Dear colleagues, Please join us online at our next session in the CHSTM HIstory of Science in Early South Asia <https://www.chstm.org/group/history-science-early-south-asia> group: Monday, November 17, 2025, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm EST
*Christèle Barois (CESAH)* *Embryogenesis narratives and the history of ancient Indian medicine* As part of my study of embryogenesis in Epic and Purāṇic literature, I have established a specialized corpus of embryonic development narratives, spanning the period from the first centuries of the Common Era to the first centuries of the second millennium. Generally quite short (at most sixty verses), these embryogenesis narratives represent a specific type of narrative that shares a similar structure and invariably appears in the context of teaching Sāṃkhya philosophy. Embryology as expounded by classical Indian medicine (*āyurveda*) constitutes the conceptual framework of reference, since these narratives describe the development of the embryo in accordance with the processes and temporality taught in the “Book of the Body” (*śārīrasthāna*) of the ancient medical compendia, and share some of their technical terminology with classical Indian medicine (Suneson 1991). Bibliographical references: Barois, C. (2022). ‘Cette âme tombée dans un corps étranger’. Notes introductives au *Bhāgavatapurāṇa* III 31. In: *Embryon, personne et parenté*, Mathieu, Séverine, Enric Porqueres i Gené (eds). Paris: Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l'homme, 54, 39-62. Suneson, C. (1991). Remarks on some interrelated terms in the ancient Indian embryology. *Wiener Zeitschrift Für Die Kunde Südasiens / Vienna Journal of South Asian Studies*, *35*, 109–121. All the best, Dagmar
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