Changes

# In the Brh. Up. it is given under the name '''Putramantha'''.

# In the Brh. Up. it is given under the name '''Putramantha'''.

# In Grhya Sutras '''Chaturthi-karman''' and '''Garbhadhana''' are two different rites. (They have never used the name Garbhadhana for Chaturthi-karman.)<ref name=":4" />

# In Grhya Sutras '''Chaturthi-karman''' and '''Garbhadhana''' are two different rites. (They have never used the name Garbhadhana for Chaturthi-karman.)<ref name=":4" />

# In the Vaikhanasa Grhyasutra the word '''Rtusamgamana''' has been used and another term '''Kshetra Samskara''' is mentioned without much clarity in usage. Some scholars point out that Kshetra Samskara points to a<ref name=":5" />

# In the Vaikhanasa Grhyasutra the word '''Rtusamgamana''' has been used and another term '''Kshetra Samskara''' is mentioned with little clarity in usage.<ref name=":5" />

# The Smrtis have used the name '''Garbhadhana'''.

# The Smrtis have used the name '''Garbhadhana'''.

#* Manu (II.16) has used the word “'''Niseka'''”.

#* Manu (II.16) has used the word “'''Niseka'''”.

=== कालः ॥ Time of Performance ===

=== कालः ॥ Time of Performance ===

The time prescribed for the rite is mentioned either as the fourth night (B.1.7.37) or more specifically the second part of the fourth night (Bh. 1.19; Apa. 3.9.10), or simply as 'after a lapse of three nights' (J.1.22; Kh. 1.4.12) after marriage. After marriage usually after the fourth day of the menstrual cycle of the wife is prescribed for this samskara.<ref name=":4" /> Many texts agree that the proper time for conception was from the fourth to the sixteenth night after the monthly course of the wife. While a majority of the Grhyasutras and Smrtis consider the fourth night ceremoniously pure for conception, but Gobhila Grhyasutra takes a rational view where it prescribes conception to take place after the stoppage of the flow of the impure blood.<ref name=":1" />   

The time prescribed for the rite is mentioned either as the fourth night (B.1.7.37) or more specifically the second part of the fourth night (Bh. 1.19; Apa. 3.9.10), or simply as 'after a lapse of three nights' (J.1.22; Kh. 1.4.12) after marriage. After marriage usually after the fourth day of the menstrual cycle of the wife is prescribed for this samskara.<ref name=":4" /> Many texts agree that the proper time for conception was from the fourth to the sixteenth night after the monthly course of the wife. While a majority of the Grhyasutras and Smrtis consider the fourth night ceremoniously pure for conception, but Gobhila Grhyasutra takes a rational view where it prescribes conception to take place after the stoppage of the flow of the impure blood.<ref name=":1" />   

'''Preference of days farther away from menstruation''': The Sutras also mention that children conceived later from the fourth night after purificatory bath are regarded meritorious and prosperous. The rationale of this belief was that conception, farther removed from the contact of monthly impurity, was purer and more meritorious.<ref name=":1" />   

'''Preference of days farther away from menstruation''': The Sutras also mention that children conceived later from the fourth night after purificatory bath are regarded meritorious and prosperous. The rationale of this belief was that conception, farther removed from the contact of monthly impurity, was purer and more meritorious.<ref name=":1" />   

'''Gender of the child:''' 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 and odd ones for a female child.<ref name=":1" />   

'''Gender of the child:''' 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 and odd ones for a female child.<ref name=":1" />   

 

 

According to one version,<ref name=":5" /> the wife is obliged to approach husband post her menstrual cycle, after taking bath for Ṛtusaṁgaman, which is what makes one think, that Garbhadhāṇā was typically a conceiving sacrament marked by ritualistic performances whereas the Ṛtusaṁgaman seems less significant marking the repeated union of the couple.<blockquote>ऋतुः स्वाभाविकः स्त्रीणां रात्रयः षोडश स्मृताः । चतुर्भिरितरैः सार्धं अहोभिः सद्विगर्हितैः । । ३.४६ । ।

