Because the embryo is said to arise from purified shukra and artava, the account of its descent appropriately follows the preceding chapter on their purity. The commentary defines the embryo as shukra and shoNita situated in the uterus and combined with Atman, prakRti, and its transformations. GarbhAvakrAnti means its approach, descent, or entry into embodied existence.
Key terms
garbha
The developing embryo or conceptus as defined within the classical account.
garbhAvakrAnti (garbhavakranti)
The descent, entry, or establishment of the embryo.
shukra-Artava (shukra-artava)
The two reproductive contributions from which the text says the embryo arises.
Atman (atman)
The conscious self included in the commentary's account of embodiment.
Shukra is predominantly saumya, associated with Soma, while artava is predominantly Agneya, associated with fire. The other elements are also present in both in a subtle way because the elements assist one another and interpenetrate one another.
The commentary explains this because shukra and artava are treated as the basis of the embryo. Saumya means having a predominance of the qualities of Soma, and Agneya a predominance of the qualities of fire. To answer the objection that every substance is composed of five elements, it says earth, air, and space are also present, though subtly. The five elements support one another through the functions of holding, cohesion, transformation, arrangement, and providing space. In a predominantly earthy substance, earth is strong while the other four elements are weaker and receive support from it; in another substance, strong water or other elements can support a weaker earth component. This is the mutual assistance or mutual favor expressed by the textual variant. Their mutual interpenetration was also stated in the preceding chapter.
Key terms
saumya
Predominantly possessing qualities associated with Soma.
Agneya (agneya)
Predominantly possessing qualities associated with fire.
sAnnidhya (sannidhya)
Subtle presence or association of the other elements.
In the union of woman and man, vAyu intensifies the bodily heat. Through the conjunction of heat and vAyu, released shukra reaches the reproductive passage and combines with artava. Following this union of the fire-like and Soma-like principles, the kShetrajna enters and remains in the uterus together with the elemental self, immediately impelled by vAyu, prior karma, sattva, rajas, tamas, and dispositions described as divine, demonic, and other. This conscious principle is called the experiencer, toucher, smeller, seer, hearer, taster, puruSha, creator, traveler, witness, sustainer, speaker, and by other synonymous names; it is described as imperishable, unchanging, and beyond thought.
The commentary presents the classical sequence of conception after describing shukra and artava. Conjugal union is defined as an intentional intimate act with particular desire for contact. Tejas is the heat produced by contact of the partners' sexual organs, which vAyu intensifies; the resulting heat is said to liquefy and release shukra. It reaches the uterine bed in the third fold of the reproductive passage and mixes with artava already spread there. The five-element reproductive material becomes an embryo only when joined by a sixth conscious constituent. KShetrajna means the karmic person who knows the bodily field of five elements and enters with a subtle elemental or li~gga body. Sattva here can also mean mind. The commentary classifies seven sattvic dispositions as divine, six rajasic ones as demonic, and three tamasic ones as animal-like or other. It cites another text for mind's role in connecting the living being with the body. The many names explain the kShetrajna: it makes mental and sensory awareness possible, dwells in the bodily city, acts through consciousness, undergoes transmigration, witnesses through knowing, sustains bodily conjunction, and underlies the active faculties. The unusual pronouns 'who?' and 'that' indicate respectively that it is difficult to know and is all-pervading or known through a true teacher. Though described as imperishable and inconceivable, it enters the uterus under the force of prior dharma and adharma and remains there as an embryo.
Key terms
kShetraj~ja (kshetrajna)
The conscious knower of the bodily field and karmic person in this account.
garbhAshaya (garbhashaya)
The uterine or embryonic receptacle in which the embryo is said to become established.
bhUtAtman (bhutatman)
The subtle elemental or linga body accompanying the conscious principle.
daiva
Prior karma, explained as dharma and adharma, influencing embodiment.
sAkShin (sakshin)
Witness, one of the names for the conscious principle.
Adhikarana 4 (5) · Śloka 5
tatra śukrabāhulyāt pumān, ārtavabāhulyāt strī, sāmyādubhayōrnapuṁsakamiti ||5||
The commentary asks how different outcomes arise from apparently similar causes. It addresses an objection that artava is always greater in measured volume than shukra by limiting the comparison to the clean portion of artava present in the uterus that participates in generation, or by judging abundance relative to each substance's own normal quantity. It also says shukra may be released in greater amount with intense excitement and less with dejection. Other teachers interpret superiority, inferiority, or equality of shukra and artava in terms of potency rather than volume. To the objection that this would make the preceding rites for a desired son pointless, the commentator replies that auspicious action is still needed for children to possess desired qualities such as form, character, and longevity.
