List of Samskaaras
स्मार्त कर्मा
पञ्च महा यज्ञ - ५
सप्त पाक यज्ञ - ७
श्रौत कर्मा
सप्त सोम यज्ञ - ७
सप्त हविर यज्ञ - ७
पुंसवनं
“pumsuvanam पुंसुवनं ” means “bringing forth a male child”.
” पुमान्यॆन सूयतेतत् पुंसुवनं नाम कर्म “
That karmA by which a wife brings forth a male child is called “pumsuvanam”.
It is also spelt as “pumsavanam” पुंसवनं.
The doer (kartA) of this samskArA is the husband and he does it for his wife. A priest inititates this karmA.
Sage pAraskarA of shukla yajurveda says in his gruhya sootram, kAnDa 1, kaNdikA 14 :-
“मासि द्वितीये तृतीये वा यदह: पुंसॊ नक्षत्रॆण चन्द्रमा युक्तस्स्यात्”
“mAsi dviteeye tRuteeye vA yadaha: puMsO nakShatrENa chandramA yuktassyAt.”
The pumsuvanam of of the wife should be done before the fetous starts moving, i.e. in the second or third month and on a day when the moon is in conjunction with a male star.
Sage apastambA of Krishna yajur vEdA says in his gruhya sootram, paTala 6, Section 14 says:-
“ पुंसवनम् व्यक्तॆ गर्भे तिष्यॆण”
“puMsavanam vyaktE garbhe tiShyENa”
The pumsuvanam must be performed when the pregnancy has become visible and should be performed under the constellation of the star “tishya” otherwise called “pushya”.
ON WHICH PREGNANT MONTHS?
Once the signs of pregnancy are seen ;before the fetus starts moving, the “pumsavana” samskArA should be done in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th month of pregnancy.
ON WHICH NAKSHATRAS/STARS?
“puShya” nakshatra is most auspicious for doing pumsavana samskArA. However, punarvasu, hasta, moolA, shravaNa, mrughasheersha which are called male stars are also auspicious.
HOW MANY TIMES PUMSAVANA?
Again some schools of thought say that this samskArA is done only once during the 1st pregnancy, while some others say that it can be done for every pregnancy. In practice, it is mostly done during the first pregnancy only. Sage Apastamba says that the pumsavana samskArA should be done only if a male child is desired.
pumsuvana samskArA is done in ones own home as it is a gruhya smArta karmA.
Sage pAraskarA of shukla yajurveda says in his gruhya sootram, kAnDa 1, kaNdikA 14 :-
“मासि द्वितीये तृतीये वा यदह: पुंसॊ नक्षत्रॆण चन्द्रमा युक्तस्स्यात्”
“mAsi dviteeye tRuteeye vA yadaha: puMsO nakShatrENa chandramA yuktassyAt.”
The pumsuvanam of of the wife should be done before the foetus starts moving, i.e. in the second or third month and on a day when the moon is in conjuction with a male star.
Sage apastambA of Krishna yajur vEdA says in his gruhya sootram, paTala 6, Section 14 says:-
“ पुंसवनम् व्यक्तॆ गर्भे तिष्यॆण”
“puMsavanam vyaktE garbhe tiShyENa”
The pumsuvanam must be performed when the pregnancy has become visible and should be performed under the constellation of the star “tishya” otherwise called “pushya”.
ON WHICH PREGNANT MONTHS?
Once the signs of pregnancy are seen ;before the foetus starts moving, the “pumsavana” samskArA should be done in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th month of pregnancy.
ON WHICH NAKSHATRAS/STARS?
“puShya” nakshatra is most auspicious for doing pumsavana samskArA. However, punarvasu, hasta, moolA, shravaNa, mrughasheersha which are called male stars are also auspicious.
HOW MANY TIMES PUMSAVANA?
Again some schools of thought say that this samskArA is done only once during the 1st pregnancy, while some others say that it can be done for every pregnancy. In practice, it is mostly done during the first pregnancy only. Sage Apastamba says that the pumsavana samskArA should be done only if a male child is desired.
