A Query re the development of garbha

[Artur Karp]

Dear List,

According to the Garbhopaniṣat  human embryos "solidify" one month
after conception, they become kaṭhina. Turner (CDIAL 2650) informs the
word is used in the Suśrutasaṃhitā and suggests it could be a
Dravidian borrowing.

[an embryo becomes] māsābhyantare kaṭhinaṃ: "in a month, it hardens".
A quick check of the Suśrutasaṃhitā text doesn't show any phrase
combining the two: garbha and kaṭhina.

Are there any other words used to describe this stage of the embryo's
'hardening' or 'solidification'? Does also the Hiranyagarbha undergo
this stage?


Thanks in advance, and greetings from snowy Warsaw,


Artur Karp

Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit and Pali (ret.)
South Asian Studies Dept.
University of Warsaw
Poland