A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c25.850

v1.c25.850

The subjects dealt with in the first part are: a child, just after being born, should be cleansed by rubbing it with a mixture of salt and ghee (1.2);¹ next, it should be sprinkled with balātaila, which is helpful in overcoming the difficulties caused by the process of birth;² stones should be struck against one another at the root of its ears³ (1.3); when it still does not move, one should fan it with a winnowing basket (śūrpa);⁴ a mantra should be muttered in its right ear⁵ (1.4–6); the umbilical cord should be cut and tied to its neck; the stump has to be sprinkled with kuṣṭhataila (1.7);⁶ the fluids for bathing the child (1.8);⁷ cleansing of the lips, tongue, palate and throat; a cotton swab soaked in a fatty substance should be placed on the head (1.9);⁸ the first ritual feeding (1.10);⁹ making the child vomit remnants of the amniotic fluid (garbhodaka) (1.11);¹⁰ then the jātakarman should be performed according to the prājāpatya prescriptions (1.12).¹¹