GARBHADHANAM Importance of Garbhadhana Samskara The Sacred Process of Child Birth If one is not purified by the process of the

seed giving ceremony, or garbhadhana samskara he is immediately classified amongst the sudras because only the sudras do not undergo this purificatory process. Krsna book, IIp.236 The pious seminal succession in the twice born families of the brahmanas and ksatriyas especially, as well as in the families of vaisyas also, must be kept very pure by the observation of the purificatory process (samksaras) beginning with garbhadhana samskara, which is observed before conceiving a child. Unless this purificatory process is strictly observed, especially by the brahmanas, the family descendents become impure, and gradually sinf SB 4.14.42, purport It is to be concluded that while conceiving a child ones mind must be very sober and devotional. For this purpose the garbhadhana samskara is recommended in the Vedic scriptures. SB Date: After the marriage the newly wedded couple should observe brahmacarya for three days, sleeping on the earth. On the fourth day, the couple go to the husbands house and caturthi homa is performed. After this, during the day time, the preliminaries f or the first garbhadhana samskara may be performed, taking into consideration the suitable and forbidden times. It may also be performed after six or twelve nights, or after one year. The rules for time and the samskara should be observed thereaf ter whenever the desire for sex and children arises. To say the least, each sex act must be carefully planned in advance, by use of intelligence, using the scriptural injunctions, and not determined by lust alone. ..Before engaging in sexual intercourse, both the husband and the wife must consider their mental condition, the particular time, the husbands direction and obedience to the demigods. SB 3.14.38, purport Forbidden Hours: The union of man and wife should take place neither during the day nor during the sandhyas (daybreak and twilight). Daytime is of course the time when man should carry out his duties: waking bathing, meditating, worshipping the Supreme Lord, studying
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scripture, chanting japa, serving the deity, carrying out household duties, welcoming guests etc. Sandhyas should only be utilized for chanting gayatri mantra and meditating on the Lord. As well, Prasnopanisad says that a man reduces his life span by having sexual relations during the day. One who performs during the night is considered to be brahmacari (ie he maitains his strength). pranam va ete skandanti ye diva ratya samyujyante brahmacaryam eva tad ya ratrau ratya samyujyante Prasnopanisad 1.13 According to Asvalayana Smrti from the end of the evening sandhya up until midnight is allowed: upeyan madhyaratrante Exception to this is when the wife is extremely lusty. To prevent her from going elsewhere for satisfaction the husband should concede to her demands, though not according the scriptural recommendations of proper time. Forbidden Days: Numbering the nights from the start of the menses of the woman, then at least the first four nights are forbidden for sexual activity. Kalaprakasika, states that the first day is fatal for the husband,the second day is fatal forthe wife, thethird day causes abortion and the fourth day impairs the power of the father and produces a short lived son bereft of good habits. Srila Prabhupad gives a slightly longer period. The recommended period is six days after the mensturation period. letter from Srila Prabhupada, Shama dasi, Jan.18, 1969 The eleventh and thirteenth nights are also forbidden, as the offspring produced are of bad quality. The remaining ten days are permitted, and the later nights are favored. Even numbered nights favor male children, and uneven numbers favor female children. Sexual union after the sixteenth night is also forbidden. In the sequence below the starred days starting from 1 (beginning of menses) are forbidden for sexual intercourse. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 2223 ************* 24 25 26 27 **** The remaining ten days (5-10, 12, 14-16) are suitable provided they do not fall on those lunar tithis which are forbidden.) Forbidden Lunar Tithis:

