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 ||
バラドヴァージャは言った。「大地は一切の生きものを生み出す母である。同じく女たちも、大地の性を帯び、子を宿し産み出すゆえに母となる。この営みにおいて男はプラジャーパティ（Prajāpati）に比せられ、男の精はテージャス（tejas）—生命の光輝—の性質をもつと理解される。」
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.