The Pre–Natal Samskaras.

[JaneSmith105]

1. The Meaning

The rite through which a man placed his seed in a woman was called Garbhadhana. Saunaka gives the similar definition though in slightly different words; "The rite by the performance of which a woman receives semen scattered (by her husband) is call Garbhalambhanam or Garbhadhana." So this is quite clear that this rite was not a religious fiction but a ceremony corresponding to fact, though its adherents, later on, fought shy of, and ultimately, abandoned it.

We know nothing about sentiments and rites, if any, regarding the procreation of children and the ceremonial procedure accompanying it in the pre –Vedic times. It must have taken a very long period for the evolution of this samskara. In the beginning, procreation was a natural act. A human pair copulated, whenever there was a physical demand for it, without any anticipation of progeny, though it was usual consequence. The Garbhadhana Samskara, however, presupposed a well established home, a regular marriage, a desire of possessing children and a religious idea that beneficient gods helped men in begetting children. So the origin of this Samskara belongs to a period when the Aryans were far advanced from their primitive conditions.

The Vedic Period

In the Vedic period we see that parental instincts found their expression in many utterences containing prayers for children. Heroic sons regarded as boons conferred by gods on men. The theory of Three Debts was in the process of evolution in the Vedic period. A son was called "Rinachyuta" or one who removes debts, which may denote parental and economic both and the begetting of children was regarded a sacred duty blinding on every individual. Moreover, there are many similes and references in the Vedic hymns bearing on how to approach a women for conception. Thus an idea, and, perhaps, a simple ceremony regarding conception were coming into existence in the Vedic period.

Though the ritual procedure adopted in the Garbhadhana must have assumed a fairly ceremonious shape before the codification of the Samskaras in the Grhyasutras, we do not get an exact information about it in the pre – sutra period. But we come across many prayers in the Vedic hymns pointing to the act of conception, "Let Visnu prepare the womb; let Tvastar adorn thy form; let Prajapati pour on; let Dhatar place the embryo. Place the embryo, O Sarasvati; let both the Asvins garlanded with blue lotus set thine embryo." "As Asvattha has mounted the Sami; there is made the generation of male; that varily is the obtainment of a son; that we bring into women. In the male indeed grows the seed. That is poured along into the women; that verily is the obtainment of a son; that Prajapati said." A verse in the Atharvaveda, contains an invitation to wife to mount the bed for conception: "Being happy in mind, here mount the bed; give birth to children for me, your husband." Descriptions of actual copulation are also found in the pre – sutra literature. From the above references we gather that in the pre – sutra period the husband approached the wife, invited her for conception. Prayed to gods for placing the embryo into her womb and then finished fertilization. The procedure was very simple. No other details are available. It is just possible that some kind of ceremony was performed on this occasion, but we are quite in dark about it. The reason why this ceremony is not described in details seems to be that originally it formed a part of the marriage ritual.

The Sutra Period

The Garbhadhana ceremonies are, for the first time, systematically dealt with in the Grhyasutras. According to them, since marriage the husband was required to approach the wife in every month when she was ceremoniously pure after her monthly course. But before the conception, one had to observe various vows according to the desire of possessing different types of sons – Brahmana, Srotriya (one who has read on sakha), Anuchana (who has read only the Vedangas), Rsikalpa (who has read the kalpas), Bhruna (who has read the sutras and the Pravachanas), Rsi (who has read the four vedas), and Deva (who is superior to the above ). At the end of the vow, cooked food was offered to the fire, after this, the pair were prepared for cohabitation. When the wife was decently decorated, the husband recited Vedic verses containing similes of natural creation and invocations to gods for helping the woman in conception. Then embracing began with verses containing metaphors of joint action of male and female forces, and the husband rubbed how own body with verses expressing his fertilizing capacity. After embracing, conception proper took place with prayers to god Pusan and an indication to scattering semen. The husband, then, touched the heart of the wife, reclining over her right shoulder with the verse, "O thou whose hair is well parted. Thy heart that dwells in heaven, in the moon, that I know; may it know me. May we see a hundred autumns."

The Dharmasutra, the Smrti and Subsequent periods

The Dharmasutras and the Smrtis add little to the ritualistic side of this samskara. Rather they lay down rules regulating the performance, e.g. when the conception should take place; recommended and prohibited nights; astrological considerations; how a polygamous man should approach his wives; conception a compulsory duty and its exceptions; the right of performing the Samskara etc. Only a few Smrtis like the Yajnavalkya, the Apastamba and the Satatapa prescribe bathing for husband after coition, though the wife is exempted form this purification. The last named authority says, "In the bed the husband and the wife both become impure. But after they get up, only the former becomes impure while the latter remains pure."

The Prayogas and the Paddhatis add a few new features to this Samskara. They introduce the worship of Puranic gods and prescribe Sankalpa (determination), Matrpuja and Nandisraddha, and worship of Ganesa or Vinayaka in the beginning of it. Presents and feasts are also enjoined at the end of the Samskara. These features, however, are common to almost all Samskaras.

