26 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 9, Ch. 1
masam puman sa bhavita
masami stri tava gotrajah
ittham vyavasthaya kamam
sudyumno ’vatu medinim
tustah—being pleased; tasmai—unto Vasistha; sah—he (Lord Siva);
bhagavan—the most powerful; rsaye—unto the great sage; priyam
dvahan—just to please him; suaém ca—his own; vacam—word; rtam—
true; kurvan—and keeping; idam—this; dha—said; visampate—O
King Pariksit; mésam—one month; puman—male; sah—Sudyumna;
bhavita—will become; mdésam—another month; stri—female; tava—
your; gotra-jah—disciple born in your disciplic succession; ittham—in
this way; vyavasthaya—by settlement; kamam—according to desire;
sudyumnah—King Sudyumna; avatu—may rule; medinim—the world.
TRANSLATION
O King Pariksit, Lord Siva was pleased with Vasistha. Therefore,
to satisfy him and to keep his own word to Parvati, Lord Siva 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.”
PURPORT
The word gotrajah is significant in this connection. Braéhmanas
generally act as spiritual masters of two dynasties. One is their disciplic
succession, and the other is the dynasty born of their semen. Both de-
scendants belong to the same gotra, or dynasty. In the Vedic system we
sometimes find that both bréhmanas and ksatriyas and even vaisyas
come in the disciplic succession of the same rsis. 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 calcu-
lated. Here the word gotrajah refers to those born in the same dynasty,
whether they be disciples or members of the family.
