स्वां च वाचमृतां कुर्वन्निदमाह विशाम्पते ॥३८॥
मासं पुमान्स भविता मासं स्त्री तव गोत्रजः ।
इत्थं व्यवस्थया कामं सुद्युम्नोऽवतु मेदिनीम् ॥३९॥
tuá¹£á¹as tasmai sa bhagavÄn
ṛṣaye priyam Ävahan
svÄá¹ ca vÄcam á¹›tÄá¹ kurvann
idam Äha viÅ›Ämpate
mÄsaá¹ pumÄn sa bhavitÄ
mÄsaá¹ strÄ« tava gotrajaḥ
itthaá¹ vyavasthayÄ kÄmaá¹
sudyumno 'vatu medinīm
tuá¹£á¹aḥ - being pleased; tasmai - unto Vasiá¹£á¹ha; saḥ - he (Lord Åšiva); bhagavÄn - the most powerful; ṛṣaye - unto the great sage; priyam Ävahan - just to please him; svÄm ca - his own; vÄcam - word; á¹›tÄm - true; kurvan - and keeping; idam - this; Äha - said; viÅ›Ämpate - O King ParÄ«ká¹£it; mÄsam - one month; pumÄn - male; saḥ - Sudyumna; bhavitÄ - will become; mÄsam - an other month; strÄ« - female; tava - your; gotra-jaḥ - disciple born in your disciplic succession; ittham - in this way; vyavasthayÄ - by settlement; kÄmam - according to desire; sudyumnaḥ - King Sudyumna; avatu - may rule; medinÄ«m - the world.
O King ParÄ«ká¹£it, Lord Åšiva was pleased with Vasiá¹£á¹ha. Therefore, to satisfy him and to keep his own word to PÄrvatÄ«, Lord Åšiva said to that saintly person, “Your disciple Sudyumna may remain a male for one month and a female for the next. In this way he may rule the world as he likes.â€
The word gotrajaḥ is significant in this connection. BrÄhmaṇas generally act as spiritual masters of two dynasties. One is their disciplic succession, and the other is the dynasty born of their semen. Both descendants belong to the same gotra, or dynasty. In the Vedic system we sometimes find that both brÄhmaṇas and ká¹£atriyas and even vaiÅ›yas come in the disciplic succession of the same ṛṣis. Because the gotra and dynasty are one, there is no difference between the disciples and the family born of the semen. The same system still prevails in Indian society, especially in regard to marriage, for which the gotra is calculated. Here the word gotrajaḥ refers to those born in the same dynasty, whether they be disciples or members of the family.
