A Conceptual Analytic Study of Sex Determination or Ling Nirdharana in Ayurveda

Abstract

All parents have long desired healthy, intelligent, and beautiful children, as reflected in concepts from classical texts like \"Suputrakameeya.\" Ayurveda, an ancient Indian system of medicine, provides simple methods to ensure the birth of a healthy child, beginning with partner selection and addressing factors related to fetal development, including fertilization and sex determination. It emphasizes the roles of Shukra (sperm) and Shonita (ovum) in conception, with the dominance of Shonita leading to female offspring and Shukra to male offspring. Similarly, modern science determines sex by the presence of X and Y chromosomes, with the Y chromosome playing a crucial role in male development. Hormones such as Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) and testosterone influence the development of reproductive organs and secondary sexual characteristics. Both Ayurveda and contemporary science provide valuable insights into the genetic and biological aspects of human development.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

The ancient sages of India provided valuable insights into many scientific facts about the human body, which form the foundation for contemporary scientific knowledge. Ayurveda describes various aspects related to the development of the fetus and genetics, including fertilization and sex determination. Ayurveda considers two basic factors in human development: Shukra and Shonita, which represent sperm and ovum in modern medical science and are responsible for fertilization. Nearly all Acharyas like Charaka and Sushruta have recognised three different sexes: Puman (male), Stri (female) and Napunsaka (hermaphrodite). Charaka clearly stated that the dominance of Shonita during conception results in the birth of a female child, while the dominance of Shukra (sperm) leads to the birth of a male child. Acharya Sushruta also believes the same.

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Abundance (predominance) of Shukra (semen) makes the foetus to be a male, abundance (predominance of) Artava (ovum) makes the foetus to be a female; and when both these are equal, it makes the foetus to be a eunuch.

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The pregnant woman in whom, milk appears first in her right breast, the right side of her abdomen is bigger, throbbings appear first in her right leg, whose desires (longings) are for things which bear names of masculine gender, who sees Padma, Utpala, Kumuda, Amrataka etc in her dream and which have names of masculine gender only, and whose face and colour are pleasant- should be understood as one giving birth to a son. She, who has features opposite of these as the one giving birth to a daughter. She whose flanks are depressed, her abdomen indrawn in its front and absence of features told earlier (of male and female child) should be understood as the one giving birth to a eunuch. She, whose abdomen has depression (deep furrow) in its centre and appears like Dro?i (water trough or a valley) should be understood as one giving birth to twins.

In modern science, the sex of an individual is determined by the presence of XX chromosomes in females and XY chromosomes in males. The distinct content of the X and Y chromosomes contains genes and regulatory sequences, with the sex-determining region Y (SRY) being the key regulator. Hormones such as Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) and testosterone, secreted by the fetal testis, play a role in gonadal and hormonal sexual dimorphism, impacting the development of reproductive organs and secondary sexual characteristics. Additionally, sex chromosome genes directly influence brain sexual dimorphism, which may occur before gonadal differentiation. One must know the fundamental basics for which this study is undertaken.

II. MATERIAL & METHOD

Ayurved compendia, modern textbooks, research papers and articles related to this topic were extensively studied.

A. Ayurvedic Review

Here a few concepts of sex determination have been taken to describe as:

1. 1st Concept:  According to Ayurveda, Garbha lingam or sex is determined by the combination of Shukra Dhatu and Artava. The predominance of ‘Shukra’ and ‘Artava’, particularly at the time of ‘Shukra Artava Samyoga’ (time of fertilization), determines the sexuality according to Indian thoughts. Acharyas Charaka and Sushruta have recognized three different types of sexes, namely, ‘Puman’ (male), ‘Stri’ (female) and ‘Napunsaka’. They have also mentioned the factors that play a role behind these three states of sexes. According to them, the predominance of Shukra leads to the formation of a male child, the predominance of Artava leads to the formation of a female child and their equality in strength leads to the formation of a Napumsaka. Dalhana has also explained the predominance of Shukra and Artava. He says that Artava is four times the quantity of Shukra but it is not so. The quantity of pure Artava situated in the uterus is responsible for fertilization. Occasionally, due to over-excitement, the quantity of ejaculated Shukra (semen) may be more or due to physiological depression it may be less, which influences the relative amount of Shukra and Artava. Citing the opinions of others, he has mentioned that the functional potency of Shukra and Artava influences the formation of sex. Sharngdhara says that besides the role of Shukra and Artava, the will of God is responsible for the formation of sex.
2. 2nd Concept: According to the Yogaratnakara, the gender of the child is influenced by the dominance of Shukra (semen) and Artava (ovum). It states that a male child is born from the right side (Dakshina-nadi) and a female child is born from the left side.
3. 3rd Concept: Bhavamishra introduces a new perspective on the birth of male and female children. He mentions the role of three distinct 'Nadees' in the process. According to him, the discharge of semen in the 'Sameerana' results in wastage, while discharge in 'Chandramasi' leads to the birth of a female child and discharge in 'Gauri' results in the birth of a male child.