Key terms
shukrabAhulya (shukrabahulya)
Predominance of shukra, interpreted as relative quantity or potency.
ArtavabAhulya (artavabahulya)
Predominance of artava, interpreted as relative quantity or potency.
sAmya (samya)
Equality or balance between the two reproductive contributions.
napuMsaka (napumsaka)
A classical sex or gender category outside the male-female binary; exact scope is context-dependent.
vIrya (virya)
Potency or effective strength in the alternative explanation.
The visible-artava fertile period is stated to last twelve nights. Some authorities also say that a fertile period may exist without visible artava.
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strīpuṁsayōḥ saṁyōgō yasmin kālē'patyaphalapradō bhavati taṁ kālaviśēṣamāha- r̥turityādi| dr̥ṣṭamārtavaṁ yasmin kālē sa dr̥ṣṭārtavaḥ kālaḥ r̥tuḥ, sa ca dvādaśarātraṁ bhavati| dvādaśarātramiti ṣōḍaśadinēṣu madhyē ādyaṁ dinatrayamantimaṁ ca ṣōḍaśaṁ yōnisaṅkōcadinaṁ na gaṇanīyam| ēkīyamatamāha- adr̥ṣṭētyādi||6||
Meaning of the commentary
The commentary defines Rtu as the particular time when sexual union is considered capable of producing offspring. The twelve-night visible-artava period is counted within sixteen days by excluding the first three days and the sixteenth, which is regarded as a day of constriction of the reproductive passage. The statement that fertility can occur without visible artava is explicitly presented as another school's opinion.
Key terms
Rtu (ritu)
The classically defined fertile or reproductive period.
dRuShTArtava (drishtartava)
A fertile period associated with visible menstrual flow.
adRuShTArtava (adrishtartava)
A proposed fertile period without visible menstrual flow, according to some authorities.
A person in the fertile state without visible artava is described as having a full and bright face; increased moisture of the body, mouth, and gums; desire for a male partner and affectionate conversation; looseness or downward appearance of the abdomen, eyes, and hair; pulsation or heightened sensation in the arms, breasts, pelvis, navel, thighs, genital region, and buttocks; and marked joy and eagerness.
The commentary identifies these as signs of the fertile state when artava is not visibly seen. Praklinna means especially moist. Atman here means the body, and the mouth is repeated even though included in the body to stress the degree of moisture. Dvija literally means teeth, but because teeth themselves cannot become moist in the intended sense, the commentator takes it as the gum tissue surrounding them. HarShautsukya is explained as an especially strong desire for sexual union.
Key terms
RutumatI (ritumati)
A person regarded as being in the classically defined fertile state.
praklinna
Markedly moist or softened.
dvija
Literally teeth, interpreted here as the surrounding gums.
harShautsukya (harshautsukya)
Joyful eagerness, glossed as heightened desire for sexual union.
Just as a lotus closes after its appointed day has passed, the reproductive passage is said to close when a woman's fertile period has ended.
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yōnisaṅkōcēna bījasya garbhāśayāprāptiṁ darśayannāha- niyatamityādi| yōnirgarbhāśayaḥ, saṁvriyatē saṅkōcaṁ yāti| ata ēva bījaṁ na pratīcchati ||9||
Meaning of the commentary
The commentary interprets yoni here as the uterus and says it undergoes constriction. On that basis, the text reasons that it no longer receives the reproductive seed.
Key terms
Rtu (ritu)
The classically defined fertile period.
yoni
The reproductive passage, interpreted by the commentary here as the uterus.
saMvriyate (samvriyate)
Closes or contracts in the passage's lotus analogy.
At the appropriate time, artava accumulated over a month is conveyed through two dhamanIs to the opening of the reproductive passage by vAyu; it is described as slightly dark and altered in color.
The commentary defines the appropriate age period as beginning at twelve years and ending before sixty. Other authorities give an upper limit of fifty years.
Key terms
Artava (artava)
Menstrual material in this passage.
dhamanI (dhamani)
One of two classically described channels conveying artava.
