A Congruence between Ancient Indian Myths and Modern Discovery of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), Parthenogenesis and Cloning (2024)

Sacred Conceptions: Clinical Theodicies, Uncertain Science, And Technologies Of Procreation In India

Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 2006

Timeless Insights: Ancient Indian Wisdom and Modern Scientific Breakthroughs

IEHE The Quest | ISSN: 3048-6491, 2024

The study draws evidences from classical Indian texts such as the Vedas, Upanishads and the Mahabharata, depicting how these ancient scriptures provide a rich foundation that bridges traditional knowledge with modern scientific advancements. It discusses in depth the contributions of renowned scholars such as Aryabhata, Kanada, Bhaskara II, Charaka, Panini, Patanjali and Sushruta, whose novel concepts have shaped contemporary scientific understanding. The paper highlights the subtle interconnections between ancient knowledge and contemporary fields such as biotechnology and life sciences. For example, while stem cell research is often viewed as a modern innovation, the story of Queen Gandhari and the sage Vyasa from the MahaBhārata hints at early concepts of cell culture and development. Similarly, the myth of the replacement of Lord Ganesha"s head with that of an elephant offers an ancient perspective on organ transplant practices that resonates with modern xenotransplantation techniques. In addition, this paper examines symbolic representations in Indian mythology, such as Ardhanarishvara, who symbolizes the unification of dualistic forces, similar to the genetic concept of non-disjunction. It also discusses Garbha Sanskar, an ancient practice that underlines the influence of parents" mental states on foetal development, which parallels modern epigenetic theories. By combining historical and contemporary perspectives, this study underscores the enduring relevance of ancient Indian wisdom. It calls for a renewed appreciation of traditional knowledge and its potential contributions to current scientific research and technological advancements.

2018_On the Medical Doctrines in the Tandulaveyāliya, 1. Embryology (Jainism)

International Journal of Jaina Studies, 2018

In this translated essay, originally published in French, Colette Caillat offers an analysis of the Tandulaveyāliya, one of the diverse Prakīrṇaka-sūtras in the Svetāmbara Jain canon. This unique medical treatise fuses ancient Jain teachings found in the Bhagavatī-sūtra (Pkt. Viyāhapannatti) andSūtrakṛtānga-sūtra (Pkt. Sūyagaḍaṅga) with more contemporary Indian medical treatises such as the Caraka- and Suśruta-saṃhitās, offering greater detail on the formation of embryos—including maternal/paternal contributions, gender, nutrition, and stages of development, as well as the difficulty of pregnancy.

In Vitro Ferilization in the Religious Perspective An Analysis compressed20200302 83522 1px0668

INTERNATIONAL . JOURNAL O.F RELIGION & CULTURE, 2015

ABSTRACT The work looks into the morality of in vitro fertilization as perceived by three world religions which are, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. If attempts to define in vitro fertilization and ushers in the procedure, causes advantages and disadvantages of the technology. It tries to make one understand that this technology is very helpful to infertile couples, single mothers and same-sex couples. It helps in child spacing and is good in waving off genetic diseases that can affect fetuses. Though there are undesirable things that can be encountered in embarking on the process as it costs a large amount of money, leads to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, social marginalization, and all in all, it is unnatural as it "means going contrary to the design of God and man playing God that is doing the work of God. The three religions under discussion are not in accord with in vitro fertilization, as certain inherent things incur Its disapproval. Though Judaism accepts any modern technology that will help infertile couples make their own babies, certain attributive factors are not accepted by the religion as these have forwarded debates on the issue

Reproduction, Infertility and (ARTs): A Study from Islamic and Bio-Medical Perspectives

Al-Qamar, 2020

Human Reproductive Cloning: The Intersection of Kaballa, the Bible and Biology - Parable, Exegesis and Modern Science

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

Creating Human Life Itself. The Emerging Meanings of Reproductive Cells among Science, State and Religion

In the past few decades, reproductive biomedicine has quickly developed and become widespread, producing a number of new options that have challenged the definition of kinship and parenthood, as well as of bodies and gender relations, and even of nature and life itself. Reproductive biomedicine is embedded in the ongoing construction of our wider social imagination, producing a re-imagination of the “facts of life”. This is a locus where we can see how biomedical knowledge fosters a reframing of material bodily tissues. The same biological material can assume a different ontological status according to the socio-material processes in which it is embedded. Exploring the process of bio-objectification of embryo in the Italian case, this introduction describes how the equation between embryo and human life itself emerges inside and outside the labs and illustrates how the biomedical conceptualization of embryo is highly dominated by moral and ethical categories.

