Part 12 -(appendix -1)

[Guest guest]

SRIMATHE RAMANUJAYA NAMAHA.

 

The prayer for male child is not without significance.Nor is it meant

to treat the female child as secondaryin importance. The significance

can be betterunderstood if we know the prime duty assigned to amale.

It is not to carry out vaidhiha karmas (which isonly one among the

other important actions for theman) but to do the pithru karmas that a

son isdesired. In Adi parvam in Mahabharatha, there comes astory of

sage Atiti (if I remember correctly) whofirst refuses to marry but

later realises that for thesake of relieving his pithrus from hell

whom he sawdangling inside an abandoned well by clinging to akind of

grass, he has to get married and begetchildren (male issues).

 

The question comes why only the male child and not thefemale issue.

Can't a woman conduct the rites for thepithrus? The issue carries

scriptural basis.To understand this better we must know how the

soulmakes its descent to be born in a womb.

 

Brahma Sutras speak about this and so also upanishads like Chandogya.

The descent happens in 5 stages which aredescribed as panchagni (5

agni). The soul whiledescending comes along with water (rain, the 1st

agni–water is an agni in having the capacity to eat upagni), enters

the earth (2nd agni) and then enters thefood (in plants) such as rice

and corn, herbs andtrees, sesame and beans". (Chan- V-X-6) (the

3rdagni). It then enters the man (the 4th agni) as thefood he eats and

rests in him for 2 months. While thedescent in the initial stages is

quick, by the timethe soul enters the plant, 'the escape is beset

withmore difficulties,' (Chan). That is, the process isnot reversible

by the time the soul comes to thislevel. That is why no birth is

accidental. It is allby design and any voluntary termination even

after afew days of conception gives rise to sishu-hastthidosham which

is comparable to Brahma hastthi dosham.The moment the soul enters the

womb, the body is born(Brahma sutras –3-1-27).

 

The pramana we have as"Then the soul gets connected with him (the man

at the4th stage) who performs the act of generation" (Brahmasutras –

3-1-26) and"For whoever eats food and performs the act ofgeneration

(the soul ) becomes that thing" (Chan –V-X-6)are of tremendous help in

understanding the questionwe have taken up.Consistent with scriptural

pramana, the man begets hisown son or the man is born as his son (or

daughter–the term here is common gender) whereby it is meantthat the

soul which until the previous stage was quickin its descent and not

affected by the medium throughwhich it traveled, gets 'sysnthesised' (

my own wordsfor our understanding) or readied so that the momentit

enters the ovum it gets a body depending on theresidual karma it has.

The male body is the last stage beforethe soul gains a body of its

own.

 

 

As scriptures saythat the soul leaves the same way as it hasdescended,

("having dwelt there till their work isconsumed, they return again the

same way as they cameby" (Chan –V-X-5 ) and ( Br IV-IV-6)), the male

bodyalso becomes the first stage to enter after the soulleaves the

body. It is from his body the soul isprepared for getting a body of

its own and it is onlytoo logical that it is from his body (once

again) thatthe soul (which gave him birth) gets prepared to leavefor

the other world.

 

Receive one from the other worldand make him born here. And relieve

one from here tohelp him reach the other world. Hence it is the

malewho is entitled to do pithru karma, to relieve them(the father and

through him his fore fathers) fromthe earthly plane, to pay them

obeisance and by sodoing he relieves his own pithru kadan, as he

hasdrawn his physical, vital and mental faculties fromthem (at three

levels of generations –vasu, rudra,adithya).

 

This paying back of the pithru kadan can notbe done by females who are

mere carriers of the bodywith soul. It is significant to note here

thatdiseases like colour blindnesss, haemophilia andothers do not

affect the females who only act ascarriers. It is for this reason we

take up the father's lineage.It is he who enabled us to be born and it

is he who isprotecting us by carrying out actions to please pithrus.

 

Though maatha is the purva rupam (Taittri)and she is thousand times

more reverential than father(Rik veda), it is pita by virtue of his

being avehicle of transporting us to this world who gives usname ,

lineage etc. Hence the importance to maleisuues. A male birth is not

actually a pleasurableone, if one strictly adheres to the dos and

dontsprescribed by shastras. It is beset with lots ofresponsibilities

and duties.

 

Regards,

 

Jayasree saranathan.