तद्वर्षाद्द्वादशात् काले वर्तमानमसृक् पुनः |
जरापक्वशरीराणां याति पञ्चाशतः क्षयम् ||११||
Meaning of the śloka
The verse says that artava begins to occur regularly from the twelfth year and, as the bodily tissues age, gradually comes to an end after the fiftieth year.
The commentary identifies artava here with monthly menstrual flow. It says that after twelve years of age it appears month by month while the body's tissues are developing, and after fifty it gradually diminishes as those tissues are affected by aging. The word 'gradually' is understood although not stated in the verse.
Key terms
Artava (artava)
Monthly menstrual flow in this passage.
dvAdashavarSha (dvadasha-varsha)
The twelfth year, given as the traditional time of onset.
The text says that intercourse on even days of the fertile period produces a male child and on other, odd days a female child. It therefore advises a person seeking offspring to approach his partner during her fertile period after observing bodily cleanliness.
The commentary reads yugma as even-numbered days and anyatha as odd-numbered days, while shuchi means physically clean. It asks whether day parity is an alternative to the earlier theory that predominance of shukra produces a boy and predominance of artava a girl, and answers that the two conditions are meant jointly. A citation from Videha says artava is less on even days and greater on odd days, linking those amounts to male and female birth. Bhoja is also quoted: odd days produce a girl, even days a boy, the transitional times a child classified as napumsaka; predominance of shukra or menstrual blood determines male or female birth, while equality produces a 'third nature.'
Key terms
yugma divasa
An even-numbered day of the fertile period.
puShpakAla (pushpa-kala)
The fertile or menstrual-cycle period intended for conception.
shukrabAhulya (shukra-bahulya)
Predominance of shukra in the cited sex-determination theory.
ArtavabAhulya (artava-bahulya)
Predominance of artava in the cited sex-determination theory.
tRutIyA prakRuti (tritiya prakriti)
Literally 'third nature,' a historical category linked here with equal reproductive contributions.
Adhikarana 11 (13) · Śloka 13
tatra sadyōgr̥hītagarbhāyā liṅgāni- śramō glāniḥ pipāsā sakthisadanaṁ śukraśōṇitayōravabandhaḥ sphuraṇaṁ ca yōnēḥ ||13||
Signs said to appear immediately after conception are fatigue, lassitude, thirst, weakness of the thighs, cessation of the reproductive discharges, and a throbbing or quivering sensation in the vagina.
The commentary says these signs are given so that activities considered unsuitable can be avoided. It glosses shrama as fatigue, glani as weariness, sakthi-sadana as weakness or weariness of the thighs, avabandha as non-flow or cessation, and sphurana as trembling or pulsation.
Key terms
sadyogRuhItagarbha (sadyo-grihita-garbha)
A pregnancy believed to have been newly established.
shrama
Fatigue.
sakthisadana (sakthi-sadana)
Weakness or weariness of the thighs.
avabandha
Cessation or failure of flow.
yonisphuraNa (yoni-sphurana)
A throbbing, quivering, or trembling genital sensation.
Later signs attributed to pregnancy are darkening of the nipples, appearance of a line of abdominal hair, greater closing or heaviness of the eyelids, vomiting without intention, aversion even to pleasant smells, increased salivation, and bodily weakness.
The commentary introduces these as signs arising at a later stage after conception. It specifically glosses praseka as spitting or increased discharge of saliva and otherwise leaves the listed signs without further interpretation.
Appearance or prominence of a line of abdominal hair.
chardi
Vomiting.
gandhodvega
Aversion or distress in response to smells.
praseka
Increased salivation or spitting.
