Shloka 43
King Vena’s Tyranny, the Sages’ Counsel, and the Birth of Niṣāda
विनिश्चित्यैवमृषयो विपन्नस्य महीपते: । ममन्थुरूरुं तरसा तत्रासीद्बाहुको नर: ॥ ४३ ॥
viniścityaivam ṛṣayo vipannasya mahīpateḥ mamanthur ūruṁ tarasā tatrāsīd bāhuko naraḥ
Having thus decided, the sages churned the thighs of the dead body of King Vena with great force, following a prescribed method. From that churning there appeared a dwarflike man named Bāhuka, born from the king’s body.
That a person was born by the churning of the thighs of King Vena proves that the spirit soul is individual and separate from the body. The great sages and saintly persons could beget another person from the body of the dead King Vena, but it was not possible for them to bring King Vena back to life. King Vena was gone, and certainly he had taken another body. The saintly persons and sages were only concerned with the body of Vena because it was a result of the seminal succession in the family of Mahārāja Dhruva. Consequently, the ingredients by which another body could be produced were there in the body of King Vena. By a certain process, when the thighs of the dead body were churned, another body came out. Although dead, the body of King Vena was preserved by drugs and by mantras chanted by King Vena’s mother. In this way the ingredients for the production of another body were there. When the body of the person named Bāhuka came out of the dead body of King Vena, it was really not very astonishing. It was simply a question of knowing how to do it. From the semen of one body, another body is produced, and the life symptoms are visible due to the soul’s taking shelter of this body. One should not think that it was impossible for another body to come out of the dead body of Mahārāja Vena. This was performed by the skillful action of the sages.
FAQs
It says the sages, having decided what to do about the fallen King Vena, churned his thigh and a man named Bāhuka manifested from it.
Within the narrative, the sages act to rectify the disorder caused by Vena’s irreligion; the churning symbolizes extracting and separating corrupt influence so dharma can be restored.
Leadership and society require purification of harmful tendencies; when adharma spreads, decisive corrective action grounded in higher principles is necessary to protect the common good.