The second of the life-cycle rites, according to traditional calculations (samskaras).
The Pumsavana samskara was one of the prenatal samskaras
performed before delivery to guarantee the gender of a freshly conceived child.
Various texts prescribe different times for this ceremony to
be conducted during pregnancy, but they all agree that it should be done while
the moon is in a masculine constellation, at which time the lady should have
several drops of banyan tree juice injected into her right nostril (a common
practice in traditional medicine).
In recent times, this samskara is seldom practiced.
