Pumsavana
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Pumsavana (
The rite of passage is celebrated in the third or fourth month of pregnancy, typically after the pregnancy begins to show but before the baby begins to move in the womb.Background
Pumsavana is one of the 16 samskara in Hinduism, which are rites of deciding the gender of the fetus in early stages of a woman's pregnancy (third or fourth month), early steps for his welcome into the world in the presence of friends and family, then various stages of life (
These rites of passage in Hinduism are found in the numerous
Description
Pumsavana (Sanskrit: पुंसवन) is a composite word of Pums + savana. Pums mean "to grind, move", and "a human being, a soul or spirit", while savana means "ceremony, rite, oblation, festival".[6] Pumsavana thus literally means "quickening a being, soul", and it is usually translated as "quickening a male or female fetus, bringing forth a male or female baby".[7]
Pumsavana is a rite of passage observed when the pregnancy begins to show, typically in or after the third month of pregnancy and usually before the fetus starts moving in the womb. The ceremony celebrates the rite of passage of the developing fetus, marking the stage where the baby begins to kick as a milestone in a baby's development.
Literature
The roots of the pumsavana ritual are found in section 4.3.23 and 4.6.2 of the Atharva Veda, wherein charms are recited for a baby boy.[8] The Atharva Veda also contains charms to be recited for the birth of a child of either gender and the prevention of miscarriages, such as in section 4.6.17.[8]
The Atharva Veda, includes thousands of chapters, with diverse scope and prayers. In many verses, the prayer or charm is aimed to have a child, of either sex. For example, in verse 14.2.2, the Atharva Veda states a ritual invitation to the wife, by her husband to mount the bed for conception, "being happy in mind, here mount the bed; give birth to children for me, your husband".
Ceremony
The ritual is performed in diverse ways, but all involve the husband serving something to the expectant wife. In one version, she is fed a paste mixture of yoghurt, milk and ghee (clarified butter) by him.[11] In another version, the pumsavana ritual is more elaborate, done in the presence of yajna fire and vedic chants, where the husband places a drop of Banyan leaf extract in the wife's right nostril for a son, and her left nostril for a daughter, followed by a feast for all present.[12][13]
References
- ISBN 81-85843-03-1, p.392
- ^ ISBN 978-3447051521, see Preface Chapter
- ISBN 978-1405160117, pages 169-191
- ISBN 978-0199397693, pages 32-37
- ISBN 978-0415772273, pages 332-356
- ^ puMs and savana Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany
- ISBN 978-0415772273, page 335
- ^ a b Maurice Bloomfield, Hymns of the Atharva Veda at Google Books, Oxford University Press, pages 97-99
- ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 48-56 with footnotes
- ^ ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 534-539
- ISBN 978-3447058544, page 123
- ISBN 978-8120810365, pages 92-93
- ^ B Rama Rao, Bulletin of the Indian Institute of History of Medicine at Google Books, Vol. 33-34, page 153
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