Shloka 2
Brahmopadeśa: Adhipatitva-kathana, Dharma-lakṣaṇa, and Kṣetra–Kṣetrajña Viveka
Book 14, Chapter 43
अवि: पशाूनां सर्वेषामहिस्तु बिलवासिनाम् | गवां गोवृषभश्चैव स्त्रीणां पुरुष एव च,ब्रह्माजीनी कहा--महर्षियो! मनुष्योंका राजा तो रजोगुणसे युक्त क्षत्रिय है। सवारियोंमें हाथी, बनवासियोंमें सिंह, समस्त पशुओंमें भेड़ और बिलमें रहनेवालोंमें सर्प, गौओंमें बैल एवं स्त्रियोंमें पुरुष प्रधान है
vāyudeva uvāca | aviḥ paśūnāṁ sarveṣām ahis tu bilavāsinām | gavāṁ govṛṣabhaś caiva strīṇāṁ puruṣa eva ca ||
Vāyudeva said: “Among all domesticated animals, the sheep is foremost; among creatures that dwell in burrows, the serpent is foremost. Among cattle, the bull is preeminent; and among women, the man is regarded as the principal.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses familiar examples to assert that within each category there is a recognized ‘chief’ or preeminent representative. It functions as a didactic illustration of how precedence and leadership are conventionally understood in worldly and social contexts.
Vāyudeva is speaking to sages in a teaching mode, listing examples of ‘the foremost’ in different groups (livestock, burrow-dwellers, cattle, and gender roles) as part of a broader discourse on order and authority.