Shloka 41
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 21 — Kīcaka’s clandestine approach and Bhīma’s covert intervention (नर्तनागारे कीचकवध-प्रसङ्गः)
प्रजायां रक्ष्यमाणायामात्मा भवति रक्षित: । आत्मा हि जायते तस्यां तेन जायां विदुर्बुधा:,संतानकी रक्षा होनेपर अपना आत्मा सुरक्षित होता है। आत्मा ही पत्नीके गर्भसे पुत्ररूपमें जन्म लेता है। इसीलिये विद्वान् पुरुष पत्नीको “जाया” कहते हैं
prajāyāṃ rakṣyamāṇāyām ātmā bhavati rakṣitaḥ | ātmā hi jāyate tasyāṃ tena jāyāṃ vidur budhāḥ ||
Bhīmasena berkata: “Apabila zuriat dilindungi, maka diri sendiri pun terlindung. Kerana diri itu, seolah-olah, lahir semula melalui dirinya—melalui isteri—dalam rupa seorang anak lelaki. Maka orang bijaksana menamakan isteri ‘jāyā’, ‘dia yang melaluinya seseorang dilahirkan’.”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links personal continuity and security with the protection of one’s progeny: safeguarding descendants is treated as safeguarding one’s own self. It also gives an etymological-ethical rationale for calling the wife ‘jāyā’—she is the one through whom a man is ‘born’ again as a son, emphasizing responsibility toward spouse and family line.
In the Virāṭa Parva context, Bhīma is speaking and articulates a dharma-based view of household life: the wife is honored as ‘jāyā’ because through her the lineage continues, and protecting that lineage is presented as a vital duty with direct bearing on one’s own welfare.