Foetal Development In-utero: Modern Medical Knowledge or a Vedic Mystery?

Abstract

The ancient Indian Literature is a store of house of knowledge which lies yet untapped due to the limited number of individuals who can translate the scriptures and also due to a lack of awareness about the contents. Charka Samhita provides a detailed account of the fetal development in-utero and also gives a clinical account of the signs and symptoms associated with pregnancy. A correlation of the account given in this scripture, written at the time when microscopic or imaging techniques were non existant, with the modern day texts of embryology and fetal development brings forward two nearly identical descriptions. This attempt is intended to promote and encourage a detailed exploration of the vast ocean of knowledge contained in ancient Indian Literature in order to obtain pearls of wisdom. Charaka Samhita, a treatise of Ayurveda, was used for teaching of Ayurvedic Sciences in the ancient Indian universities of Takshshila and Nalanda and continues to provide guidelines for treatment even in today's world of Modern Medicine. A section of Charaka Samhita deals with the ‘in-utero' foetal development, various signs and symptoms in the mother, and treatment guidelines at various stages of pregnancy. An attempt has been made in this research article to correlate the facts given in Charaka Samhita with the present day knowledge of ‘in-utero' foetal development. Only relevant text from Charaka Samhita has been used for this purpose and not the whole account, which is a vast sea of knowledge. Herein, the authors attempt to establish the fact that inspite of non availability of a concrete proof of availability of any microscopic instruments or techniques in the ancient times of Vedas, still the detailed account of the ‘in-utero' foetal development in the literature almost exactly matches the present day knowledge and at some places even presents some yet undiscovered facts. The various Indian systems of medicine – Ayurveda, Yoga, Siddha and Unani (Arabs introduced it in India around the 10 century AD), together provide a major source of medical reference for all classes of people. Ayurveda, which literally means ‘Science of Life” is considered to be the oldest natural medical practice on the earth. It deals elaborately with measures for healthful living during the various phases of life. Here we give a portion of the detailed account of ‘in-utero' development of the foetus as mentioned in Charaka Samhita in comparison with the present day knowledge. The first stanza is of the only main text by Ayurvedacharya Shri Jayadev Vidyalankaren Pranitiya. Sharirasthanam (Chathurtha adhyaya). Charaka Samhita, Vol 1 (Motilal Banarsidas, Banaras, 1948) in Sanskrit followed by its translation in English, and then follows the comparison with our references.