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Garbhini Vyakaran is the field of study for the general management of pregnancy. Rules concerning diet, activities, behavior and mental activity (ahar, vihar, achar and vichar respectively) are laid down here.

From the moment the pregnancy is confirmed, the woman is advised to follow these rules. The physician steps in and starts supervision so that the pregnancy can terminate in a normal delivery at the scheduled time. Especially when she approaches full term, critical care is necessary as one of her feet is considered to be in this world and the other in the world of Yama (the god of death). Delivery is not complete unless the placenta is delivered. If the delivery is not normal, the woman is likely to be affected by one or the other of a list of 64 ailments, which are described in detail in Garbhini Vyakaran.

The following are a few from the vast repertoire of general rules to be maintained from inception of pregnancy to the delivery

The mother-to-be should always try to be in a happy mood. She should be clean, neat and well dressed, wearing simple clothes and sleep under a roof in a clean environment. The food she eats should be tasty, and most of it should be in a liquid form, moist, nourishing, and enriched with all the six rasas (tastes) and treated with drugs which are known to increase the appetite and digestive power.

She should always avoid excessive sex particularly during early and late pregnancy, overeating or fasting, sleeping during the day time and staying up late at night. Witnessing or listening to things which give rise to feelings of sorrow, anger, horror or agony, travelling in a vehicle on rough roads, squatting for a long time or sitting in an uncomfortable position or on a hard surface, lifting heavy things or remaining in a bent position for a long time should all be carefully avoided.

With all this KAC wishes every ‘safe’ mother an Ayurvedic delivery!

‘Evam kurvati hi arogya-bala-varna-samvahana-sampadam upetam jnatinam shreshtam apatyam janayati’

–          Charaka Samhita

Translating the above verses,

‘If a pregnant woman is taken care of as advised, she will give birth to a child who does not have any diseases – a healthy, physically strong, radiant and well nourished baby. He will be superior to all in the race’

Ayurvedic tradition has the practice of describing pregnancy under definitions of ‘safe motherhood’. This can be further explicated as ‘the basis of family life which, in turn, is the backbone of all the orders of society. Hence, family life remains protected if the woman is safe and protected.’ Thus the mother forms the pivot around which the health of the entire family revolves. Ayurveda compares conception to the germination and sprouting of a seed and its transformation into a sapling. When the male and female seeds unite and the soul enters the union, it becomes an embryo (called in Sanskrit as garbha). Ayurveda gives importance to the quality of the seed and hence, to the development during adolescence, of both the male and the female. In addition to the female seed, the mother also provides the ‘soil, nutrition and the right season’ for the seed to grow. Hence, Ayurveda advises special attention to be paid to the nutrition and protection of the woman to keep her (the soil) rich and clean. It further advises that a female under sixteen years of age and a male under twenty should not bear a child. The rules of sexual intercourse are also laid down. So also, those of antenatal care: the husband and other family members are advised to take care of the pregnant woman’s diet and encourage activities that are dear to her and beneficial to the foetus or child growing in her body. Thus, the approach towards motherhood, that is pregnancy and childbirth, is a holistic one. Such concepts are excellent, but the question is: are they practiced? In fact, it needs thorough introspection on our part to find out why this approach was abandoned.

That meat of today does not meet the guidelines for healthy eating is undisputed. It is also widely proven in scientific circles that humans are also more suited to a predominantly vegetarian diet. Academics from the University of Arkansas and the John Hopkins School of Medicine have conducted extensive research to prove that the teeth and jaws of human ancestors were used for cutting through foods like fruits, nuts, shoots, leaves, flowers and insects-not the flesh of other animals.

Moreover, meat is a not an easily digestible food and the long digestive process often leads to the formation of toxins—and when accumulated in the body, produces kidney stones, gout, gallstones and rheumatism. Dr Jenson, a leading American nutritionist, expresses this concept clearly when he says,

Animal proteins putrefy very quickly in  the intestinal tract, and that is why we should be careful with meats…meat is one of the most putrefactive foods…toxic protein byproducts may find their way into the bloodstream, where they cause a great deal of trouble.”

These are some ideas concerning Meat eating in the modern culture. Given that our occupations are vastly different from those pursued in the samhita age, we should be even more cautious in our food intake. Kerala Ayurveda Centre wishes you an enriching Vegetarian platter everyday!