Sexual union must also be avoided on days of vrata and fasting, such as ekadasi, and on the parva days (full moon, dark moon, astami and caturdasi tithis, as well as sankranti, when the sun passes into a new zodiac sign) when the body is in weak con dition, and the days when the moon passes throught the same naksatra as at ones birth. Forbidden Week days: Saturday, Tuesday and Sunday should be avoided being ruled by malefic planets,saturn, Mars and Sun. Forbidden Naksatra: contact should be avoided when the moon is in the following constellations: bharani, krttika, ardra, aslesa, magha, purvaphalguni, visakha, jyestha, purvasada, purvabhadra Rising Sign or Ascendent: best signs are taurus, gemini, cancer leo, virgo, libra and pisces according to Kala Prakasika. Proper Planetary Combinations: In addition to the above strictures the man and woman who desire proper, harmonious, sexual relations between themselves, and desire healthy, intelligent, spiritual children, should with knowledge choose an auspicious day, hour and moment for the ir union. Malefic planets (saturn, mars, sun) should not afflict the ascendent, kendras, or trikona, by occupation or aspect, and benefics, particularly jupiter should be strongly situated in rasi and navamsa charts. Kala Prakasika says it is better if the ascendent and eighth house are free of planets. If the above are considered when choosing a proper time pleasant union and good offspring are assured. Other Forbidden Times: As soon as the wife is pregnant, no more sex life until the child is born and is grown up at least for six months. After that one may have sex life on the same principle. If one does not want more than one or two children, he should voluntarily stop sex life. One should not use any contraceptive method and at the same time indulge in sex life. That is very much sinful. letter from Srila Prabhupada, San Fransisco, Sept 20, 1968 Semen is meant to be discharged when one has a home, a wife and the intention to beget children, otherwise there is no injunction for discharging semen.
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SB 4.8.1 purport Contraception Forbidden: According to the Vedic scriptures the contraceptive method should be restraint in sex life. It is not that one should indulge in unrestricted sex life and avoid children by using some method to check pregnancy. If a man is is in good consciousness, he consults with his religious wife, and as a result of this consultation with intelligence, one advances in his ability to estimate the value of life. SB 4.27.6 purport Sex Once a Month: Amongst the permissible days during one month for sexual union, only one day can be chosen for the act. If the couples are desirous of having children, the husband is encouraged to approach his wife once every month, provided the times are auspicious, until preganancy occurs. Then he should stop. According to religious injunctions a man is restricted to enjoy sex only once in a month, after the menstrual period of the wife, and if the wife is pregnant, he is not allowed sex life at all. That is the law for human beings. Sb. 4.27. 5 purport Illicit sex: If the husband and wife do not follow the above rules, then, even though married their relations are considered illicit. These laws and srciptures are meant for human beings. As such if one violates these laws, he becomes sinful. The conclusion is that unrestricted sense enjoyment means sinful activities. Illict sex is sex that violates the laws given in the scriptu res. When one violates the laws of the scriptures, or the Vedas, he commits sinful activities. One who is engaged in sinful activities cannot change his consciousness. Our real function is to change our consciousness from kasmala , sinful consciousn ess, to Krsna, the supreme pure. SB 4.27.5 purport Partner: The husband must satisfy himself only with his wife, with no one else or by any other means. The husband who thinks of anyone other than his wife reduces his life span and receives birth in a body without bones, trapped in the womb and bitten by insects.
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Place: The husband should approach his wife in his own house, in a clean room, on a clean, wide, unbroken bed; not in a temple, a guru or teachers or vaisnavas house, not under a holy tree, not at a tirtha, a gosala, a crematorium, in the forest, or in the water. Condition of Body and Mind: The husband should be free from the influence of intoxicants, should be bathed, nicely scented, garlanded, healthy, free from anxieties, and both affectionate or considerate, and passionate. The wife should be bathed, free from anger, in good spirits, in good health, neither underfed or overfed and desirous of her husband. She should have no longing for, sexual relation with anyone else. She should not be pregnant, nor should she have recently borne a child. Permission of Guru: Grhasthas should indulge in sex life only in accordance with the order of the guru. SB7.12.11, purport