Origin stories revisited: ivf as an anthropological project

Culture Medicine and Psychiatry, 2006

With this special issue it is both satisfying and illuminating to see the study of assisted conception come, in a sense, full circle – from having been perceived largely as a recent Euro-American (and therefore somewhat restricted) concern to being recognized as not only a widespread (and non-Western) practice, and one which resonates with many of the classic concerns of anthropology, but also an area which, as Marilyn Strathern has argued consistently since the early 1990s, holds a unique place in the effort to widen the range of comparative practice within anthropology (Strathern 1992a; 1992b). Having begun research on British in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the mid-1980s, I remember well the difficulty of trying to use this topic to introduce “an additional comparative perspective [into] the longstanding anthropological practice of elucidating and documenting cultural difference [by] addressing the question of what kinds of difference these can be”(Franklin 1997:7, original emphasis

MOTHER’S WOMB IS GATEWAY TO KNOWLEDGE (EXAMPLES FROM ANCIENT INDIAN LITERATURE)

NUTRITION AND BRAIN DEVELOPMENT OF A FOETUS (ANCIENT AND MODERN SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVES) - BY DR. (Mrs.) NAVITA SRIVASTAVA, DR. (Mr.) ASHUTOSH PAREEK, DR. (Mrs.) NAMITA S. MOYAL, 2021

“Angaadangaat Sambhavasi, Hrudayaadadhi Jayase. Aatma vai Putra naamaasi, Sa jeeva Sharadah Shatam.” Nirukta – Acharya Yaska 3.4 “You have manifested from my own limbs. You have come into being from my own heart. You are my own soul, in the form of a child. May you live a hundred years.” The woman is the embodiment of the Holy Mother. Mothers are the one of the first indications of the sovereignty of God in our lives. A mother plays multiple roles in child development. Motherhood is central to womanhood, something that is revered in all cultures. Motherhood is the most rewarding experience for the woman. Pregnancy and the feel of the child in the womb gives the woman a sense of great joy and emotional fulfilment. When a mother feels happy, contended and calm, it allows the baby to develop in a favourable and calm environment. However emotions like stress and anxiety can increase peculiar hormones in your body, which affects baby’s developing body and brain. The apotheosis of motherhood has reached a greater height in India than anywhere else on the globe. Motherhood played a very significant role in ancient India. Importance is laid starting from selection of woman for procreation and importance of semen in creating a high quality offspring, intra partum care to neonatal care. 98 Indian scriptures have been addressed scientifically the problems & major consequences in pregnancy in various manner. Amongst the complications of pregnancy, they were aware of “Garbha-patan” or abortion. In Atharvaveda, abortion is attributed to defective semen. Sushruta has tackled the problem of threatened abortion at great length. In such cases vaginal douche of cold water and cold bathing were practised. Internally, medicated milk and ghee were given. If pain be severe, milk prepared with addition of certain herbs was given along with sugar and honey. For retention of urine, milk with a diuretic decoction was given. If there is much discharge of blood from the vagina, a piece of cloth soaked in an astringent solution was stuffed into the vagina, and orally also astringent medicines were given. Sushruta probably refers to the condition of missed abortion, when he states that “sometimes wind dries up the foetus, when mother’s belly does not enlarge and foetus does not move”. For such condition strengthening broths (Soup) and milk preparations were advised. Sushruta refers to post-maturity by stating “sometimes by deranged wind, foetus is retained for more than ten lunar months and may be destroyed.” In such cases mother was advised to take nutritious and oleaginous food like flesh, ghee and rice. Oedema in pregnancy has been mentioned by Charak, indicating that cases of toxaemia of pregnancy might be quite prevalent in this time. Pregnancy is boon for a woman but sometimes it can be boon or a curse for a child as well as for the family and society. So, the Rishis/ Acharyas who were actually educators as well as Scientists found a great way to inculcate spiritual feeling in the child in mother’s womb. They threw ray of light to the society that how a mother’s womb can be a place of learning. We have heard many stories in Indian mythology which we might say unbelievable but now slowly and steadily the 99 modern science believes that these can be true & possible also in today’s life. There is the story in Jain mythology of a brahman woman becoming pregnant and Indra transfers the baby from her womb to a more appropriate womb, that is of a queen, wife of a Kshatriya. Thus the Tirthankara was born. In the Bhagavat Purana, we hear how the foetus in Yashoda’s womb is transferred to Rohini’s womb to protect the child from the murderous and evil Kamsa. Thus Balaram was born. In the ancient Indian scripture Mahabharata, Arjuna narrated the art of breaking into the Chakravyuha, when he (Abhimanyu) was in Subhadra’s womb. So we can say that there are many aspects, ways & probabilities in the birth of a child. A mother always needs to be wise, careful & protective for her child in the pregnancy. The ancient Indian scriptures strongly recommend that a child’s learning start in the mother’s womb.

"The Duelling Fictions of Parthenogenesis." Yearbook of the Institute for Advanced Studies of Science, Technology, and Society, 2006: 139-158.

Yearbook of IAS-STS, 2006