Introduction: Restoring nuance to imagining of the fetus -- The story of Samkarsana's and K.r.s.na's births : a drama involving embryos -- The great men of Jainism in utero: a survey -- A womb with a view : the Buddha's final fetal experiences -- Life in the womb : conception and gestation in Buddhist scripture and classical Indian medical literature -- Philosophical embryology : Buddhist texts and the ritual construction of a fetus -- Tibetan Buddhist narratives of the forces of creation -- Female feticide in the Punjab and fetus imagery in Sikhism -- Embryology in Babylonia and the bible -- The leaping child : imagining the unborn in early Christian literature -- Famous fetuses in Rabbinic narratives -- A prophet emerging : fetal narratives in Islamic literature -- The colossal fetuses of La Venta and Mesoamerica' earliest creation story -- Out of place : fetal references in Japanese mythology and cultural memory -- Seeing like a family : fetal ultrasound images and imaginings of kin
Summary
This volume presents essays that explore the depiction of the fetus in the world's major religious traditions, finding some striking commonalities as well as intriguing differences
