Shloka 3736
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
जरायुजानि भूतानि विकृतान्यपि सत्तमा: । श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मणो! दो पैरवाले, बहुत पैरवाले एवं टेढ़े-मेढ़े चलनेवाले तथा विकृत रूपवाले प्राणी जरायुज हैं
jarāyujāni bhūtāni vikṛtāny api sattamāḥ | śreṣṭha brāhmaṇo |
Vāyu dit : «Ô le meilleur des êtres, ô excellent brāhmaṇa : les créatures nées du sein maternel (jarāyuja), même lorsque leur forme est altérée ou singulière, demeurent classées parmi les jarāyuja. Cela comprend les êtres à deux pieds, ceux à nombreux pieds, ceux qui se meuvent d’une manière tortueuse ou irrégulière, et ceux dont l’apparence est difforme.»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a dharmic-cosmological classification: beings are categorized by mode of birth, and external irregularities (deformity, unusual gait, number of limbs) do not change the fundamental category of womb-born (jarāyuja). It implies an ethical steadiness in judgment—do not let mere appearance obscure essential nature.
Vāyudeva is instructing an addressed Brāhmaṇa, explaining what kinds of creatures are termed jarāyuja (womb-born), explicitly including those with abnormal or distorted forms and various modes of movement.