=== Sacred and Compulsory duty ===

तासां आद्याश्चतस्रस्तु निन्दितैकादशी च या । त्रयोदशी च शेषास्तु प्रशस्ता दशरात्रयः । । ३.४७ । । (Manu. Smrt. 3.46-47)</blockquote>Meaning: Always faithful to her for sexual pleasures, let him visit his wife during the menstrual period avoiding the days of the parva and when not observing a vow. The period is said to last for sixteen days including the four days of flow which are condemned by the wise.<ref name=":5" />

In Pārāskara Gṛhyasūtra (1.11), it has been established that once the husband has led his wife to house, he should cohabit with her after each of her monthly periods.<blockquote>तामुदुह्य यथर्तु प्रवेशनम् ७ यथाकामी वा काममाविजनितोः संभवामेति वचनात् ८ (Para. Grhy. Sutr. 1.11.7-8)</blockquote>It is also advised that given her will for pleasure, he should allow himself to be indulged in intercourse for sexual pleasures.<ref name=":5" />

Parashara, also asserts that the husband should approach the wife in every Rtu, and one who, despite being in good health, does not comply, attains the papa (sin) of causing abortion.<ref name=":5" />

As mentioned previously, after the initial garbha samskara and ceremonious rites, the husband and wife are to cohabit every month after the purificatory bath of the wife. That is, the rtusamagama was prescribed but without the ceremonial rites.<ref name=":1" />

According to one version,<ref name=":5" /> the wife is obliged to approach husband post her menstrual cycle, after taking bath for Ṛtusaṁgaman, which is what makes one think, that Garbhadhāṇā was typically a conceiving sacrament marked by ritualistic performances whereas the Ṛtusaṁgaman seems less significant marking the repeated union of the couple.<blockquote>ऋतुः स्वाभाविकः स्त्रीणां रात्रयः षोडश स्मृताः । चतुर्भिरितरैः सार्धं अहोभिः सद्विगर्हितैः । । ३.४६ । । तासां आद्याश्चतस्रस्तु निन्दितैकादशी च या । त्रयोदशी च शेषास्तु प्रशस्ता दशरात्रयः । । ३.४७ । । (Manu. Smrt. 3.46-47)</blockquote>Meaning: Always faithful to her for sexual pleasures, let him visit his wife during the menstrual period avoiding the days of the parva and when not observing a vow. The period is said to last for sixteen days including the four days of flow which are condemned by the wise.<ref name=":5" />

In Pārāskara Gṛhyasūtra (1.11), it has been established that once the husband has led his wife to house, he should cohabit with her after each of her monthly periods. <blockquote>तामुदुह्य यथर्तु प्रवेशनम् ७ यथाकामी वा काममाविजनितोः संभवामेति वचनात् ८ (Para. Grhy. Sutr. 1.11.7-8)</blockquote>It is also advised that given her will for pleasure, he should allow himself to be indulged in intercourse for sexual pleasures.<ref name=":5" />

Parashara, also asserts that the husband should approach the wife in every Rtu, and one who, despite being in good health, does not comply, attains the papa (sin) of causing abortion.<ref name=":5" /> 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 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.<ref name=":1" />

In the Dharmasutras and the Smrtis, we find the 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. We have Puranic references where conjugal union at inappropriate times of the day leads to the birth of children who have undesired qualities, eg., the birth of Hiranyakasipa and Hiranyaksha, the sons of Diti and Kashyapa Maharshi had asuric qualities.  

In the Dharmasutras and the Smrtis, we find similar 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. We have Puranic references where conjugal union at inappropriate times of the day leads to the birth of children who have undesired qualities, eg., the birth of Hiranyakasipa and Hiranyaksha, the sons of Diti and Kashyapa Maharshi had asuric qualities.

=== Samskara Vidhi ===

=== Samskara Vidhi ===

One reason why the Garbhadhāṇā Saṁskāra is not elaborated in the ancient times, in texts or evident in any other form could be that it was attached to the marriage sacrament and did not function as an independent ceremony. The reference to the garbha will also occur in the Vedanta literature, as is clear from the Brihadaranyaka Upaniṣad. The later texts, as Saṁskāratattva of Raghunathnanda are crucial and reliable in this context as to learn more of this rite. The period of Gṛhyasūtras witnessed development to great extent in philosophy and psychology of the Garbhadhāṇā sacrament. Now the sacraments were recognised for their domestic orientation and they were systematically institutionalised.

