Text 7
kaṭu-tīkṣṇoṣṇa-lavaṇa-
rūkṣāmlādibhir ulbaṇaiḥ
mātṛ-bhuktair upaspṛṣṭaḥ
sarvāṅgotthita-vedanaḥ
kaṭu — bitter; tīkṣṇa — pungent; uṣṇa — hot; lavaṇa — salty; rūkṣa — dry; amla — sour; ādibhiḥ — and so on; ulbaṇaiḥ — excessive; mātṛ-bhuktaiḥ — by foods eaten by the mother; upaspṛṣṭaḥ — affected; sarva-aṅga — all over the body; utthita — arisen; vedanaḥ — pain.
Owing to the mother’s eating bitter, pungent foodstuffs, or food which is too salty or too sour, the body of the child incessantly suffers pains which are almost intolerable.
All descriptions of the child’s bodily situation in the womb of the mother are beyond our conception. It is very difficult to remain in such a position, but still the child has to remain. Because his consciousness is not very developed, the child can tolerate it, otherwise he would die. That is the benediction of māyā, who endows the suffering body with the qualifications for tolerating such terrible tortures.