Shloka 7
Brahmā’s Enumeration of Primacies (Ādi) and the Supremacy of Knowledge
Jñāna
गायत्री च्छन्दसामादि: प्रजानां सर्ग उच्यते । गावश्चतुष्पदामादिर्मनुष्याणां द्विजातय:,छन्दोंका आदि गायत्री और प्रजाका आदि सृष्टिका प्रारम्भ काल है। गौएँ चौपायोंकी और ब्राह्मण मनुष्योंके आदि हैं
gāyatrī chandasām ādiḥ prajānāṃ sarga ucyate | gāvaś catuṣpadām ādir manuṣyāṇāṃ dvijātayaḥ ||
Vāyu said: “Among metres, Gāyatrī is the first; and the beginning of creation is spoken of as the origin of beings. Among four-footed creatures, cows are foremost; and among human beings, the twice-born are regarded as the first.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse ranks foundational principles: sacred speech (Gāyatrī) as the foremost metre, creation as the origin of beings, the cow as foremost among quadrupeds, and the twice-born as foremost among humans—affirming a dharmic hierarchy tied to Vedic learning, ritual responsibility, and protection of life.
Vāyudeva is speaking and offers a set of authoritative declarations about what is considered ‘first’ or ‘foremost’ in key domains (metre, creation, animals, human society), reinforcing traditional values relevant to Vedic rites and dharma in the Ashvamedhika context.