One reason why the Garbhadhāṇā Saṁskāra is not elaborated in the ancient times, in texts or evident in any other form could be that it was attached to the marriage sacrament and did not function as an independent ceremony. The reference to the garbha will also occur in the Vedanta literature, as is clear from the Brihadaranyaka Upaniṣad. The later texts, as Saṁskāratattva of Raghunathnanda are crucial and reliable in this context as to learn more of this rite. The period of Gṛhyasūtras witnessed development to great extent in philosophy and psychology of the Garbhadhāṇā sacrament. Now the sacraments were recognised for their domestic orientation and they were systematically institutionalised.

Apastamba Grhyasutras declares that wife after the menstrual cycle is over, having taken bath, should invite her husband for cohabitation pronouncing the thirteen mantras categorised as Visnuryonim. And this should not be done just once rather repeated in every cycle.

Apastamba Grhyasutras declares that wife after the menstrual cycle is over, having taken bath, should invite her husband for cohabitation pronouncing the thirteen mantras categorised as Visnuryonim. And this should not be done just once rather repeated in every cycle<ref name=":5" />  

 

Another reference is drawn from the SGS where the women desirous of issue offered oblations to various deities.22<ref name=":5" />

According to Baudhayana Grhyasutra (1.7)<ref name=":6">Baudhayana Grhyasutras ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%8C%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%83_%E0%A5%A7 Prashna 1 Adhyaya 7])</ref> the rites of Garbhadhana contains the following features.

According to Baudhayana Grhyasutra (1.7)<ref name=":6">Baudhayana Grhyasutras ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%8C%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%83_%E0%A5%A7 Prashna 1 Adhyaya 7])</ref> the rites of Garbhadhana contains the following features.

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 one Shakha), 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).

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 one Shakha), 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).

The timing of the vow differs from each kind of son desired. For example, the couple desiring a Rsikalpa as their son should keep the vow for one month. At the end of the vow, cooked food was offered to the fire.<blockquote>चतुर्थ्यां स्नातायां निशायामलङ्कृत्य शयने ऽभिमन्त्रयते विष्णुर्योनिं कल्पयतु त्वष्टा रूपाणि पिंशतु ।आसिञ्चतु प्रजापतिर्धाता गर्भं दधातु ते ।३७। (Baud. Grh. Sutr. 1.7.37)<ref name=":6" /></blockquote>After this, the pair were prepared for cohabitation. When the wife was decently decorated, the husband recited Vedamantras containing similes of natural creation and invocations to devatas (for helping the woman in conception). Then embracing began with mantras containing metaphors of joint action of male and female forces, and the husband uttering the mantras expressing his fertilizing capacity (Baud. Grhy. Sutr. 1.7.42). After embracing, conception proper took place with prayers to the deity Pusan and an indication to scattering semen. The husband, then, touched the heart of the wife, reclining over her right shoulder with the mantra invoking the blessings for leading a long life together.<ref name=":1" />

The timing of the vow differs from each kind of son desired. For example, the couple desiring a Rsikalpa as their son should keep the vow for one month. At the end of the vow, cooked food was offered to the fire.<blockquote>चतुर्थ्यां स्नातायां निशायामलङ्कृत्य शयने ऽभिमन्त्रयते विष्णुर्योनिं कल्पयतु त्वष्टा रूपाणि पिंशतु ।आसिञ्चतु प्रजापतिर्धाता गर्भं दधातु ते ।३७। (Baud. Grh. Sutr. 1.7.37)<ref name=":6" /></blockquote>After this, the pair were prepared for cohabitation. When the wife was decently decorated, the husband recited Vedamantras containing similes of natural creation and invocations to devatas (for helping the woman in conception). Then embracing began with mantras containing metaphors of joint action of male and female forces, and the husband uttering the mantras expressing his fertilizing capacity (Baud. Grhy. Sutr. 1.7.42). After embracing, conception proper took place with prayers to the deity Pusan and an indication to scattering semen. The husband, then, touched the heart of the wife, reclining over her right shoulder with the mantra invoking the blessings for leading a long life together.<ref name=":1" /><blockquote>यत्ते सुसीमे हृदयं दिवि चन्द्रमसि श्रितम् । वेदाहं तन्मां तद्विद्यात्पश्येम शरदः शतं जीवेम शरदः शतं शृणुयाम शरदः शतमिति ९ (Para. Grhy. Sutr. 1.11.9)</blockquote>

