S
s Series title: Science fiction or
science ? serial number: 1
Article Title: Birth of 100
children to Gandhari
Source reference :Mahabharata Book 1-
section 49
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Summary
King Dritharshtra’s wife
Gandhari’s fetus is aborted after a two year pregnancy. Sage Vyasa comes and
does the needful to enable the birth of 100 sons and one daughter from out of
the aborted matter..
In modern technical
terminology, the equivalent of the device used by Vyasa is called “artificial
womb”. This technology is fairly close
to maturity and has already been
successfully used on animals in the laboratory
Description of event as given in source:
One day Gandhari entertained with respectful attention
the great Dwaipayana who came to her abode, exhausted with hunger and fatigue.
Gratified with Gandhari's hospitality, the Rishi gave her the boon she asked
for, viz., that she should have a hundred sons, each equal unto her lord in
strength and accomplishments.
Some time later, Gandhari conceived and she bore the
burden in her womb for two long years without being delivered. She was greatly
distressed at this. At that stage, information reached her that Kunti had
brought forth a son whose splendour was like unto the morning sun. Becoming
impatient due to the prolonged period of gestation, and deprived of reason by
grief, she struck her womb forcefully, without the knowledge of her husband.
Thereupon a hard mass of flesh, from two years' growth, came out of her womb.
When she was about to throw it away, Dwaipayana, learning
everything by his spiritual powers, promptly came there, and beholding that ball of flesh, addressed the
daughter of Suvala thus, 'What have you done?' Gandhari, without trying to
disguise her feelings, addressed the Rishi and said, 'Having heard that Kunti
had brought forth a son like unto Surya in splendour, I struck my womb in grief.
O Rishi, You have granted me the boon that I should have a hundred sons, but
here is only a ball of flesh for those hundred sons!'
Vyasa then said, 'Daughter of Suvala, yes it is so.. But
my words can never be futile. I have not spoken an untruth even in jest. Let a
hundred pots full of clarified butter be brought instantly, and let them be
placed at a concealed spot. In the meantime, let cool water be sprinkled over
this ball of flesh." The illustrious and great Rishi himself, by
sprinkling water over that ball of flesh, began to divide it into parts, each
about the size of the thumb. And as it was being divided into parts, the nurse began to take
them up and put them one by one into those pots filled with clarified butter
that had been placed at a concealed spot
and were watched with care..
While this process was going on, the beautiful and chaste
Gandhari, realising the affection that one feels for a daughter, began to think
within herself, 'There is no doubt that I shall have a hundred sons, the Muni
having said so. It can never be otherwise. But I should be very happy if a
daughter were born of me over and above these hundred sons and junior to them
all. My husband then may attain to those worlds that the possession of a
daughter's sons confers. Then again, the affection the women feel for their
sons-in-law is great. If, therefore, I obtain a daughter over and above my
hundred sons, then, surrounded by sons and daughter's sons, I may feel
supremely blessed. If I have ever practised ascetic austerities, if I have ever
given anything in charity, if I have ever performed the homa through
Brahamanas, if I have ever gratified my superiors by respectful attentions,
then as the fruit of those acts let a daughter be born unto me.'
All this while, that illustrious Krishna-Dwaipayana himself was dividing the
ball of flesh; and counting a full hundred of the parts, he said unto the
daughter of Suvala, "Here are your hundred sons. I did not speak to you what was false. Here, however, is one
part in excess of the hundred, intended for giving you a daughter's son. This
part shall develop into an amiable and fortunate daughter, as you have desired'
Then that great ascetic brought another pot full of clarified butter, and put
the part intended for a daughter into it.
Then,in time, were born a full hundred sons to
Dhritarashtra and a daughter also in excess of this hundred from among those
pieces of the ball of flesh that had been deposited in those pots. The eldest
of these was Duryodhana . The daughter
was named Duhsala.
Observations &
questions that arise
·
Gandhari’s conception can be assumed to have
been a natural process since no specific
mention is made. No artificial methods like some equivalent of in-vitro
fertilization seems to have been involved. Only abnormality stated is that the pregnancy went
on for two years without delivery happening.
·
The foetal matter being aborted can be directly attributed to the self inflicted
beating….
·
There could not have been fertilization of a
hundred eggs during a single pregnancy in
the natural course, since a human woman
is not designed to carry and deliver a hundred children in one shot
·
But how did Vyasa achieve the creation of 100 male and one female babies from the aborted matter?
o
This is indicative of knowledge and
capability to handle and manipulate the foetal matter at the cell and sub-cell
level to a hundred embryos or fetuses capable of growing into full-term babies
·
How did Vyasa create a specific foetus with sex
predetermined as female?
o
This reaffirms the above observation. In
fact, it is indicative of ability to
manipulate at a much deeper chromosomal level.
·
The environment needed for growth into
full-term babies—flow of the necessary nourishment, the exact physical
parameters etc--- was provided as per instructions by Vyasa
o
This can be looked at as some form of ‘
artificial womb’. Modern science is now in the process of developing such
equipment and is expected to become available in the next few years.
o
See news item on this in the section below
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News items on Artificial womb development
Date: April 25, 2017
The lambs spent four weeks in the external
wombs and seemed to develop normally
But it’s important not to get ahead of the data,
says Alan Flake, fetal
surgeon at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and lead author of today’s
study. “It’s complete science fiction to think that you can take an embryo and
get it through the early developmental process and put it on our machine
without the mother being the critical element there,” he says.
