Dear Arthur and List,

Śivadharmottara Purāṇa 8, 26-52 describes the different stages of the conception, formation and development of the embryo, up to the point when the jīva acquires consciousness and remembrance of his past sorrowful incarnations, pledging to put an end to such course in his life soon to begin through the study of śivajñāna! (a pledge, alas! soon to be forgotten because of the hellish tortures inflicted by the yoniyantra and of the agony of childbirth).

The relevant passage (28-29) apparently contemplates three main phases, marked by three different terms (which do not include kaṭhina): kalala, arbuda (budbuda in another MS) and peśī.
 
tac chukraṃ raktasaṁyuktam ekāhāt kalalaṃ bhavet
    pañcarātreṇa kalalam arbudākāratāṃ vrajet
arbudaṃ saptarātreṇa māṁsapeśī bhavet tataḥ
    dvisaptāhād bhavet peśī raktamāṁsacitā dṛḍhā

Greetings from likewise snowy Milan,

Paolo Magnone
Sanskrit Language and Literature
Catholic University of Milan

Jambudvipa  - Indology and Sanskrit Studies (www.jambudvipa.net)



On 17/02/2012 14:49, Artur Karp wrote: 
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