A Query re the development of garbha

[Ulrich T. Kragh]

>Athur Karp wrote:
>Are there any other words (than kaṭhinaṃ) used to describe this stage of the embryo's
>'hardening' or 'solidification'? 

Various Tibetan and Chinese versions of the Buddhist Garbhavakranti-sutra say that during the second week of pregnancy the embroy becomes an "arbuda" (that is just the name of the stage, lit. "long round mass") and then likens it to "thick curd or hardened butter" (zho'am mar mkhrang po lta bu / 状如稠酪，或如凝酥).

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a Sanskrit parallel for this passage, so it is unclear whether the non-extant Sanskrit versions of the text had kaṭhinaṃ here or something else. So, it is probably not of much help to your inquiry.

Sincerely,
Tim

Dr. Ulrich Timme Kragh
Leiden University