Shloka 7
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
लोभप्रजनसम्भूता निर्विशेषा हाकिंचना: । मांसशोणितसंघाता अन्योन्यस्योपजीविन:
lobha-prajana-sambhūtā nirviśeṣā hy akiñcanāḥ | māṁsa-śoṇita-saṅghātā anyonyasyopajīvinaḥ ||
«Nés de l’avidité et poussés par l’élan de se multiplier, ils se ressemblent tous et ne possèdent rien de véritablement précieux. Simples amas de chair et de sang, ils vivent en se dévorant les uns les autres, se soutenant par l’exploitation réciproque.»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vāyu condemns a life governed by lobha (greed): when beings are driven by craving and mere self-preservation, they become ethically 'undistinguished' and end up sustaining themselves through harm and exploitation of others. The verse urges discernment and detachment from possessiveness and predatory living.
In Ashvamedhika Parva, Vāyudeva speaks in a didactic context, offering a stark assessment of worldly creatures: they arise from greed and procreative impulse, are reducible to perishable bodily aggregates, and survive through mutual dependence that often takes the form of consuming or injuring one another.