 

[JaneSmith105]

The Time of Performance

The first question that was raised in connection with the Garbhadhana ceremony was about the time of its performance. The Dharmasutras are unanimous at the point that it should be performed when the wife was physically prepared to conceive, that is, in her Rtu. The proper time for conception was from the fourth to sixteenth night after the monthly course of the wife. The majority of the Grhyasutras and the Smrtis consider the fourth night ceremoniously pure for conception. But the Bobhila Grhyasutra takes a more rational view. According to it, conception should take place after the stoppage of the flow of the impure blood. The woman, before the fourth night, was regarded untouchable and a man approaching her was polluted and also taken to be guilty of abortion, because his semen was scattered in vain.

Only nights were prescribed for conception and day time was prohibited. The reason given for it was that the vital airs of one, who cohabits with his wife in the day time, leap our; one approaching his wife in the night time is still a Brahmachari; one should avoid coition in the day time, because from it unlucky, weak and short-lived children are born. Exceptions to this rule however, were recognized. But they were meant for only those who generally lived abroad, separated from their wives, or when their wives were intensely desirous of cohabitaion. The idea underlying the second exception was that women should be satisfied and protected by every means, so that they should not go astray.

Among the nights later ones were preferred. Baudhayan says that "One should approach is wife from the fourth to the sixteenth night, specially the later ones." Apastamba and others endorsed the same view. Children conceived on later nights were regarded more lucky and meritorious: "A son conceived on the fourth night becomes short-lived and without wealth; a girl conceived on the fifth generally gives birth to female children; a son conceived on the sixth becomes mediocre; a girl conceived on the seventh would become barren; a son conceived on the eighth night becomes a lord or prosperous; if the conception takes place on the ninth night an auspicious woman is born and a son conceived on the tenth becomes wise; a girl conceived on the eleventh night becomes an irreligious woman and a son conceived on the twelfth becomes the best man; on the thirteenth an adulteress woman is born and on the fourteenth a religious, grateful, self – realized and firm in his vow, son is born; on the fifteenth a mother of many sons and devoted to her husband; and on the sixteenth a learned, auspicious, truthful, self-controlled and a refuge of all creatures is born." The rationale of this belief was that conception, father removed from the contact of monthly impurity, was purer and more meritorious.

The sex of the would be child was believed to be determined by the number of night on which the conception took place. Even nights were selected for the birth of a male child an odd ones for a female child. It was thought that quantity of semen and menstrual discharge was responsible for the sex of the child. Parents were guided by their desire of possessing the child of a particular sex.

Certain dates of the month were prohibited for conception. The eighth, the fourteenth, the fifteenth and the thirtieth, and all the parvans were specially avoided. A twice born householder observing the above rule was regarded to be ever a Brahmachari. The Visnupurana, stigmatizes these nights and damns the persons guilty of approaching their wives on them to hell. Manu taboos the eleventh and the thirteenth days also. These days were meant for religious observances and therefore any sexual act was eschewed on them. But there may be other reasons why these nights were forbidden. The ancient Hindus were well conversant with astrology and astronomy. When they could fix the paths of the sun and the moon, they would have observed that their conjunction on different dates produced different effects on the earth. It is a common place knowledge of physical geography that, owing to the attraction of the moon and increase of the watery substance, the physical condition of the earth becomes abnormal on the Parvan dates and consequently the health of the animal world is not sound. So it was thought advisable that such an important act as the Garbhadhana should not be performed on these dates. Most probably, this experience of the astronomers found its place in the Dharmasutra, when astrology developed.

A Polygamous Householder

The next question connected with the Garbhadhana was : How should a polygamous man approach his wives when they were all in their monthly course at once? This question is not raised in the Grhyasutras, the Dharmasutras and the majority of the Smrtis. In very early times polygamy could not have been very common. When the Aryans became well settled in India and began to lead a luxurious life, keeping many wives together became a fashion and a sign of greatness. During the mediaeval period polygamy was very popular, specially among the ruling families. So, when this condition obtained, the Samskaras thought it necessary to lay down some provisions in order to avoid the clash of conflicting interest of co-wives. Devala, a mediaeval Smrti writer, opines that in such a case the husband should approach the wives according to their caste-status, or if there were without any issue, according to the priority of their marriage.

The Performer

Another problem was : Who should perform the Garbhadhana Samskara? The later works on the Dharmasutra do not discuss this problem, as they suppose that none but the husband was the natural performer of this Samskara. But in his absence, substitutes were also allowed. Levitate was current in ancient times, because it was thought necessary to beget children at any cost for the benefit of the family and the dead Fathers. In the Vedic literature we get references where a widow invites her brother – in – law to raise children for her husband. Manu and many other Smrtis allow the widow or the wife of an impotent or invalid person to bear children from the brother of her husband, a Sagotra or a Brahmana, though elsewhere he does not like this idea. In the Mahabharata Bhisma asks Saryavati to invite a Brahmana for raising children on her daughters – in – law, and he goes on describing the qualities of a substitute. Yajnavalkya also permits the substitution: "The brother of the dead husband should co-habit with his wife in her Rtu with the permission of the elders, having rubbed ghee on his body. in his absence a Sagotra or Sapinda should do this." Another Smrti says, "Father is the best performer of the Samskaras, the Garbhadhana and others but in his absence either a man of his own family or a friend of another family should perform them."