Adhikarana 13 (16-17) · Śloka 17
tadā prabhr̥ti vyavāyaṁ vyāyāmamatitarpaṇamatikarśanaṁ divāsvapnaṁ rātrijāgaraṇaṁ śōkaṁ yānārōhaṇaṁ bhayamutkuṭukāsanaṁ caikāntataḥ snēhādikriyāṁ śōṇitamōkṣaṇaṁ cākālē vēgavidhāraṇaṁ ca na sēvēta ||16||
dōṣābhighātairgarbhiṇyā yō yō bhāgaḥ prapīḍyatē |
sa sa bhāgaḥ śiśōstasya garbhasthasya prapīḍyatē ||17||
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तदा प्रभृति व्यवायं व्यायाममतितर्पणमतिकर्शनं दिवास्वप्नं रात्रिजागरणं शोकं यानारोहणं भयमुत्कुटुकासनं चैकान्ततः स्नेहादिक्रियां शोणितमोक्षणं चाकाले वेगविधारणं च न सेवेत ||१६||
दोषाभिघातैर्गर्भिण्या यो यो भागः प्रपीड्यते |
स स भागः शिशोस्तस्य गर्भस्थस्य प्रपीड्यते ||१७||
Meaning of the śloka
From that time, the text advises complete avoidance of sexual intercourse, strenuous exercise, excessive nourishment, excessive fasting or depletion, daytime sleep, staying awake at night, grief, riding in vehicles or on animals, fear, squatting, oleation and related procedures, untimely bloodletting, and suppression of natural urges. It states that whichever part of the pregnant person's body is distressed through disturbance of the doshas, the corresponding part of the fetus is also distressed.
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tadētyādi| akālaśabda ētajjñāpayati- kālē'ṣṭamē māsi garbhiṇyā api snēhādikriyāntargatē āsthāpanānuvāsanē dēyē||16-17||
Meaning of the commentary
The commentary focuses on the qualifier 'untimely.' It infers that, at the proper time—identified as the eighth month—some procedures included under oleation and related therapy, specifically asthapana and anuvasana enemas, may be administered even during pregnancy. The verses otherwise connect maternal bodily disturbance with harm to the corresponding fetal region.
Key terms
atitarpaNa (atitarpana)
Excessive nourishment or overfeeding.
atikarshana
Excessive depletion, fasting, or emaciating practice.
In the first month the embryo is described as kalala. In the second, the great elements, acted upon by cold, heat, and vayu, become a dense mass: the text calls a rounded form male, an elongated fleshy form female, and an arbuda-like form napumsaka. In the third month five projections corresponding to hands, feet, and head appear, while the divisions of larger and smaller parts remain subtle. In the fourth month all parts become clearer. Because the fetal heart and the conscious principle are then said to become manifest, the fetus forms desires for sensory objects; the pregnant person is therefore called 'two-hearted.' The text claims that frustrating these desires can cause bodily or sensory differences in the child and advises providing what is desired, saying fulfillment produces a strong, long-lived son.
Kalala is compared with nasal mucus. Cold is identified with kapha, heat with pitta, and vayu also participates in transformation; a Charaka citation speaks of five kinds of heat associated with the elements. Ghana means firm. The primary explanation calls pinda round, peshi elongated, and arbuda like half a round fruit; Gayi, following Bhoja, preserves different shapes—peshi square, pinda round and solid, and arbuda like a silk-cotton bud. In the third month the four limbs, head, chest, back, and abdomen are counted as major parts, while structures such as chin, nose, lips, ears, fingers, and heels are subsidiary parts. In the fourth month consciousness is said to manifest because the heart is its seat; sensory objects mean sound, touch, form, taste, and smell. The pregnant person is 'two-hearted' because the fetal heart is present within. The commentary links denial of cravings with particular bodily and sensory impairments in the child.
Key terms
kalala
The first-month embryonic state, compared by the commentary with nasal mucus.
piNDa (pinda)
A rounded, dense second-month form associated by the source with male development.
peshI (peshi)
A second-month form associated by the source with female development; its described shape varies.
arbuda
A second-month form associated with the historical napumsaka category.
dauhRudinI (dauhridini)
The pregnant person described as 'two-hearted' and experiencing pregnancy desires.
The physician is told to obtain and provide the sensory objects a pregnant person wishes to experience, out of concern for harm to the fetus. When such pregnancy desires are fulfilled, the text predicts a child endowed with good qualities; when they are not, it predicts danger to the fetus or pregnant person. It further says that rejection of a desired sound, touch, sight, taste, or smell may cause suffering in the child's corresponding sense faculty.
These verses restate the preceding prose account. 'To experience' includes not only eating but also seeing, hearing, and other sensory activities. Failure to receive the desired object is said to create danger concerning either the fetus or the pregnant person. Vimananā means frustration or denial of the desire, and the commentary links each denied sensory object with distress in the child's faculty that apprehends that object.