----------- -----------------------------------------------------------
April 25, 2017
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/04/25/525044286/scientists-create-artificial-womb-that-could-help-prematurely-born-babies
Scientists have created an "artificial womb" in the
hopes of someday using the device to save babies born extremely prematurely.
So far the
device has only been tested on fetal lambs. A study published Tuesday involving eight animals found the device
appears effective at enabling very premature fetuses to develop normally for
about a month.
"We've
been extremely successful in replacing the conditions in the womb in our lamb
model," says Alan Flake, a fetal surgeon at
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who led the study published in the
journal Nature
Communications.
"They've had normal growth. They've had normal lung
maturation. They've had normal brain maturation. They've had normal development
in every way that we can measure it," Flake says.
Flake says the group hopes to test the device on very premature
human babies within three to five years.
"What we tried to do is develop a system that mimics the
environment of the womb as closely as possible," Flake says. "It's
basically an artificial womb."
-------------------------------------------------------------
Aug23, 2017
Artificial wombs are
coming.
The research remains preliminary, but in April a group of
scientists at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia announced amazing
advances in artificial womb technologies. The authors explained how they had
successfully sustained significantly premature lambs for four weeks in an
artificial womb they had designed.
This enabled the lambs to develop in a way very similar to lambs
that had developed in their mothers’ wombs. Indeed, the oldest lamb — more than
a year old at the time the paper was published — appeared to be completely
normal.
The
technology is not ready for human use,
--------------------------------------------------
Some
notes on the process of development of Foetus
Stages of PREGNANCY
During
each normal menstrual cycle,
one egg (ovum) is usually released from one of the ovaries, about 14 days after
the last menstrual period. Release of the egg is called ovulation. The egg is
swept into the funnel-shaped end of one of the fallopian tubes.
At
ovulation, the mucus in the cervix becomes more fluid and more elastic,
allowing sperm to enter the uterus rapidly. Within 5 minutes, sperm may move
from the vagina, through the cervix into the uterus, and to the funnel-shaped
end of a fallopian tube—the usual site of fertilization. The cells lining the
fallopian tube facilitate fertilization.
If
a sperm penetrates the egg, fertilization results. Tiny hairlike cilia lining
the fallopian tube propel the fertilized egg (zygote) through the tube toward
the uterus. The cells of the zygote divide repeatedly as the zygote moves down
the fallopian tube. The zygote enters the uterus in 3 to 5 days.
In
the uterus, the cells continue to divide, becoming a hollow ball of cells
called a blastocyst.
Development of the
Blastocyst
Between
5 and 8 days after fertilization, the blastocyst attaches to the lining of the
uterus, usually near the top. This process, called implantation, is completed
by day 9 or 10.
The
wall of the blastocyst is one cell thick except in one area, where it is three
to four cells thick. The inner cells in the thickened area develop into the
embryo, and the outer cells burrow into the wall of the uterus and develop into
the placenta. The placenta produces several hormones that help maintain the
pregnancy.
Development of the
Embryo
The
next stage in development is the embryo, which develops within the amniotic
sac, under the lining of the uterus on one side. This stage is characterized by
the formation of most internal organs and external body structures. Most organs
begin to form about 3 weeks after fertilization, which equals 5 weeks of
pregnancy (because doctors date pregnancy from the first day of the woman's
last menstrual period, which is typically 2 weeks before fertilization). At
this time, the embryo elongates, first suggesting a human shape. Shortly
thereafter, the area that will become the brain and spinal cord (neural tube)
begins to develop. The heart and major blood vessels begin to develop
earlier—by about day 16. The heart begins to pump fluid through blood vessels
by day 20, and the first red blood cells appear the next day. Blood vessels
continue to develop in the embryo and placenta.
Almost
all organs are completely formed by about 10 weeks after fertilization (which
equals 12 weeks of pregnancy). The exceptions are the brain and spinal cord,
which continue to form and develop throughout pregnancy.
Development of the
Fetus and Placenta
At
the end of the 8th week after fertilization (10 weeks of pregnancy), the embryo
is considered a fetus. During this stage, the structures that have already
formed grow and develop. The following are markers during pregnancy:
·
By 12 weeks of pregnancy: The
fetus fills the entire uterus.
·
By about 14 weeks: The sex can be
identified.
·
By about 16 to 20 weeks:
Typically, the pregnant woman can feel the fetus moving.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Wikipedia
In biological terms,
however, prenatal development is a continuum, with no clear defining feature
distinguishing an embryo from a fetus. The use of the term "fetus"
generally implies that an embryo has developed to the point of being
recognizable as a human; this is the point usually taken to be the ninth week after
fertilization. A fetus is also characterized by the presence of all the major
body organs, though they will not yet be fully developed and functional and
some not yet situated in their final anatomical location.
Gender
Assigned
Gender is determined
immediately upon fertilization. The 23rd pair of chromosomes establishes the
sex of the baby. The mother's egg contains an X chromosome, while the father's
sperm carries either another X or a Y chromosome. An XX combination means your
baby is female and an XY combination means your baby is male. This means that
the baby's gender is determined before it is even considered a fetus.
Development
Though during the
first few weeks of fetal development your baby's internal and external genital
structures are the same, the organs will eventually change. Your baby's gonads
will either become ovaries or testicles. The phallus will become either a
clitoris or a penis, and the genital folds will become either labia or scrotum.
This all depends whether or not testosterone is present. Testosterone will be
present in embryos with a Y chromosome, and male sex organs will begin to form.
If testosterone is not present, female organs will develop, making female the
"default sex" for human beings.
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