AITAREYA UPANISHAD - 23. Rishi Maheedasa Aitareya.

=======================================================================

Wednesday, March 22, 2023. 06:45.

PART 2 : The “THREE BIRTHS

Chapter 4 - 

Mantram - 4.3 : The “Second Birth” – The Pregnant Mother

================================================

Mantram - 4.3 : The “Second Birth” – The Pregnant Mother :

With Translation :

9 saa bhaavayitree  =  With the role of the mother as nourisher, 

  bhaavayitavyaa bhavati;   =   comes also her need to be well-nourished.

  stree garbham bibharti;  =  She bears him as an embryo in her womb.

10 sah agre eva kumaaram janmanah   =  He, the father, even before the child’s birth, 

    agre adhi -bhaavayati;  =  and naturally thereafter, too, nourishes it.

11 sah yat kumaaram   =  The couple jointly, in nourishing the child 

    janmanah agre adhibhaavayati,   =  from its birth onwards,

    aatmaanam eva tat bhaavayati,   =   feel it is their own self being nourished

    eshaam lokaanaam santatyaa;  =   for the continuation of these worlds.

12 evam santataa hi ime lokaah;  =  Thus are these worlds continued.

    tat asya dviteeyam janma.  =   This is the SECOND BIRTH.

========================================================================

Bhashyam (Vyakyanam) :

The theme of family warmth continues. The turning point is yet to come, when the 

Rishi suddenly delivers his message of dispassion and detachment, and brings to light with 

great skill the independence of spiritual life from family life. This is where the Rishi excels.

 The Role of the Couple  :

9 

The point made by this verse is to show what tender care goes into the nurturing 

of a child while it is in the womb of the mother. This is a period during which saints advise 

the would-be mother to take extra care over her thoughts. Whatever she does or thinks will 

have an influence on the coming child. The mother is encouraged to read good religious 

literature. She is also urged not to appear in the public eye unnecessarily.

10 

The Rishi here draws attention to the special need of the mother-to-be. She may 

be in a helpless state to take care of all her needs by herself, and therefore will certainly 

need assistance from her husband. This is a very special period of her life.

The husband’s role is to provide the best support to her during the pre-natal period.

The husband has to provide the specific foods for the mother-to-be, and give the emotional 

support she needs. He also has to give post-natal care to both his wife and the child. We 

note the father’s role does not simply end with conception.

11 

Bringing up a child is a joint venture. Both mother and father have significant 

roles to play. The nine-month period when the foetus is being nourished in the body of the 

mother is a period when it needs great attention from both parents. 

The family culture of Vedic times was very advanced. Child-rearing is certainly 

considered a great family responsibility, and both parents are required to make a long-term 

commitment to making it a success. This will be considered as their gift to society – a 

healthy, well-nourished child who will be an asset to the society, not a burden upon it.

The inspiration for the parents to perform this responsibility comes from the fact 

that both parents feel that the child is his own self. There is a close natural bond between 

child and parents. The mother’s role is visibly seen; the father’s may be shirked by many 

except the most devoted husbands. A reason to inspire devotion in both is given.

The Second Birth :

12 

Why is child-rearing so crucial in the householder’s life? The Rishi is clear on this 

point: the future of humanity depends on how the children are reared. Good citizens are not 

just born, but made. And parents are the ones who mould the child’s character.

Evam: “thus”. The word includes all the rules and principles of good upbringing in 

the home. It includes following the codes laid down for educating the child in accordance 

with the Vedic principles laid down by great sages. Only when all the right conditions are 

fulfilled, can we have an exemplary trained young leader of society.

Eventually, after nine months of patient rearing, the mother is finally “pregnant” 

with her child ready to be born. The child’s entry into the world is called the “SECOND 

BIRTH”. A special kind of heightened joy fills the home at the time when a child is born into

the family. It is the fruit of months of loving and devoted labour from the parents.

Rishi Maheedasa’s delicate handling of these finer moments of civilian life, where 

the home is the centre of attention, makes his Upanishad very appealing to the common 

man. It touches them at the point where their life is centred.

The father continues his key role as the supporter after the birth. He sees the child as 

his own self, reborn, for the continuation of the family progeny. Through this process, a 

continuity is established with the past, present and future. This continuity takes up a new 

meaning in the next verse, where we suddenly grasp what birth the Rishi is really referring 

to – is it just of one human being? Or is it a whole Human Civilisation? . . . 

*****

Next
Mantram - 4.4: The “Third Birth” – The Pregnant Son
To be continued

========================================================================