Key terms
indriyArtha (indriyartha)
An object of sensory experience, including sound, touch, form, taste, and smell.
dauhRuda (dauhrida)
A pregnancy desire or craving attributed to the fetus through the pregnant person.
vimAnanA (vimānana)
Frustration, rejection, or denial of a pregnancy desire.
The verses associate particular pregnancy desires with predicted traits in the child. Desire to see a king is linked with wealth and good fortune; desire for fine cloth, silk, and ornaments with elegance and love of adornment; desire for a hermitage with self-restraint and virtue; and desire for a deity's image with resemblance to a worthy courtly attendant. Seeing fierce animals is linked with violence. Desires for the meat of monitor lizard, cattle, buffalo, boar, deer, srumara, or partridge are each linked with traits such as sleepiness, retention, strength, endurance, courage, red eyes, hairiness, speed, forest-dwelling, fearfulness, or—under a variant reading—good character. For desires not listed, the child is said to resemble the desired object's bodily qualities, behavior, and disposition.
The commentary explains these as specific qualities attributed to children according to different dauhridas. Mahabhaga means greatly fortunate. It identifies dukula and patta as kinds of cloth, kausheya as silk, and ornaments as items such as pearl necklaces; lalita means displaying graceful or amorous conduct. Desire connected with a hermitage is said to yield a self-controlled child, while vyala denotes fierce animals such as tigers. In the animal-meat examples, dharanatmaka means retaining what is grasped by the heart or mind; vikranta means energetic and janghala swift. Srumara is interpreted as a large boar, while others call it an animal resembling a large horse with a yak-like tail. For the partridge line, some read 'always fearful,' while others read 'always of good conduct.' The final verse generalizes that an unlisted desire produces a child resembling its object.
Key terms
dauhRuda (dauhrida)
A pregnancy desire linked by the verses with predicted traits in the child.
dukUla (dukula)
A fine cloth; its exact relation to patta is discussed in a variant reading.
saMyatAtman (samyatatman)
Self-controlled or having restrained senses.
sRumara (srumara)
An animal identified as a large boar or, alternatively, a horse-like creature with a yak-like tail.
कर्मणा चोदितं जन्तोर्भवितव्यं पुनर्भवेत् |
यथा तथा दैवयोगाद्दौर्हृदं जनयेद्धृदि ||२९||
Meaning of the śloka
The text states that, through the working of destiny, a dauhrida desire arises in the pregnant person's heart in a form corresponding to what the developing being is impelled by karma to become in a future existence.
The commentary restates the causal sequence: destiny produces a particular dauhrida desire in the heart so that the future state toward which the being is driven by karma may come about.
Key terms
karma
Action and its consequences, said here to shape the being's future state.
daivayoga
The operation or conjunction of destiny.
daurhRuda (dauhrida)
A pregnancy-related desire or longing believed to express the developing being's heart.
In the fifth month, the mind is said to become more awakened; in the sixth, understanding develops; and in the seventh, the divisions of all major and minor body parts become clearer. In the eighth month, ojas is described as unstable, and a child born then is said not to survive because of lacking ojas and being allotted to the Nairrita beings; therefore the text prescribes an offering of rice with meat. Birth is said to occur in any of the ninth through twelfth months, while birth outside that range is associated with abnormality.
The commentary explains 'more awakened' as becoming alert. It describes ojas as the support or abode of all dhatus, situated in the heart. It interprets the Nairrita share as belonging to rakshasas and cites Kumaratantra for the belief that Rudra allotted them a share among children; on that historical basis, it prescribes an offering to Nairrita during the eighth month.
Key terms
ojas
A vital principle described as the support of all dhatus and as unstable in the eighth month.
pratibuddhatara
More awakened or alert.
a~ggapratya~ggavibhAga (angapratyanga-vibhaga)
Differentiation of major and minor body parts.
NairRuta (Nairrita)
A ritual recipient associated by the commentary with rakshasas.
bali
A ritual offering, here specified as rice with meat.
A channel connected with the fetus's navel is said to join a rasa-carrying channel of the pregnant person and convey the nutritive potency of consumed food. This nourishing contact supports growth; before the body parts become distinct, nourishment from transverse rasa-carrying dhamanis throughout the body is said to sustain the developing being from conception onward. Authorities disagree over which part appears first: Shaunaka says the head, Kritavirya the heart, Parasharya the navel, Markandeya the hands and feet, and Subhuti Gautama the middle of the body. Dhanvantari rejects these separate-first accounts and says that all major and minor parts arise simultaneously but cannot initially be perceived because they are subtle. Like the parts of a young mango fruit or bamboo shoot, they become clearly distinguishable with time.