Later on, when the idea of female chastity changed and begetting children was not such an imperative need of the time, substitutes for the husband were discouraged and ultimately disallowed. Protest against substitution is recorded even in Manu, where levitate is called Pasudharma or animality. The later Smrtis allow substitutes in the Samskaras other than Garbhadhana. According to the Asvlayana Smrti, if the husband is dead, degraded from the caste, retired from the household life or gone abroad, some elder person of the same Gotra should perform the Samskaras, the Pumsavana etc." Raising children on a widow became tabooed under the Kalivarjya. The Aditya and the Brahma Puranas both include levitate in the list of usages prohibited in the Kali age. At present none but the husband is authorised to perform the Garbhadhana Samskara.

 

[JaneSmith105]

Whether a Garbha or a Ksetra Samskara

The mediaeval treatises also discuss the question whether the Garbhadhana was a Garbha Samskara or Ksetra Samskara. There were two schools of opinion on this point. The first school held that it was the Samskara of Garbha or embryo and based its arguments on Manu and Yajnavalkya, who were of the opinion that "religious rites of the twice born from the conception to the funeral should be performed." The Gautama Dharmasutra also says that forty Samskaras were meant for Purusa or man. According to the second school, Garbhadhana was Ksetra Samskara or the consecration of the wife. They supported their views by such authorities as follows; "Having once cohabited with the wife ceremoniously one should approach her in future ordinarily (without any ceremony)." One should recite the verse beginning with "Vishuryonim" after touching the genital organ of the wife. A child born in her without Garbhadhana attains impurities." They were also of the opinion that this Samskara should be performed only in the first conception, as the Ksetra once consecrated lends purity to every conception in future. Logically speaking, the Garbhadhana was a Garbha Samskara in the beginning, and the second school represents the tendency of simplifying and omitting the Samskara and, certainly, is of a later origin.

A Sacred and Compulsory Duty

Approaching the wife during her Rtu was a sacred and compulsory duty of every married man Manu rejoins, "Remaining true to his wife, one should approach her in every Rtu." Parasara not only enjoins this compulsion but threatens the non-conformist with sins; "One who, though in good health, does not go to his wife during her Rtu, attains the sin of causing abortion, without any doubt." The duty of approaching the husband was equally binding on the wife, when she became pure after her monthly course, Parasara says, "A woman, who having bathed does not go to her husband, becomes a swine in her next life." Yama goes still further and prescribes punishment to her. "She should be abandoned after having been declared "as one causing abortion" in the middle of the village."

The above compulsion represents the condition of an early society, when a large number of children was a great help to the family, both economically and politically. The Aryans, at their rise in India, were a community seeking expansion. So they prayed to gods for sons, at least, ten in number. In ancient times there was no anxiety about the expansion of the family. Besides, begetting as many children as possible was regarded religiously meritorious. The larger the number of children the more happy the Fathers would be in heaven, being sumptuously feasted by their descendants. The ancestral debt could be paid only in the form of children, and the extinction of the family was regarded to be a sin. These circumstances were responsible for making the Garbhadhana a compulsory Samskara.

Exceptions

Exceptions, however; on physical, mental and moral grounds were recognized. "A man has no fear of sin, who does not approach a woman who is very old, barren or corrupt; whose children have all died, who does not pass menses; who is a minor girl or a woman with many sons." The Visnupurana says, "One should not approach a woman who has not bathed, who is afflicted, who is still in her menses, who is not praiseworthy, who is angry, who is thinking ill…, who is not generous, who is thinking of another man, who has no passion at all…, who is hungry or overeaten."

In course of time the social and religious idealogy of the Hindus changed. When the Aryans spread over the country and became master of the soil, their number increased and there was no need of ten sons either for political or economic purposes for every householder. The fascination of heavenly enjoyments also, arising from the offerings of many sons, became less important that salvation dependent on the moral life of the individual. Therefore, the compulsion of approaching the wife in every month was loosened and finally removed. It was binding only in case of those who were childless. After the birth of one son, it became ineffective. "A man should approach his wife in every month until a son is born. The Vedic prayer for ten sons is only a praise." Manu says, "By the birth of the first son alone, man becomes Putrin (Possessing sons) and pays off his ancestral debt. By whose birth one removes the debt of the Fathers, obtains the highest bliss, he alone is the son born of Dharma, or Law. The rest are born of passion." At present there is no craze for a large number of children in the Hindu society.

Significance

The study of the Garbhadhana Samskara is very interesting from the cultural point of view. Here we do not find a primitive man expressing wonder at the prospects of a child and only seeking the help of gods to secure it, nor conception here is a haphazard accident without any desire for the progeny. Here we come across a people who approached their wives with a definite purpose of procreating children, in a definite manner calculated to produce the best possible progeny and with the religious serenity which, they believed, would consecrate the would be child.