Shloka 2
Utkramaṇa-sthāna and Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇa: Yājñavalkya’s Instruction on Departure Pathways and Mortality Signs
ऋते तु पुरुष नेह स्त्री गर्भ धारयत्युत । ऋते स्त्रियं न पुरुषो रूप॑ निर्वर्त येत् तथा,इस जगतमें न तो पुरुषके बिना स्त्री गर्भ धारण कर सकती है और न स्त्रीके बिना कोई पुरुष ही किसी शरीरको उत्पन्न कर सकता है
ṛte tu puruṣa neha strī garbhaṃ dhārayaty uta | ṛte striyaṃ na puruṣo rūpaṃ nirvartayeta tathā ||
Janaka said: “In this world, a woman cannot conceive without a man; and likewise, without a woman, a man cannot bring a bodily form into manifestation. Thus, embodied life arises through mutual dependence, not through isolated agency.”
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
That embodied existence and lineage arise through reciprocal dependence of man and woman; neither can claim complete, solitary agency in producing embodied life.
King Janaka is speaking in a didactic context in the Śānti Parva, using the example of conception and bodily formation to illustrate interdependence and the conditions required for worldly manifestation.