Kumara Kasyapa

[James McDermott]

In a footnote to his translation of the Abhidharmakosa, Louis de la 
Vallee Poussin, citing Samghabhadra refers to a sutra in which the 
events surrounding the birth of Kumara Kasyapa are described and in 
which a motif of embryo transplant plays a significant role. 
Samghabhadra notes that the Sthaviras deny the possibility of such an 
occurrence. And, indeed, the Pali versions of the story of Kumara 
Kassapa found in the Jataka and Dhammapada commentaries lack the 
transplant motif. 
Given the resources available to me in Buffalo, I have been unable to 
track down the version of the Kumara Kasyapa story to which la Vallee 
Poussin/Samghabhadra refer which includes the transplant motif. Can 
any kind soul provide me with a reference and, if possible, Sanskrit 
text of the relevant passage? Thanks.

                                                   --Jim McDermott
 


> From THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV 03 1995 Aug EST 17:29:17
Date: 03 Aug 1995 17:29:17 EST
Reply-To: THRASHER <THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV>
From: "MAIL.HASIA3" <THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV>
Subject: H-ASIA: QUERY INTERCOURSE AND

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AUTHOR: MAIL.HASIA3                 
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Subject:      H-ASIA: Query intercourse and pregnancy in Hinduism 
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                                H-ASIA 
                            August 3, 1995 
  
Query: intercourse during pregnancy in Hinduism/ 17th century C.E. 
*********************************************************************** 
From: Francois Quiviger <francois at sas.ac.uk> 
  
  
Dear Asianists, 
  
I am presently completing a section of a paper dealing with Roberto de' 
Nobili, an Italian Jesuit who founded an important mission in Madurai, in 
Southern India around 1605. In one of his works, written for his Brahman 
and Nayak converts, a passage dealing with marriage stipulates that it is 
not a sin to have intercourse with one's pregnant wife, provided that no 
harm is done to the child. This seems to me at odds with European manuals 
for confessors which prescribed severe penance for such a deed which they 
considered a sin, as it obviously goes again the doctrine of the Church on 
marriage. 
  
I suspect that De'Nobili was simply quite lenient in this case. The 
ascetic character of Brahman life probably led him to believe that this 
leniency would have been unlikely to breed excesses and as many Indian 
missionaries he was above all reluctant to burden the fragile faith of his 
new converts with the weight of unknown sins. Furthermore, as this text is 
written in Tamil it was unlikely to prompt much controversy... 
  
But before jumping to conclusions I wonder whether anyone could tell me if 
intercourse with one's pregnant wife is something admitted in Hinduism or 
indicate some texts where I could find an answer. 
  
  
                        My warmest thanks in advance. 
  
  
                        Francois Quiviger 
                        Warburg Institute 
                        University of London 
  
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