Shloka 34
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
चतुर्धा जन्म इत्येतद् भूतग्रामस्य लक्ष्यते । प्राणियोंके रहनेके तीन ही स्थान हैं--जल
caturdhā janma ity etad bhūtagrāmasya lakṣyate | prāṇināṁ nivāsasya trīṇi sthānāni—jalaṁ thalaṁ ca ākāśaś ca | caturthaṁ sthānaṁ na sambhavati | dehadhāriṇāṁ janma caturvidhaṁ—aṇḍajaṁ udbhijjaṁ svedajaṁ jarāyujaṁ ca | samastasya bhūtasamudāyasya caturvidham eva janma dṛśyate || aparaṇy atha bhūtāni khecarāṇi tathaiva ca ||
風神ヴァーユは言った。「一切の生きものの生まれは、四種であると見定められる。生類の住処は水・地・空の三つのみで、第四の住処はあり得ない。同様に、身をもつ者の生まれも四つ――卵より生ずる卵生、芽吹きより生ずる芽生（草木のごとく）、湿りと熱より生ずる湿生、そして胎盤を伴う胎生である。ゆえに、あらゆる衆生のうちに見られる生まれは、この四種のみである。」
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vāyu teaches a traditional framework for understanding embodied life: beings inhabit three realms (water, land, sky) and are born in four modes—egg-born, sprout-born, moisture-born, and womb/placenta-born—presented as an observable order in nature.
In a didactic passage of the Aśvamedhika Parva, Vāyu speaks as an instructor, explaining how living beings are categorized by habitat and by mode of birth, grounding the discussion in what is ‘seen’ in the world.