Talk:Dharma sastra-Saṃskāra-Puṃsavanaṃ

By Jammalamadaka Srinivas & Jammalamadaka Suryanarayana

Sometimes transliterated as: Pumsavana, pumsavanam

Puṃsavanaṃ literally means 'the karma/anuṣṭānaṃ which is intended to get a male child'. This is the second saṃskāra after Garbhādhānaṃ according to various Gṛhya sūtras. Puṃsavanaṃ is performed when the wife is pregnant. According to āpastaṃbha, puṃsavanaṃ is to be done when the wife is confirmed to be pregnant, normally in the third or fourth month.

Pumān prasūyatē yēna karmaṇā tat puṃsavanaṃ īritaaṃ

Yēna karmaṇā garbhiṇī pumāṃsameva sūte tat pumsavanaṃ

Siginificance of Puṃsavanaṃ

According to etymology, even though the only intention to perform puṃsavanaṃ is for getting a male child, but that is not the sole significance of it. According to Śaunakamuni and Āśvalāyana, pumsavanaṃ is a saṃskāra which is aimed at the well being of the to-be-born child (fetus). According to them, this saṃskāra purifies the fetus by the intake of the herbs used. They also state that the Mantra uttered at the time of saṃskāraḥ, would positively affect the fetus to remember previous births. It is considered to be a great virtue to remember something related to previous births. According to Mitākṣarī, the commentary on Yāgjṅavalkya smṛti, both Sīmantōnnayanaṃ and Pumsavanaṃ are not to be repeated for each pregnancy. These are called Kṣētra saṃskāra. As quoted in kālādarśa –

tṛtīye vā caturthe vā māsi puṃsavanaṃ bhavet |

Smṛtikāra particularly mentioned that Puṃsavanaṃ is to be performed on third or fourth month. All the smṛtikāras emphasize on performing the saṃskāra on the day of puṣyamī nakṣatraṃ in the third or fourth month of pregnancy of the wife. If one is not able to perform the saṃskāra in the above said period, then pumsavanaṃ can be performed along with sīmantonnayana saṃskāra.

The Process of Puṃsavanaṃ

The procedure for doing this ritual is clearly stated by Āpastamba in his gṛhyasutras as:

Anavasnātayā kumāryā dṛṣatputre dṛṣatputreṇa peṣayitvā pariplāvya apareṇa agniṃ prācīmuttānāṃ nipatyōttareṇa yajuṣā aṇguṣṭhena dakṣṇe nāsikācchidre apinayati

The main ritual in this saṃskāra is, the husband should squeeze the juice of banyan fruit and tender banyan leaf, in the right nostril of the wife. Wife should lie down on her back to the west of the fire herself facing to the east. The paste of the fruit is to be made by a girl who is not yet into her puberty. The fruit is to be acquired from the northern or the eastern facing branch of the banyan tree which has two fruits that look like testicles. before dawn. Bhāradvāja gṛhya sutra say that puṃsavana may be performed on Tiṣya or Hasta or Anurādhā or Uttarā or Proṣṭhapadā. Pāraskara and Bajāvāpa say it should be performed when the moon is in conjunction with male nakṣatra. Puṃsavana saṃskāra has religious elements such as homa and son'a importance from ancient times and medical elements such as inserting some substance in woman's nostrils.

Anavalobhana

Some gṛhya sutras recommend a minor saṃskāra named 'Anavalobhana' along with puṃsavana. The actual word is 'Anavalopana' which means - the saṃskara through which the fetus does not fall or destroy.

na avaluupyate garbhonena iti garbha-avināśaphalakaṃ yat asya rūpaṃ karma tasya nāmadheyaṃ

Āśvalāyana gṛhyasūtra elaborates the procedure -

athāsyai maṇḍalāgāracchāyāyāṃ dakṣiṇasyāṃ nāsikāyāṃ ajītāmoṣadhīṃ nastaḥkaroti

Husband inserts a sap of an herb which is not faded into her (wife's) right nostril. According to some this rite is to be repeated on every conception. Most other writers opine that like puṃsavana it is to be performed only once.