Shloka 14

Devanagari script

ययातिरुवाच वायु: समुत्कर्षति गर्भयोनि- मृतौ रेत: पुष्परसानुपृक्तम्‌ | स तत्र तन्मात्रकृताधिकार: क्रमेण संवर्धयतीह गर्भम्‌,ययाति बोले--ऋतुकालनमें पुष्परससे संयुक्त वीर्यको वायु गर्भाशयमें खींच लाता है। वहाँ गर्भाशयमें सूक्ष्मभूत उसपर अधिकार कर लेते हैं और वह क्रमश: गर्भकी वृद्धि करता रहता है

Transliteration

yayātir uvāca—vāyuḥ samutkarṣati garbhayonimṛtau retaḥ puṣparasānupṛktam | sa tatra tanmātrakṛtādhikāraḥ krameṇa saṃvardhayatīha garbham ||

Translation

Yayāti dit : «Au temps propice à la conception, le souffle vital (vāyu) attire dans la matrice le sperme—mêlé au fluide générateur de la femme. Là, les éléments subtils s’en emparent selon leurs fonctions propres, et, dans l’ordre voulu, l’embryon est nourri et croît au sein du ventre.»

Word by Word

ययातिःYayati

उवाचsaid

वायुःwind (vāyu)

समुत्कर्षतिdraws up, pulls in

गर्भयोनिin the womb-source (uterus)

मृतौin the season/period (ṛtu)

रेतःsemen

पुष्परसानुपृक्तम्mixed/tinged with the flower-essence (menstrual fluid)

सःhe/it

तत्रthere

तन्मात्रकृताधिकारःhaving authority/operation produced by the subtle elements alone

क्रमेणgradually, in sequence

संवर्धयतिcauses to grow, nourishes

इहhere

गर्भम्embryo, fetus

Speaker

अष्टक उवाच

Characters & Entities

य

ययाति (Yayāti)

व

वायु (Vāyu)

ग

गर्भयोनि (womb)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Embodied life is presented as arising through an ordered, law-governed process: vital forces (vāyu) and subtle principles (tanmātras) operate in sequence to establish and nourish the embryo. This supports the Mahābhārata’s broader emphasis on ṛta/dharma—order and regularity underlying life and lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yayāti explains the mechanism of conception and fetal development: during the fertile season, vāyu conveys the generative seed—combined with the woman’s reproductive essence—into the womb, where subtle elements take functional control and the embryo grows gradually.