male”) Samskara

In traditional calculation, the second of
the life-cycle ceremonies (samskaras).
The Pumsavana samskara was one of
the prenatal samskaras performed
before birth, done to ensure that a
newly conceived child would be a boy.
Various writers give differing prescriptions as to the correct time during
the pregnancy to perform this rite, but
they generally specify that it be
performed when the moon is in a male
constellation, at which time the woman
should have several drops of the juice
from the banyan tree inserted into her
right nostril (a common practice in
traditional medicine). This samskara is
seldom performed in modern times.