Shloka 9
Brahmā’s Enumeration of Primacies (Ādi) and the Supremacy of Knowledge
Jñāna
द्विजवरो! पक्षियोंमें बाज, यज्ञोंमें उत्तम आहुति और सम्पूर्ण रेंगकर चलनेवाले जीवोंमें साँप श्रेष्ठ है ।। कृतमादिर्युगानां च सर्वेषां नात्र संशय: । हिरण्यं सर्वरत्नानामोषधीनां यवास्तथा,सत्ययुग सम्पूर्ण युगोंका आदि है, इसमें संशय नहीं है। समस्त रत्नोंमें सुवर्ण और उन्नोंमें जौ श्रेष्ठ है
vāyudeva uvāca | dvijavara! pakṣiṇāṃ bājaḥ, yajñeṣūttamāhutiḥ, samasta-reṅgacara-jīvānāṃ ca sarpaḥ śreṣṭhaḥ || kṛtam ādir yugānāṃ ca sarveṣāṃ nātra saṃśayaḥ | hiraṇyaṃ sarvaratnānām oṣadhīnāṃ yavās tathā ||
Vāyudeva said: “O best of the twice-born! Among birds, the hawk is foremost; among sacrifices, the supreme oblation is the best; and among all creatures that move by crawling, the serpent is preeminent. Likewise, the Kṛta (Satya) Yuga is the first of all ages—there is no doubt of this. Among all gems, gold is foremost; and among grains and medicinal plants, barley is foremost.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a dharmic sense of ordered excellence: in every domain there are exemplars (best among birds, offerings, creatures, ages, gems, and grains). By recognizing such hierarchies, one aligns understanding with cosmic order (ṛta/dharma), especially affirming Kṛta/Satya Yuga as the primordial standard of righteousness.
Vāyudeva addresses a learned brāhmaṇa and delivers a compact, proverbial instruction. Rather than advancing action, the passage functions as a didactic catalogue of ‘foremost’ things, grounding the discussion in ritual values (yajña and āhuti) and cosmological time (the yugas).