title: Indian story on semen loss and related Dhat syndrome.
abstract: India is a country of many religions and ancient cultures. Indian culture is largely directed by the Vedic culture since time immemorial. Later Indian culture is influenced by Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Indian belief system carries the footprints of these cultures. Every culture describes human behaviors and an interpretation of each human behavior is largely influenced by the core cultural belief system. Sexuality is an important domain which is colored by different cultural colors. Like other cultures, Indian culture believes "semen" as the precious body fluid which needs to be preserved. Most Indian beliefs consider loss of semen as a threat to the individual. Ancient Indian literature present semen loss as a negative health related event. Dhat syndrome (related to semen loss) is a culture-bound syndrome seen in the natives of Indian subcontinent. This article gathers the Indian concepts related to semen loss. It also outlines belief systems behind problems of Dhat syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, Dilshad Garden, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Om
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Prakash
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, Dilshad Garden, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Sujit Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kar
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, JSS University, JSS Medical College and Hospital, Mysore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Sathyanarayana Rao
keywords: Belief; Dhat syndrome; India; culture; semen