You are here śete viṇ-mūtrayor garte sa jantur jantu-sambhave In
the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa it is said that in the intestine of the
mother the umbilical cord, which is known as āpyāyanī, joins the
mother to the abdomen of the child, and through this passage the
child within the womb accepts the mother’s assimilated
foodstuff. In this way the child is fed by the mother’s
intestine within the womb and grows from day to day. The
statement of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa about the child’s situation
within the womb is exactly corroborated by modern medical
science, and thus the authority of the Purāṇas cannot be
disproved, as is sometimes attempted by the Māyāvādī
philosophers. Since the child depends completely on the
assimilated foodstuff of the mother, during pregnancy there are
restrictions on the food taken by the mother. Too much salt,
chili, onion and similar food is forbidden for the pregnant
mother because the child’s body is too delicate and new for him
to tolerate such pungent food. Restrictions and precautions to