birth of twins (1.72);30 the construction of the maternity hut (sūtikāgṛha) (1.73–74ab);31 signs indicating the approach of delivery (1.74cd–76);32 the management of labour (1.77–82);33 the treatment of protracted labour (saṅga) and retention of the placenta (jarāyvapatana) (1.83–89ab);34 other methods for removing the placenta (aparā) (1.89cd–91);35 the treatment of the disorder called makkalla (1.92–93ab);36 the care of the newborn child (1.93cd);37 the treatment of the new mother (1.94–101).38