The family priest/pandit/vAdyAr/hOtru/bruhaspati should be requested to conduct this samskAram for you. There may be slight differerences according to the gruhya sootrAs. An attempt to outline the procedure given in the Apastamba gruhya sootrA is made below:- 1. nitya karmA नित्यकर्मा – In the morning the husband (kartA) must perform his sandhyAvandanam and AupAsanam as usual. 2. The priest then arrives and conducts the following:- 3. anugyA अनुज्ञा – He must then give tamboolam ( a tray with betel leaves, betel nuts, saffron and fruits) with dakshiNai (a satisfying sum of money) to brAhmAnAs well versed in the vedas and take “anugnyai” (permission and blessing) from them. 4. udaka shAnthi japa उदकशन्ति – ‘udaka’ means water. For this a kalash of water is taken and Lord VaruNA is invoked in it.(AvAhanam). Learned brAhmaNas are requested to do the japa of the udaka shAnti mantrAs. Then the energized water is sprinkled on the husband and it is fully poured on the wife for purification. Then the udvAsanam (sending off) of Lord varuNA is done. 5. pratisarabandham प्रतिसरबन्धम् – “pratisara” is a cord or a thread tied around the wrists of the husband and the wife, as a protective band against bad energies. Again brahmaNAs recite many sooktAs in praise of gAyatree, agni, Apa:, hiraNya, viShNu, Lakshmi etc. to energise the pratisaram. Then it is tied around the right wrist of the husband and the left wrist of the wife with special bRuhadsAma mantrAs. 6. sankalpam सन्कल्पम् – An undertaking to do this pumsavana karma with the blessings and permission of the Lord is done specifying the details of cosmic spaces and time, earthly place, season, day, time, gotrA, and astrological details like star, rAsi, etc..of the couple. 7. pumsavana hOmam: पुम्सवन हॊम: This hOma is done in aupAsana agni . a. “Ajya bhAgam” आज्य भागं otherwise called “mukhAntam” is done to please agni and sOmA. Agni is called the “mukha” or mouth of the dEvAs, because it is he who carries the Ahootis fortified by the mantrAs to the dEvAs. As part of this karmA, the “ghee आज्य” and “vessels पात्र ” to be used for the karmA are purified and placed in proper directions with specific mantrAs. Along with these, the new saree for the pregnant wife, a 2 seeded banyan sprout, a grinding stone and a pestle are also
Sage kAshyapa in the Padma PurANA (quoted in Smriti ChandrikA) explains how a pregnant wife should carry herself.
गर्भिणीधर्मा: garbhiNi dharmA
१.नावस्करॆषूपविशेन्मुसलॊलूखलादिषु ।
A pregnant woman should not sit on a grinding stone, pestle and other such stone tools.
२.जलं च नावगाहॆत् शून्यागारं च वर्जयॆत् ॥
A pregnant woman should not enter into the water to dip fully. She should not live in a very old dirty house..
३. वल्मीकं नाधितिष्ठेत न चॊद्विग्नमना भवेत् ।
A pregnant woman should not sit on a snakes house. She should never worry or get tensed for anything.
४. विलिखेन्न नखैर्भूमिं नाङ्गरेण न भस्मना ॥
A pregnant wife should not scratch the floor with her nails, coal or ash.
५. न शयालुस्सदा तिष्ठेद्व्यायां च विवर्जयेत् ।
A pregnant wife should not be sleeping always. She should not do very hard/tough work.
६. न तुषाङ्गारभस्मास्थिकपालॆषु समाविशेत् ॥
A pregnant wife should not sit on bran, charcoal, ash, bones and skull.
७. वर्जयेत्कलहं लौकैर्गात्रभङ्गं तथैव च ।
A pregnant lady should not be the cause of misunderstanding between others.
८. न मुक्तकॆशी तिष्ठेत्तु नाशुचिस्स्यात्कदा चन ॥
A pregnant lady should not let her hair loose. She should be clean, not dirty.
९. न शयितॊत्तरशिर न चैवाधाश्शिरा: क्वचित् ।
A pregnant lady should not keep her head towards the North or on a hollow space.
१०. न वस्त्रहीना नॊद्विग्ना च चार्द्रचरणा सति ॥
A pregnant lady should not be without clothes. She should not get excited or worried and should not go to bed with wet legs.
११. नामङ्गल्यं वदेद्वाक्यं न च हास्यादिकं तथा ।
A pregnant lady should not say inauspicious words nor laugh out loud.
१२. कुर्याच्छ्वशुरयॊर्नित्यं पूजां मङ्गलतत्परा ॥
A pregnant woman should respect/worship her father-in law and mother-in law daily and do activities that are auspicious.
१३. तिष्ठेत्प्रसन्नवदना भर्तृप्रियहिते रता ।
A pregnant woman should have a pleasing face. She must love her husband and take interest in his requirements.
14.सन्ध्यायां नैव भोक्तव्यं गर्भिण्या तु प्रयत्नत:। (From matsya puraNA)
A pregnant wife should not eat in the sandhya times (twilights).
15. न स्नातव्यं गन्तव्यं वृक्षमूलॆषु सर्वदा ॥ (From matsya puraNA)
She should also not take a bath during the twilight. She should never stand under a tree.
Sage YAgyavalkya says in Chapter 3.79 of his smRuti how to take care of a pregnant wife
दौहृदस्याप्रदानेन गर्भॊ दॊषमवाप्नुयात् । वैरूप्यं मरणं वापि तस्मात्कार्यं प्रियं स्त्रिया: ॥
A pregnant wife ‘s desires should be fulfilled, Other wise the child may get the dOshA of disformity or death. So she must be loved and taken care of .
It is mentioned as a “rite quickening a male child”. Is it an optional samskaara ?. It is interesting to note the clarity given by Sage Apastamba in his sutra wherein it is mentioned that the Pumsuvana Samskaara should be performed only if a male child is desired. It clearly gives us the impression that in Vedic way of living they know the science of begetting the male child and in many ways it can be used for modern day research topic. Why male child? Outwardly, To continue the lineage of that family / gothra. To perform the samskaara as a karta for his lineage Your Acharya / Guru may be consulted for further intrinsic details.
