Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 6
Diti’s Puṁsavana Vow, Indra’s Intervention, and the Birth of the Maruts
रेत: सिषिचतु: कुम्भे उर्वश्या: सन्निधौ द्रुतम् । रेवत्यां मित्र उत्सर्गमरिष्टं पिप्पलं व्यधात् ॥ ६ ॥
retaḥ siṣicatuḥ kumbhe urvaśyāḥ sannidhau drutam revatyāṁ mitra utsargam ariṣṭaṁ pippalaṁ vyadhāt
Upon seeing Urvaśī, the celestial society girl, both Mitra and Varuṇa discharged semen, which they preserved in an earthen pot. The two sons Agastya and Vasiṣṭha later appeared from that pot, and they are therefore the common sons of Mitra and Varuṇa. Mitra begot three sons in the womb of his wife, whose name was Revatī. Their names were Utsarga, Ariṣṭa and Pippala.
Modern science is trying to generate living entities in test tubes by processing semen, but even long, long ago it was possible for semen kept in a pot to develop into a child.
FAQs
This verse describes semen being placed into a pot, indicating extraordinary, non-ordinary modes of birth that occur by higher arrangement within Bhagavata narratives.
They are presented as the immediate context for the events—Urvaśī’s presence during the act involving the pot, and Revatī as the one in whom Mitra’s emission results in the births of Ariṣṭa and Pippala.
They train the reader to see that all births and outcomes ultimately occur under divine governance, encouraging humility and faith while studying the Lord’s unfolding plan through history.