सङ्गीतरत्नाकर: प्रथम भाग (शार्ङ्गदेव - स्वरगताध्याय सविस्तार व्याख्या व अनुवाद सहित)

40 Treatment of Svara
अतो जातो ऽष्टमे मासि न जीवत्योजसोज्झितः ।
किंचित्कालमवस्थानं संस्कारात्खण्डिताङ्गवत् ॥३८॥
समयः प्रसवस्य स्यान्मासेषु नवमादिषु ।
मातृ रसवहां नाडीमनुबद्धा पराऽभिधा ॥३९॥
नाभिस्थनाडी गर्भस्य मात्राहाररसावहा ।
कृताञ्जलिर्ललाटे ऽसौ मातृपृष्ठमभि स्थितः ॥४०॥
अध्यास्ते संकुचद्गात्रो गर्भ दक्षिणपार्श्वगः ।
वामपार्श्वस्थिता नारी क्लीबं मध्यस्थितं मतम् ॥४१॥
of a ball¹, a tendon² or an egg³, indicative of the prelimi-
nary stage of the male, female and a eunuch respectively.
In the third month emerge the five⁴ organic⁵ seedlings, viz.,
hands, feet and the head. (23-24)
author, who is known to be a medical practitioner himself, has based
this Section of his work mainly on these two authorities, though he also
seems to have consulted subsequent literature on the subject. Therefore
parallel references are offered here for a detailed and authoritative study

1. Piṇḍa of the text corresponds to a lump which is stated by 'K'
   to be round. 'S' connects piṇḍa with peśī and interprets that,
   if the piṇḍa, in the sense of a lump of flesh, is like a peśī, then
   it is indicative of a male issue; and consequently further he
   interprets īṣadghana, i.e , 'slightly in a solid condition' to be
   indicative of a female child; and arbudam, i.e., 'like a bud of
   a tamarind tree' to be indicative of neutral gender. But obvi-
   ously this construction does not seem to be correct, specially
   in the light of Suśruta and Caraka.
2. Peśī is not in so solid a condition as to form a lump. So it is
   like a muscle more or less. K.R. says, peśī is a square piece.
   The word peśī also means foetus shortly after conception.
3. Arbudam : 'K' asserts that arbudam is of the shape of a bud of
   tamarind tree according to the physicians. The word literally,
   in this context, means a long round mass, tumor like; but here,
   it has been used in a technical sense.
4. Two hands, two feet and the head, technically make the five.
   However, as suggested by 'K', the seedling of the head in-
   cludes the neck, two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, etc. as its
   parts; the seedling for hands includes, shoulders, elbow, wrist
   fingers, wrist, etc. and the seedling for feet includes thighs,
   knees, legs. ankles, toes etc.
5. Aṅkura of the text literally means a sprout or a seedling but
   Section 2 : The Genesis of the Human Embodiment 41
   Apart from the beard, teeth and the like, that grow
   after the birth, an imperceptible⁶ and simultaneous develop-
   ment⁷ takes place in all the limbs, sub-organs and their parts.
   This is the natural course⁸, while anything contrary to it is
   considered by the wise to be unnatural⁹. (25-26 b)
   In the fourth (month) these (organs) are distinctly
   developed; and so also the mental states¹⁰ come into being,
   such as valour among men, timidity among women and
   of the particular topics dealt with in this Section. Obviously,
   Śārṅgadeva has been not only very precise but also very brief in his
   presentation, as indeed he everywhere is, throughout his entire work.
   In the first month the sperm as united with the ovum forms into a
   jelly-like substance in a liquid condition, the five elements of which,
   under the impact of cold, heat and wind solidify in the second month
   into a mass. This mass, according to our author, forms in three shapes,
   viz. a ball-like round shape, a tendon like oblong, and an egg like oval
   shape, each of which indicates respectively the masculine, feminine and
   the neuter gender. This is the rudimentary stage and the sex of the
   embryo can, on this basis, be distinguished even in the second month.
   This view is based on Caraka and Suśruta (cf., Śā. Sthā 4.9 10 and
   3.18-19 respectively).
   In the third month five protuberances appear in the solidified
   mass of flesh at the five places where the five organs have to be, while
   the minor limbs and their parts are formed in the shape of very minute
   papillae (cf., Caraka Śā. Sthā. 4.11 and Suśruta Śā. Sthā. 3.20).
   In the fourth month all the limbs and the organs and parts thereof
   are fully developed. Since the viscus of the heart too is developed and
6. The process of growth is slow and uniform, that is why it is
   said to be imperceptible.
7. That is, the entire growth takes place as soon as the seedlings
   have sprouted.
8. Prakṛti is natural disposition or tendency, so uniform develop-
   ment is the natural course of growth.
9. Vikṛti is deformation, any development that takes place
   contrary to the order of nature with respect to the process of
   growth in the viviparous animals.
10. 'K' interprets the word bhāva, here, in the sense of latent ten-
    dency; obviously, latent in the causal body and manifesting
    itself now in the physical body. Bhāva is a state of being, a
    subject in relationship with a situation.