Kavita Kane writes about surrogacy in mythology

While absence of a cohesive legislation to regulate the booming surrogacy industry

undermining  women’s health and rights, it continues to be a controversial, sensitive topic. It
may come as a surprise that surrogacy existed in ancient times as well, widely mentioned in
our mythology, and was practised, socially accepted and even respected.

Kartikey, the god of war, often termed ironically as the god of fertility , was born out of
surrogacy through Shiva and not Parvati’s womb, the surrogate mother being Ganga.
A conversation between King Pandu and Kunti where he begs his wife to perform niyog,
(where a woman whose husband was either dead or impotent could choose and appoint a
person for helping her bear a child, often a rishi or her brother-in-law). This childless couple
discuss surrogate fatherhood elaborately with each listing out examples. The Ikshvaku king
Saudasa had a son Ashmak through his queen Madayanti and Rishi Vasisht. The Kuru Queen
Satyavati got her illegitimate son rishi Vyas to perform niyog on her two widowed,  childless
daughters-in-law Ambika and Ambalika, to give birth to a blind Dhritarashtra and a sickly,
pale Pandu respectively – both unhealthy sons, a consequence of the unhealthiness of the
conception performed by a reluctant Vyas and the two reluctant widows. Niyog only if
performed by a consenting woman, produced healthy heirs as is proved by Kunti with Indra,
Dharma and Vayu to produce Arjun, Yudhistir and Bhim respectively while the twins Nakul
and Sahadev were born from Madri, Pandu’s second wife and the Ashwini twins.

Surrogacy, or the transfer of embryo from one womb to another was not unheard of. The birth
of Balaram, the seventh child of Krishna’s parents Devaki and Vasudev, where the embryo
was transferred to the womb of Rohini (Vasudev’s first wife), to prevent the baby being
killed by Devaki’s brother Kamsa. Reference of surrogacy is also evident in Mahabharat
where the birth of Draupadi and her twin brother out of Yagnakunda. Gandhari, wife of king
Dhritarashtra, conceived but endured a long pregnancy  for nearly two years; after which she
delivered a mass. Rishi Vyasa found that there were 101 cells that were were put in a nutrient
medium and were grown outside the womb till full term. Of these, 100 developed into the
male  Kauravas and one as a female child, Dushala.

 It may come as a surprise that surrogacy existed in ancient times as well, widely mentioned
in our mythology, and was practised, socially accepted and even respected.
Clearly, there is no conflict between the socio-religious mores and assisted reproduction,
often accepted as a form of treatment and not a violation of religious belief or personal
freedom.

The classic womb-on-rent is shown through the story of Madhavi, the beautiful daughter of
King Yayati, who was blessed with a rare boon that she would mother emperors, and with
each childbirth she would regain her virginity. She was given by King Yayati to one Rishi
Galav as he could not furnish the rishi’s odd request for 800 white black-eared horses, his
gurudakshina for Vishwamitra. Galav offered Madhavi to three kings,  Haryasva of Ikshvaku
race of Ayodhya, King Divodasa of Kashi and King Ushinara of Bhojanagari , who each gave
him two hundred ashwamedhi horses in exchange for an heir. Finally, Vishwamitra by
accepting Madhavi forfeited his claim of the remaining 200 horses and Galav’s debt is
cleared. Yayati arranges for Madhavi’s swayamvar, as many suitors (including the three
kings who had sons by her) were keen to marry her. But, Madhavi, disinterested in marriage
or childbearing, refuses to retire to the forest to live as an ascetic.

While this episode may shock the modern reader likely to consider that a woman was
regarded merely as a commodity from ancient  times, Madhavi’s story is a lesson even then
and  even now. While displaying how the then society endowed women with respect after
they had served the purpose of propagating royal dynasties, it echoes eerily on the
exploitation and commodification of today’s women too. Madhavi’s four sons grow up to
become great kings and are aware of their birth and proudly call themselves the sons of
Madhavi, reserving deep love and reverence for their mother and saluting her. All of them
obeyed her when she requested them to make her father Yayati, ascend to heaven by virtue of
their good deeds, proving they were always and firstly, their mother’s sons.

However bizarre or shocking this story may seem, one cannot always  impose current
standards and perceptions of contemporary society on these ancient people who acted
according to the socio-ethical mores of those times to define and influence their behaviour.
Madhavi herself recommends the solution to Galav when he voices his dilemma, showing her
consent. But later, by refusing to have her swayamwar, rejecting marraige, men and the royal
mansion for the wild forest instead, she shows her hurt, her protest and her disillusionment at
the social and personal injustice meted out to her.

Surrogacy flourishes even now, preferred vastly to adoption of  a child but the next time, as
we peruse though some high-profile case, probably we need to think of that unknown,
faceless woman, probably a modern Madhavi, who has agreed to sell her womb to some
wealthy person or a celebrity?

Read more at: https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/surrogacy-in-mythology/

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Procreation is a constant process. A progeny is not only a source of comfort but also
a carrier of one’s lineage. The family name is passed on for generations, and
therefore, it’s ‘necessary’ to have a child. The entire objective of marriage comes
down to reproduction, unfortunately. The intimacy, sexual pleasure might be lacking,
but the result is essential (a baby boy preferred).

This desperation to have a child has led to a lot of uncalled practices, one of them
being Niyoga Dharma.

Niyoga Dharma: What Is This Practice?

Niyoga means “delegation”. In ancient India, it was a practice of forming a temporary
alliance to produce a child, in case the husband was impotent or dead.

In the Hindu religion, it is considered the duty of a man to provide his wife with a
child. Only on the completion of this duty, a man can enter heaven.

In case the man is unable to fulfil his duty, apart from the shame he has to bear; he
also has to assign a temporary partner to his wife to complete the ‘purpose’ of
marriage.

Ideally, the closest option the husband should consider is his younger brother, and
his next choice should be a Brahman. As per the Hindu mythology, sometimes, gods
have also descended to produce kids.

We have several instances of Niyoga Dharma in our epics. In Mahabharata, Pandu’s

wives Kunti and Madri had children, although this wasn’t considered a Niyoga.

Pandu expressed his despair at the prospect of dying childless to Kunti and advised
her to go to different men. Kunti used the boons given to her by Sage Durvasa to
bear three sons—Yudhishthir, Bhima and Arjuna.

Not only in Hinduism, practices such as levirate marriages have been mentioned in
Christianity, Judaism, Islam and many other religions.

Surrogacy: A Modern-Day Niyoga Dharma?

With times changing and development taking place in every field, our ideologies
have also evolved. But, the importance of a child and family name continues.
The stigma around surrogacy still exists; as infertility is considered a curse. A lot of
couples never come out in the open – because pregnancy and infertility are still
hushed issues.

Surrogacy has been normalised now to a great extent, with celebrities like Aamir
Khan and Shahrukh Khan resorting to it. India legalised commercial surrogacy in
2002. Since then, our country has been the favourite destination for people wanting
a surrogate child. But the cheap availability of the service has also led to the issue of
exploitation.

Thus, we can say that in modern times the practice of Niyoga survives in the form of
surrogacy and artificial insemination. A new and more critical element is the consent
within the couple. It’s an informed choice made by husband and wife and does not
exist within rigid boundaries of caste.