Furthermore, it is believed that coitus on even days leads to the birth of a male child while coitus on odd days leads to the birth of a female child. According to Vagbhata, maintaining abstinence for three days during the ritukala (up to the 7th day of menstruation) is advised for those seeking offspring of high quality. Additionally, it is believed that a child conceived on Ekadashi and Trayodashi would be a Napunsaka (hermaphrodite). The gender of the child is said to be determined by the level of Artava, with less on even days leading to the birth of a male child and more on odd days resulting in the birth of a female child.

III. MODERN REVIEW

The sex determination system is a biological system that regulates the development of sexual characteristics in an organism. The X chromosome is involved in the determination of sex and is also known as the allosome (sex chromosome). Another chromosome, called the 'Y' chromosome, is also involved in the sex determination process. In mammals, including humans, a normal female has two X chromosomes, while a normal male has one X and one Y chromosome. Female gametes only carry the X chromosome, making females belong to the homozygotic sex. Male gametes can carry either the X or Y chromosome, classifying males as the heterozygotic sex.

A. Correlation of First Concept

• Shettles studied sperm cells to observe their differences. He theorized based on his observations is that Y-carrying sperm are lighter, smaller and have round heads.

• He also studied sperm in some rare cases where man had fathered either mostly male or mostly female children. In the cases where the man had mostly male kids, Shettles discovered that the man had far more Y- carrying sperm than X- carrying sperm.

B. Correlation of Second Concept

The X and Y chromosomes in males act as homologous chromosomes during meiosis and pass into different gametes. Thus, males produce two types of gametes and are described as heterogametic i.e. (22+X) and (22+ Y) while the female which produces only one type of gamete is homogametic. Otto Schooner’s theory: It is examined in research when the right ovary ovulated ova will fertilize produces a male child as well as when left ovary ovulated ova will fertilize produces a female child. So left ovary ovulated ova is more potent than the right one.

C. Correlation of Third Concept

• This method also correlated with Shettles method that male sperm tend to swim more quickly in alkaline environment like in the cervix and uterus and female sperm tend to survive longer in acidic conditions of the vaginal canal.

D. Correlation of Fourth Concept

Acharya Sushruta advises expectant parents to have intercourse on even days after the end of the menstrual flow or closer to ovulation to conceive a male baby and on odd days to conceive a female baby. According to Acharya Dalhana, on even days, there is less predominance of X chromosome (Rajah) and on odd days, Rajah is predominant. Therefore, engaging in sex during even days of menstruation may result in a male baby, while engaging in sex on odd days may result in a female baby. It would be interesting to conduct research on why and how the X chromosome predominance varies during these days.

IV. DISCUSSION

The knowledge possessed by our ancient seers is scientific and forms the basis of other sciences. Our classics provide detailed descriptions of Garbha Sharir, which deals with the developmental events that occur during intrauterine life, corresponding to modern embryology. Garbha Sharir is defined as the union of Shukra and Shonita along with Atma, which can be seen as similar to the union of sperm and ovum in modern science. Our classics describe that the predominance of Shukra in the fertilized product gives birth to a male child, predominance of Shonita leads to the birth of a female child, and predominance of both results in a Napunsaka. Shukra and Shonita can be compared to sperm and ovum, where sperm contains XY chromosome and ovum contains XX chromosome.

In the 1960s, Landrum B. Shettles developed the Shettles method, a procedure for couples to use before and during intercourse to increase their chances of conceiving a fetus of their desired sex. Shettles observed physical differences between X-carrying sperm and Y-carrying sperm. He noticed that male-producing Y chromosomes were found in small, round-headed sperm (endosperm), while female-producing X chromosomes were found in large, oval-shaped sperm (gymnosperm). Shettles also found that most samples did not contain an equal number of both types of sperm. After checking the family history of the men who provided the sperm specimen, he found that men with a male-dominant family history had more round-headed endosperm, and those with a female-dominant family history had more oval-shaped gymnosperm. This led to the correlation of Shukrabahulya with Y-carrying sperms and Artavabahulya with X-carrying sperms.

Additionally, the Shettles method indicates that male sperm tend to swim more quickly in an alkaline environment like the cervix and uterus, while female sperm tend to survive longer in the acidic conditions of the vaginal canal. This experimental theory seems to justify the concept of the three Nadis in the vaginal canal.

Conclusion

Ayurveda, a traditional life science, provides insights into sex determination that align with contemporary science. This demonstrates the depth of embryological knowledge possessed by our ancient scholars. While modern medical technologies offer more detailed descriptions, we can infer that our Acharyas must have conducted extensive research to establish these concepts. The similarity between the two approaches indicates that our ancestors had a solid grasp of sex determination. In Ayurveda, Shukra is considered as sperm with a Y chromosome, while Shonita is implied to have an X chromosome. This understanding extends to the concept of X chromosomes in eggs as well.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2024 Dr. Saurabh Chandra Rohila, Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Dr. Asha Gochar, Dr. Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Dr. Shyoram Sharma. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.