Charaka-Samhita — trans. Kaviraj Avinash Chandra Kaviratna

the mother, some from the father, &o., the Rishi, in the present Lesson' (vide aphorisms 11 and 12 above), says that those very organs and limbs ate modifica¬ tions of the five primal elements. In stating, however, the actual modifioations, entities are introduced which are not organs or limbs of the body. Thus in 12, sound is mentioned as an eutity which Jus E'her or Space for its essjnce . But is sound an organ or limb of the body ? Similarly, (in connection with the four other primal elements, things are mentioned that are by no meaus organs or limbs, such as touch, roughness respiration, and exertions (in 13), form, visibility, digestion, and heat (in 14), juices, coolness, 'softness, oiliness, liquid and semi-liquid secretions (in 15), and scent, heaviness or weight, con¬ sistency (or compactness), and bulk (in 16;. The Commentators do not clear the difficulty. All that they state is that these attributes, which have the several primal elements for their essences, belong to the organs and limbs mentioned before as mother-born, father-bom, &c. — T.

* This has been expanded in the next Lesson of this very Division. The fact is, Purusha is the result of the five primal elements modified in certain measures, even as the external world is, in the same way, the result of the modifications of the same five primal elements.— T.

cnaraka samhita.

p. 743

Those limbs which are permanently attached to the body bear the indications of the male, or the female, or the neuter sex *i8

Those characteristics which are especial to males and females are of two kinds : they are (i) dependent on Pradclhna (or Self), and (2) dependent on Gunns (matter).

Amongst these, that from which is a preponderance determines the sex of the offspring.!

Thus,—

Weakness of virile power, timidity, unskilfulness in respect of sexual congress, stupefaction, pause in the midst of the act of congress, heaviness of the lower part of the body, absence of compactness of limbs, absence of turgidity in the organ of generation, langour,

* The words used in tlie original for differentiating the character of the limbs are nitya and anitya. By the former is evi iently meant such limbs as are ;permauently attached to the body, i. e., as do not fall off through sick¬ ness or age. By anitya is meant limbs of the opposite kind, such as hair, &c. They come and go without the body being much affected by them. What the Kishi says in the concluding portion of the aphorism is that the limbs which are nitya bear the indications of sex which must be either masculine or feminine or neuter. — T.

t The original is very terse. 1 have endeavoured to preserve'that terseness. What is stated by the Rishi is this ; the distinguishing characteristics of the mother and father are dependant on ‘ PradhXna, • that is Self meaning 1 ChetauS, ’ nud ‘ Guna, ’ meaning ‘ Prakriti ’ or matter. In other words, those characteristics have reference to mind and matter. Amongst them, ‘ Yatobhuyastam, ’ i. ‘ that from which there is preponderance, ’ ‘ tatoguyatarabhgvah, ' i. e., ‘ from^it is the characteristic of bone that, > being this or meauing mas- culinity or femininity of the offspring.

Among the characteristics laid down below, some are mental ; others ar* material, such as the qualities of tne womb, the seed, &c. If 1 Pradhgna ’ or 1 Purusha 1 predominates, masculinity of the offspring is the result j if ‘ Guna » or ‘ Prakriti * predominates, feminiuity of the offspring is the result.

It should be noted here that the characteristics of the father are both mental and material us, indeed, those of the mother also are. It is not intended to be said that the characteristics^ only the father are mental, while those of the mother are material.

Ganggdhara’s comments are more different to understand than the text. The Bengali translator* have made a me** of the pawige. _ T.

p. 744

CHAR AKA SAMHITA

the particular side {viz., the left) of the womb (in which the semen falls), preponderance of blood in the seed, — these and other inci¬ dents of a similar nature combined together, determine the femi¬ ninity of the offspring.

The reverse of these determine the opposite sex.

When the incidents are of a mixed character (2. e., when they are present in equal proportions , the offspring becomes of the neuter sex.’19

Each foetus obtains in its mind the capacity for pleasure and pain just when its senses appear. Hence, it is from such a time that the foetus begins to move and to wish for the pleasures felt in the previous life and the very few ones in this.

The ancients say that the foetus is double-hearted.

The heart of the foetus is mother-born. It is united with the mother’s heart by means of many juice-bearing ducts. Hence, it is by those ducts that the alimentation is achieved of the foetus,]:

Beholding this to be the cause (of the nourishment of the foetus), physicians never wish the mother to disregard the foetus, whose heart depends upon her heart, (in the matter of food and drink).§

* Iu reading the words “ Klaivyam, ” &c., I follow Gauga Ilia ra. Some of these words seem to be technical. — T.