To secure conception, a bit of coral is also eaten, with the face turned towards the sun.[67]
Other preparations taken with the belief that they cause conception are:—
(1) Harde (Myrobalan) put in kansār (a preparation of wheat flour cooked in water and sweetened with molasses), (2) extract of the fruit called sārangdha, (3) pāras pipalo (Thespesia populnea) mixed with clarified butter,[60] (4) gum mixed with plantains, (5) juice of the cooked leaves of the Ārani (Elaeodendren glaucum),[69] (6) powder of Nāg kesar (Messua ferrea) put into milk, and (7) the roots of Bhong ringdi (a kind of poisonous plant) mixed with the milk of a cow.[70]
It is also believed that if a barren woman succeeds in carrying away grains of rice from the folds of the upper garment of a pregnant woman, and eats them cooked in milk, her desire for a child is satisfied.[71]
In celebrating the Simānt or first pregnancy ceremony of a woman, the pregnant woman is taken for a bath to a dung-hill or to a distance of about thirty yards behind the house. After the bath is over, she returns home walking over sheets of cloth spread on her way. On this occasion her company is coveted by barren women for the purpose of tearing off unseen a piece of her upper garment, as this is believed to bring about conception. It is said that if a woman succeeds in doing this, she conceives, while the victim has a miscarriage.[72]
Some believe that a slight pressure by a childless woman on the upper garment of a pregnant woman is sufficient to bring about the result mentioned above.[73]
Others hold that a slight blow on the shoulder of a pregnant woman by a childless woman satisfies the desire of the latter for a child.[74]
Conception is also said to be effected by branding children while at play in the streets.[75]
It is believed that this brand, to have efficacy, must be inflicted on a Sunday or Tuesday.[75] The operation is generally performed in the evening with a red-hot needle. It is said that the branded child dies while the branding barren woman conceives a child.[76]
Offering bread to black dogs is also supposed to be a cure for barrenness.