Tags
arjun, arjuna, atom bomb, Kunti, Mahabharata, mythology, panchkanya, parthenogenesis, pregnant nun, Queen bee, virgin mother, virginity
Parthenos= virginity; Genesis= birth. Parthenogenesis = Asexual reproduction i.e birth occurring solely from mother’s genes with no paternal(sperm) contribution.
Partha= born of Pritha/Kunti (click on the link for my review of Yuganta , Mahabharata by Irawati Karve) of Mahabharata. Parth is also another name for Arjun.(click for my fascination with Arjun)
‘Parth’-enogenesis in Mahabharata ? Is our epic the origin of the Greek word?
Kunti had five men in her life. Kunti is (still) counted amongst Panch-Kanya (eternal virgins) in Indian literature. She was gifted a magical chant by Sage Durvaas, which made any demi-God(willy-nilly) accessible to her wishes. She conceived four sons from four demi-Gods, without (as the texts staunchly insist) physical intimacy. Is it a medical possibility?
Parthenogenesis is Nature’s survival tactic. Female of species use it whenever males are unavailable(too few), unable (Pandu?) or unnecessary(Queen honeybee) for reproduction. Komodo dragons, honey bees and Pit vipers use Parthenogenesis.
Human beings? Not as yet possible for Modern Medicine. But Kunti more than 5000 years ago? Perhaps possible. Before you scoff at the idea, remember that our scriptures mention Pushpak vimaan much before Wright brothers, in vitro fertilization (100 Gandhari sons), Tsunami (Dwarka’s sea-burial) and nuclear bomb (the Brahmastra is eerily word-to-word atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer conceded). Dronacharya was the anti-thesis (being born solely from his father’s sperms without a female egg!)
Since Time immemorial, History has been fascinated with virginity. Feminine virginity, of course . Jannat(Heaven) is where 7 virgins will serve thee. Jesus Christ was born to Virgin Mary. More recently, Roxana the Italian nun has no clue how she got pregnant.
Deepti Naval painted a pregnant nun years ago, a striking proof that artists tune into a sonic vibration much ahead or much diverse from the mundane mind. She explains it as Motherhood being the highest state of purity. The closest symbol of purity that struck into her mind was A Nun and thus was born a controversial painting.
So, Is virginity purely (pun!) physical? Does emotional virginity supersede the physical? Will we re-discover Parthenogenesis in human beings?
Just as an aside: Queen bee can reproduce with or without the drone. Drones (male bees) exist only to impregnate the Queen. The drones do not sting/do not gather pollen/do not produce honey. The drone can mate only once in a lifetime; and the mating ends in a gruesome death. Sorry, just couldn’t avoid that interesting tid-bit!)
Interesting post! Another definition for virgin- a woman whole unto herself – a meaning that I really love.
LikeLike
Thank you Diahannreyes…and Welcome! Your definition is quite novel; but apt. It transfers the issue from the hymen to her willpower and self. Liked it!
LikeLike
Thank you. I wish I could take the credit for that one but it’s definitely not my definition 🙂
LikeLike
HaHa . Well, I definitely give you credit for honesty.
LikeLike
Sometimes I do believe that we were too advance a few thousands years back only. It is not at all amazing to see recent things which was already there in our books long ago…
Anyways as far as your post is concerned, it is really an interesting post, and would really love to hear what others think on this. But yes as far as my own opinion is concerned, I think Parthenogenesis is entirely a work of fiction or imagination. Pregnant nun can be imagined but then you can’t expect it to turn into reality.
LikeLike
Thank you for the kind words, Ashok.
Well, if the rest can be true, so can Parthenogenesis. I see it a little like ultraviolet rays or supersonic radiations. Our eyes cannot see or hear them; but a bat or dog may be enabled to see or hear them. In fact, animals have a superb ECP for earthquakes, rains and tsunamis. I am sure they get some signals from nature which we humans do not.
So, basically everything that humans perceive as impossible is not necessarily impossible. It is just beyond our scope to believe possible (I don’t know if I’m making sense). We may need to widen of scope to believe.
LikeLike
I loved the mature way in which you wrote this post about virginity. Good read
LikeLike
Thank you Nimadas. It feels wonderful to be appreciated.
LikeLike
Wow history interspersed with Greek origins with science…very interesting viewpoint on virginity…
LikeLike
Hello Siddharth!
I genuinely appreciate your interest and appraisal. Are you a blogger too? I can only see your email id, but not your blog url.
LikeLike
Hi yes I am also a blogger. I write about different topics though, but I love to read. I will post my blog links here soon. Do give me a feedback whenever possible.
LikeLike
Sure. Nice to connect to people of varying wavelengths. Please add your blog name and url. Update it on Gravatar or add yourself to Indieblogger too.
LikeLike
Done.. .
🙂 (Y)
LikeLike
Pingback: Yuganta (end of an era): Irawati Karve, Book Review | Impractical Dreamer
Pingback: Post a Query, Answer a Query | Impractical Dreamer
” Not as yet possible for Modern Medicine. But Kunti more than 5000 years ago? Perhaps possible. Before you scoff at the idea, remember that our scriptures mention Pushpak vimaan much before Wright brothers, in vitro fertilization (100 Gandhari sons), Tsunami (Dwarka’s sea-burial) and nuclear bomb (the Brahmastra is eerily word-to-word atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer conceded). Dronacharya was the anti-thesis (being born solely from his father’s
sperms without a female egg!) ”
Why cant all this stuff be just fantasy?! Just because it is mentioned in some of our books doesnt mean it existed! They might have added stuff to make it sound more interesting! It is also possile that though most of these people existed, all the events and powers mentioned might not have been! Its possible all of this got added later……when stories are passsed down millennia only orally, a bit of Chinese whispers can drastically alter the entire storyline! Why keep going back to the past searching for glory? Is the present really so terrible? Even if all of it were indeed true, so what? What now? Its all long gone. Keep looking in the past and the present will slip out of our hands like fine sand.
Besides, I think that way Egyptians and people in the fertile crescent would have far more to be proud of than anyone else around! Look at them today – they cant live in peace. A fate I think awaits even us if we kept going like this.
LikeLike