The commentary explains that the fetal navel-channel carries to the fetus the nutritive essence and potency of food eaten by the pregnant person. Before limbs are visibly differentiated, nourishment by the rasa-carrying dhamanis is compared to water from a full lake sustaining trees along its bank. It defines anisheka as beginning with insemination and conception. A quotation attributed to Bhoja says that the fetus engages rasa- and blood-carrying channels; jarayu arises from blood and a rasa-natured channel reaches the fetus. The essence formed from the pregnant person's four kinds of food is divided three ways: one part nourishes their body, one supports breast milk, and one nourishes the fetus, as an irrigated channel nourishes a field. In the debate over the first organ, each authority gives a reason: the head houses the chief senses, the heart is the seat of understanding and mind, the body grows from the navel, activity depends on hands and feet, and all limbs depend on the middle body. Dhanvantari's position is that all are already present together in subtle form and become manifest over time, illustrated by mango fruit and bamboo shoots.
Key terms
garbhanAbhinADI (garbhanabhi-nadi)
The channel connected to the fetal navel that conveys nourishment in the classical account.
AhArarasavIrya (ahara-rasa-virya)
The nutritive essence and potency derived from consumed food.
upasneha
Nourishing permeation or contact, compared with water sustaining plants.
AniSheka (anisheka)
Insemination and the beginning of conception, according to the commentary.
yugapat
Simultaneously; Dhanvantari's view of how the body parts arise.
saukShmya (saukshmya)
Subtle minuteness that makes early parts imperceptible.
The text classifies fetal characteristics as arising from six sources: paternal, maternal, nutritive rasa, the self, sattva, and habituation or suitability. Stable structures—including head hair, beard, body hair, bone, nails, teeth, vessels, ligaments, dhamanis, and reproductive substance—are called paternal. Softer structures—including flesh, blood, fat, marrow, heart, navel, liver, spleen, intestines, and rectum—are called maternal. Growth, strength, complexion, maintenance, and decline are attributed to nutritive rasa. The senses, knowledge, discriminative awareness, lifespan, pleasure, pain, and related experiences are attributed to the self. Sattva-derived traits are deferred to a later discussion. Vital potency, health, strength, complexion, and intellectual capacity are attributed to suitability or habituation.
The commentary explains lakshanas as features to be recognized and assigns each to its stated causal source. 'Atmaja' means arising in the presence of the self, not being produced by the self, because the self is held to be unchanging and therefore unable to generate modifications. It argues that if such modifications were the self's inherent nature, liberation would be impossible because an inherent quality could not be abandoned. The word 'and so forth' also includes birth in various classes of beings. Traits derived from sattva will be explained later in the discussion of the fetus.
Key terms
pitRuja (pitrija)
Classified as arising from the paternal contribution.
mAtRuja (matrija)
Classified as arising from the maternal contribution.
rasaja
Classified as arising from nutritive rasa.
Atmaja (atmaja)
Arising in the presence of the self, rather than produced by it, according to the commentary.
sattvaja
Classified as arising from sattva or the mental constitution.
sAtmyaja (satmyaja)
Classified as arising from habituation, suitability, or adaptation.