Age: Susruta, the famous ayurvedic writer says that woman matures when she is sixteen and a man when he is twenty five. Sexual union when either partner is not mature will lead to unhealthy children. He recommends that the woman should be at least sixteen and the man at least twenty five, but prefers that they should be older in order to bear good children. The above strictures, which limit sexual intercourse to once a month, and only on certain days when the woman is fertile and the man and woman are in proper physical condition, are the condition for sex according to natures laws. However, in addition, and just as important, is the rite of purification which accompanies the act. If this is not performed, then even restricted sex activity is in vain, for the consciousness of the man and woman will be motivated solely by raja and tama guna. This will only lead to greater addiction for sex and children with no spiritual assets. At minimum the following procedure must be done if the sex act of husband and wife is to be called garbhadhana samskara. If it is not, the act is not befitting a civilized human being. It is kama which is dharma aviruddha: lust according to irrelig ious principles, ie demoniac. According to Vedic culture, sex is enjoyed under
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Vedic instructions. Thus the Vedas give direction to civilized human beings to enable them to satisfy their propensities for sense gratification. SB 4.25.39 purport ************************************************************* Ceremony as Directed by Srila Prabhupad: Our grhasthas should simply chant 50 rounds before conceiving a child. letter from Tamal Krishna to Madhusudana May 19, 1976 on behalf of Srila Prabhupada ************************************************************* Vaidic Procedure: In the evening (or some auspicious moment of the day), in a clean room, the husband should offer worship salagrama or the deity of the house. If there is not an installed deity in the house which is offered daily worship, then before the arghya is offered, a deity should be temporarily called either into a murti, picture or pot according to puja vidhi and worshipped accordingly. Nandisr addha, including worship of visvaksena and the 16 matrgana, may also be performed before the worship of visnu. VISNU PUJA AND SATTVIKA VRDDHI SRADDHA One should start by performing acamana, svasta vacana, sankalpa, guru visnu puja. om svasti no govindah svasti no cyutanantau svasti no vasudevo visnur dadhatu svasti no narayano naro vai svasti nah padmanabhah purusottamo dadhatu svasti no visvakseno visvesvarah svasti no hrsikeso harir dadhatu svasti no vainateyo harih svasti nonjanasuto hanur bhagavato dadhatu svasti svasti sumangalikeso mahan sri krsna saccid ananda ghanah sarvesvaresvaro dadhatu ..mase ..rtau ..pakse ..tithau ..naksatra samyutayam .rasi stithe bhaskaresri krsna prityartham
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garbhadana samskarartham sri visnu puja purvaka arghya danam aham karisye One should establish a ghata if there is no salagrama or deity in the house, and invoke visnu. One should worship guru and then visnu with sixteen upacaras. One may then worship as follows. Panca Bhagavata Puja: ete gandha puspe . om visvaksenaya namah om sanakaya namah om sanatanaya namah om sanandaya namah om sanat kumaraya namah Nava Yogendra Puja: om kavaye namah om havaye namah om antariksaya namah om prabuddhaya namah om pippalayanaya namah om avirhotraya namah om drumilaya namah om camasaya namah om karabhojanaya namah Maha Bhagavata Puja: om brahmane namah om sukadevaya namah om sadasivaya namah om garudaya namah om naradaya namah om kapilaya namah om balaye namah
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om bhismaya namah om prahladaya namah om hanumate namah om ambarisaya namah om janakaya namah om yama bhagavataya namah om svayambhuvaya namah om uddhavaya namah om vyasaya namah Visnu Sakti Puja: om paurnamasyai namah om laksmyai om antarangayai om yamunayai om gopyai om vrndavatyai om gayatryai om tulasyai om sarasvatyai om prthvyai om gave om yasodayai om devahutyai om devakyai om rohinyai omsitayai om draupayai omkuntyai omrukminyai om satyabhamayai om jambavatyai om nagnajitayai om laksanayai om kalindyai om bhadrayai om mitravindayai

Then, in a conch or earthen vessel five times with the following mantras, he should offer arghya to visnu five times, using the following mantras. (Arghya consists of pancamrta, pancagavya, water, milk, haritaki, gandha, betels, flowers, candana, tumeric, kumkuma, durba grass, tulasi, amlaki, scents and other auspicious items. It may be offered over the Lords head or to his hand.) om jagannatha mahabaho sarvopadrava nasana nava puspotsave merghyam grhana jagadisvara etat arghyam om sri visnave namah (or mula mantra) om narayana hare rama govinda garuda dhvaja navapuspotsve merghyam grhana paramesvara etat arghyam om sri visnave namah (or mula mantra) om dinabandho krpa sindho paramananda madhava navapuspotsave merghyam grhana madhusudana etat arghyam om sri visnave namah (or mula mantra) om visvatman visvabandho visvesa visvalocana navapuspotsave merghyam grhana syamasundara etat arghyam om sri visnave namah (or mula mantra) om cidananda hrsikesa bhaktavasya janardana navapuspotsave merghyam grhana kamalapate etat arghyam om sri visnave namah (or mula mantra) (Oh supreme Lord, at this festive occasion with fresh flowers please accept the arghya offered by me.)

The husband facing east , should situate himself behind his seated wife. With his right hand reaching over her right shoulder he should touch her yoni saying: om visnuh yonim kalpayatu acyuto rupani pimsatu asincatu harih garbham jagadiso dadhatu te May visnu prepare the yoni; may acyuta fashion the forms; may hari carry out the fertilization; may jagadisa present the child to you. om garbham dhehi garbhosasayin garbham te naranarayanau adhattam puskara srajau Garbhodasayi visnu please bestow the child; nara narayana, bedecked with lotus garlands, please give her the child. Touching her navel he should say: om dirghayusam krsna bhaktam putram janaya suvrate Oh virtuous wife, bear a long-living son, a devotee of Krsna. Then they should unite. Bathing After the Act: As one has to take bath after using the toilet, so one has to wash himself with water after sexual intercourse, especially when at a forbidden time. SB 3.14.38, purport As with every vedic ritual, gifts should be distributed at the conclusion of the ceremony.

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