Shloka 70

Kirmīra-rākṣasa-saṃgamaḥ (Encounter and Slaying of Kirmīra) | किर्मीरेण सह भीमसेनसमागमः

Devanagari script

आत्मा हि जायते तस्यां तस्माज्जाया भवत्युत । भर्ता च भार्यया रक्ष्य: कथं जायान्ममोदरे,अपना आत्मा ही स्त्रीके गर्भसे जन्म लेता है; इसीलिये वह जाया कहलाती है। पत्नीको भी अपने पतिकी रक्षा इसीलिये करनी चाहिये कि यह किसी प्रकार मेरे उदरसे जन्म ग्रहण करे

Transliteration

ātmā hi jāyate tasyāṃ tasmāj jāyā bhavaty uta | bhartā ca bhāryayā rakṣyaḥ kathaṃ jāyān mamodare ||

Translation

Disse Vaiśampāyana: “De fato, o próprio ser de um homem nasce dela; por isso ela é chamada ‘jāyā’ (esposa). E o marido também deve ser protegido pela esposa — para que ele, de algum modo, possa nascer novamente em meu ventre.”

Word by Word

आत्माself, person

हिindeed, for

जायतेis born

तस्याम्in her

तस्मात्therefore, from that

जायाwife

भवतिbecomes, is

उतand, also

भर्ताhusband

चand

भार्ययाby the wife

रक्ष्यःto be protected, should be protected

कथम्how

जायात्might be born

ममof me, my

उदरेin (my) belly/womb

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

jāyā (wife)

bhartā (husband)

bhāryā (wife)

udara (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?

The verse frames marriage as reciprocal dharma: the wife is honored as ‘jāyā’ because the husband’s continuation (as offspring) is born through her, and therefore she has a duty to protect the husband so that progeny and lineage may be sustained.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, reports a teaching on household ethics, emphasizing the wife’s role and responsibility within the marital bond, especially the idea of safeguarding the husband for the sake of future birth/continuity through children.