Adhyaya 10 — Jaimini’s Questions on Birth, Death, Karma, and the Embodied Journey
कथं न जीर्यते तत्र पिण्डीकृत इवाशये ।
स्त्रीकोष्ठे यत्र जीर्यन्ते भुक्तानि सुगुरूण्यपि ।
भक्ष्याणि यत्र नो जन्तुर्जीर्यते कथमल्पकः ॥
kathaṃ na jīryate tatra piṇḍīkṛta ivāśaye |
strīkoṣṭhe yatra jīryante bhuktāni sugurūṇy api |
bhakṣyāṇi yatra no jantur jīryate katham alpakaḥ ||
அங்கே அது பாத்திரத்தில் உள்ள கட்டிபோல் ஏன் செரியவில்லை? பெண்ணின் வயிற்றில் உண்ட கனமான உணவுகளும் செரிகின்றன; ஆனால் இந்தச் சிறிய உயிர் உண்ணத்தக்கதுபோல் இருந்தும் அங்கே செரியாதது எவ்வாறு?
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The question frames embodiment as governed by a higher order than mere physical chemistry—inviting reverence for life and humility about human knowledge.
Didactic supplement: Purāṇas often interleave such inquiries with cosmology and dharma, functioning as explanatory theology around Sarga/Pratisarga concerns.
The womb becomes an image of divine governance (niyati/ṛta): despite appearing ‘edible’ to the digestive fire, the jīva is protected by unseen laws until its prārabdha-karma ripens for birth.