PUMSAVANAM (CHANGE OF SEX): SUPERSTITION OR SCIENCE?

Ansuman Chattopadhyay
St. Edmund's College
Shillong-793003

Ever since the advent of modern science, ancient Indian scientific knowledge has been consistently overlooked, underrated or ignored. It is only recently that some recognition has been attributed to Indian science of yore as the originator of many of the modern scientific findings.

Pumsavanam (Pung-male;syate-is produced; anena-by this) is a ceremony, laid down in the Vedas to be performed by the parents to ensure the birth of a male child. It is performed just after three months from the day of conception. In brief, it includes the administration of certain medicines along with Sanskrit mantras. It is believed that in the third month when differentiation of sex takes place, the medicines and mantras administered under the influence of certain constellations can bestow upon the unborn child a desired male sex.

In the "Charaka Samhita", Charaka, the great Hindu Physician, has dealt at length on the issue of change of sex. He says, "Instructions will be laid down (to the parents) about those Vedic rites by which the sex of child (in the womb) before its manifestation may be changed. Verily of rites duly performed and characterised by propriety of time and place, the capacity to produce desirable fruits is obtained". He has also outlined the process of preparation of the medicine required.

On the other hand, modern science has also provided its explanation on the determination of sex in human. Simply, the female has two X-chromosomes(out of 46 chromosomes) and the male has one X and one Y. The gene for sex determination is located in the short arm of the Y-chromosome. Every male receives his Y-chromosome from his father and the X from his mother, whereas the female gets one X from the father and the other X from the mother. Observation reveals that presence of one Y (or even only the short arm of Y) is capable of giving two or more X-bearing child (eg. XXY) a primary male status, although they may show some secondary female characters in their body or behaviour.

A modern biologist hardly accepts the view that an unborn child, say a perfect female( with two X-chromosomes) can be converted to a male after three months, with some medicines (if the effect of mantras are doubtful), without having any influence from the genetic level which are absent in such cases. Herein arises a conflict between ancient and modern science.

It is not difficult to discard the idea of our ancient science as baseless. The drafting of human genome has shown us that there is much more to understand and learn about biology as it was opined before. Who could imagine that genetically we are very close to the tiny mouse (both are having approximately 30,000 genes, which are very similar) although outwardly how different we are! The new informations about our genome has compelled us to reassess the whole pre-existing concept of modern biology and genetics. Is it also possible that the determination and differentiation of human sex involves more factors than the effect of gene(s) alone? Truly speaking, it's very difficult to give a proper answer. Surely many broadminded biologists may give due respect to the knowledge of 'Veda' or the excellence of the work of Charaka. Otherwise no medical practice could have survived for such a long time or accepted by the mass population if some amount of truth of its miraculous power are not prevalent therein.

Reference : 'Muhurta' by B.V. Raman; UBS Publishers' Distributors Ltd.

18/05/2001