Adhikarana 21 (34) · Śloka 34
tatra yasyā dakṣiṇē stanē prāk payōdarśanaṁ bhavati dakṣiṇakukṣimahattvaṁ ca pūrvaṁ ca dakṣiṇaṁ sakthyutkarṣati bāhulyācca punnāmadhēyēṣu dravyēṣu daurhr̥damabhidhyāyati svapnēṣu cōpalabhatē padmōtpalakumudāmrātakādīni punnāmānyēva prasannamukhavarṇā ca bhavati tāṁ brūyāt putramiyaṁ janayiṣyatīti, tadviparyayē kanyāṁ, yasyāḥ pārśvadvayamavanataṁ purastānnirgatamudaraṁ prāgabhihitaṁ ca lakṣaṇaṁ ca tasyā napuṁsakamiti vidyāt, yasyā madhyē nimnaṁ drōṇībhūtamudaraṁ sā yugmaṁ prasūyata iti ||34||
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तत्र यस्या दक्षिणे स्तने प्राक् पयोदर्शनं भवति दक्षिणकुक्षिमहत्त्वं च पूर्वं च दक्षिणं सक्थ्युत्कर्षति बाहुल्याच्च पुन्नामधेयेषु द्रव्येषु दौर्हृदमभिध्यायति स्वप्नेषु चोपलभते पद्मोत्पलकुमुदाम्रातकादीनि पुन्नामान्येव प्रसन्नमुखवर्णा च भवति तां ब्रूयात् पुत्रमियं जनयिष्यतीति, तद्विपर्यये कन्यां, यस्याः पार्श्वद्वयमवनतं पुरस्तान्निर्गतमुदरं प्रागभिहितं च लक्षणं च तस्या नपुंसकमिति विद्यात्, यस्या मध्ये निम्नं द्रोणीभूतमुदरं सा युग्मं प्रसूयत इति ||३४||
Meaning of the śloka
The text gives traditional signs used to predict fetal sex or number. Earlier milk in the right breast, greater prominence of the right abdomen, first lifting the right thigh, frequent desires for objects with grammatically masculine names, dreams of masculine-named lotuses and fruits, and a clear facial complexion are said to indicate a son; opposite signs are said to indicate a daughter. Depressed flanks with the abdomen projecting forward, together with both previously described sets of signs, are said to indicate a child classified as napumsaka. An abdomen depressed in the middle like a trough is said to indicate twins.
The commentary says these signs are intended to infer an unseen fetus as female, male, or napumsaka. The word 'and' after clear facial complexion is said to include an upward-running line of abdominal hair and other signs. Having both previously described sets means showing both the female and male signs. Dronibhuta means shaped like a water trough. The commentary also quotes another source saying that a person whose abdominal hair-line is depressed will bear twins.
Key terms
dauhRuda (dauhrida)
A pregnancy-related desire or longing.
punnAmadheya (punnamadheya)
An object whose name is grammatically masculine.
napuMsaka (napumsaka)
A historical sex or gender category outside the binary male/female classification.
The text says that people devoted to deities and brahmanas and pleased with purity and proper conduct bear children of great qualities, while those with the opposite conduct bear children lacking such qualities.
The commentary presents this verse as a way of inferring the qualities of a future child from the bodily, verbal, and mental qualities of the pregnant person.
Key terms
devatAbrAhmaNapara (devata-brahmana-para)
Devoted to deities and brahmanas in the text's social-religious setting.
shauca (shaucha)
Purity or cleanliness.
AcAra (achara)
Conduct or customary observance.
mahAguNa (mahaguna)
Possessing qualities regarded as excellent by the text.
nirguNa (nirguna)
Described by the text as lacking valued qualities.
अङ्गप्रत्यङ्गनिर्वृत्तिः स्वभावादेव जायते |
अङ्गप्रत्यङ्गनिर्वृत्तौ ये भवन्ति गुणागुणाः |
ते ते गर्भस्य विज्ञेया धर्माधर्मनिमित्तजाः ||३६||
Meaning of the śloka
The formation of the major and minor body parts is said to arise from svabhava, inherent nature. The favorable and unfavorable qualities that appear during that formation are said to arise from dharma and adharma.
The commentary connects the first statement with an earlier verse that listed svabhava among explanatory principles. It then attributes the favorable and unfavorable characteristics mentioned in preceding verses to dharma and adharma.
Key terms
a~gga (anga)
A major body part.
pratya~gga (pratyanga)
A subsidiary or minor body part.
nirvRutti (nirvritti)
Formation or development.
svabhAva (svabhava)
Inherent nature, said here to account for bodily formation.
dharmAdharma (dharma-adharma)
Merit and demerit, offered as causes of favorable and unfavorable qualities.
This marks the end of the third chapter of the Sharirasthana in Dalhana's commentary on Sushruta entitled Nibandhasangraha. The transmitted spelling of Dalhana's name is shown with a textual variation.
Key terms
garbha
The embryo, fetus, pregnancy, or developing being according to context.
avakrAnti (avakranti)
Descent or entry, referring in the title to the beginning and development of embodied life.
shArIrasthAna (Sharirasthana)
The division concerned with embodiment and development.