 

यत्ते सुसीमे हृदयं दिवि चन्द्रमसि श्रितम् । वेदाहं तन्मां तद्विद्यात्पश्येम शरदः शतं जीवेम शरदः शतं शृणुयाम शरदः शतमिति ९ (Para. Grhy. Sutr. 1.11.9)

=== Samskara Prayojana ===

=== Samskara Prayojana ===

The conception has been discussed in the context of father, forefathers and the descendants, in ancient Indian texts. The first such reference comes from the Ṛgveda, Maṅdala-I, where the blessing of the gods is sought for long life referring to the sons and further their descendants.16 Now, sons have a peculiar role and characteristics in the Ṛgveda, in particular, and in other Saṁhitās as well, as they inherit not only the wealth of their fathers but the obligations and responsibilities, therefore biggest human assets, from economic point of view. Also, the sons qualify for the sacred duties towards their fathers and forefathers (pitṛ) which qualify men for highest spiritual standards, attaining moksha.

The conception has been discussed in the context of father, forefathers and the descendants, in ancient Indian texts. The first such reference comes from the Ṛgveda, Maṅdala-I, where the blessing of the gods is sought for long life referring to the sons and further their descendants.<blockquote>पु॒त्रासो॒ यत्र॑ पि॒तरो॒ भव॑न्ति॒ मा नो॑ म॒ध्या री॑रिष॒तायु॒र्गन्तो॑: ॥९॥ (Rig. Veda. 1.189.9)</blockquote>Now, sons have a peculiar role and characteristics in the Ṛgveda, in particular, and in other Saṁhitās as well, as they inherit not only the wealth of their fathers but the obligations and responsibilities, therefore biggest human assets, from economic point of view. Also, the sons qualify for the sacred duties towards their fathers and forefathers (pitṛ) which qualify men for highest spiritual standards, attaining moksha.

A term mentioned in Ṛgveda (10.142) explains it all; sons are treated as Ṛinachyuta, the one who settles the three great rnas (debts) of an individual. Therefore, the want of such merit could not be ignored by anyone, explaining as to why begetting offspring, especially sons was made a mandatory act.

A term mentioned in Ṛgveda (10.142) explains it all; sons are treated as Ṛinachyuta, the one who settles the three great rnas (debts) of an individual. Therefore, the want of such merit could not be ignored by anyone, explaining as to why begetting offspring, especially sons was made a mandatory act.

=== जीवशास्त्र उपलक्षितविषयाः॥ Biological Implications ===

=== जीवशास्त्र उपलक्षितविषयाः॥ Biological Implications ===

Vedas are rightly said to be the treasure trove of knowledge. We find valid pramanas to prove that our ancient literature was replete with various  references of biological and scientific processes. For example, the references from Atharvaveda are as follows   

Vedas are rightly said to be the treasure trove of knowledge. We find valid pramanas to prove that our ancient literature was replete with various  references of biological and scientific processes. For example, the references from Atharvaveda are as follows in the health point of view.<ref>Dr. Tulsi Ram (2013) ''Atharvaveda, Vol 1.'' Delhi: Vijaykumar Govindram Hasanand</ref> 

 

 

Some of the texts have perceived the question of Rtusamagama with scientific approach, prescribing the time of performance, which is most appropriate from the fertility point of view. That is the time when women were ovulating and would readily conceive once she receives the male semen. In other scenario, the semen shall have to wait for the ovulation to occur and by that time the health of the sperm could degrade, resulting in the poor consequences directly bearing upon the progeny. It is bit amazing as well that the authorities could acquire the knowledge how the ovulation was important for conceiving the child and when did it actually occur, else why would they specifically point out to the performance of ceremony in her Rtu, the time when she was physically prepared to conceive, the time from fourth to sixteen nights after the monthly menstrual cycle. It is evident from the Gṛhyasūtra texts that the later days were preferred to the earlier ones owing to the high chance and rate of fertility which could ensure the better chances of conception.<ref name=":5" />  

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