TEXT 2
rathitarasyaprajasya
bharyayam tantave rthitah
angira janayam asa
brahma-varcasvinah sutan
SYNONYMS
rathitarasyaof Rathitara; aprajasyawho had no sons; bharyayamunto his wife; tantavefor increasing offspring; arthitahbeing requested; angirahthe great sage Angira; janayam asacaused to take birth; brahma-varcasvinahwho had brahminical qualities; sutansons.
TRANSLATION
Rathitara had no sons, and therefore he requested the great sage Angira to beget sons for him. Because of this request, Angira begot sons in the womb of Rathitaras wife. All these sons were born with brahminical prowess.
PURPORT
In the Vedic age a man was sometimes called upon to beget sons in the womb of a lesser mans wife for the sake of better progeny. In such an instance, the woman is compared to an agricultural field. A person possessing an agricultural field may employ another person to produce food grains from it, but because the grains are produced from the land, they are considered the property of the owner of the land. Similarly, a woman was sometimes allowed to be impregnated by someone other than her husband, but the sons born of her would then become her husbands sons. Such sons were called ksetra jata. Because Rathitara had no sons, he took advantage of this method.
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