Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 15
निरय-परमस्थान-वर्णनम्
Niraya and the Supreme Station: A Metaphysical Re-reading
पृथिवी सर्वभूतानां जनित्री तद्विधा: स्त्रिय: । पुमान् प्रजापतिस्तत्र शुक्रे तेजोमयं विदु:
pṛthivī sarvabhūtānāṁ janitrī tadvidhāḥ striyaḥ | pumān prajāpatis tatra śukre tejomayaṁ viduḥ ||
Bharadvāja said: “The Earth is the mother that gives birth to all beings; likewise, women are of the Earth’s nature in that they bear and bring forth offspring. In this process the man is regarded as akin to Prajāpati, and the man’s semen is understood to be of the nature of tejas (vital radiance).”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames procreation as a cosmic process: Earth is the universal mother, women mirror that maternal function, and the male principle is likened to Prajāpati, with semen described as tejas—vital radiance—emphasizing responsibility and reverence toward generative power.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Bharadvāja explains a traditional model of generation, using cosmological analogies (Earth, Prajāpati, tejas) to clarify how life is conceived and to ground ethical attitudes toward sexuality, parenthood, and lineage.