Shloka 356
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
जन्म द्वितीयमित्येतज्जघन्यतरमुच्यते । पसीनेसे उत्पन्न होनेवाले जू आदि कीट और जन्तु स्वेदज कहे जाते हैं। यह क्रमशः दूसरा जन्म पहलेकी अपेक्षा निम्न स्तरका कहा जाता है
janma dvitīyam ity etaj jaghanyataram ucyate |
वायू म्हणाला—यास ‘दुसरा जन्म’ असे म्हणतात आणि तो क्रमाने अधिकच नीच मानला जातो; घामातून उत्पन्न होणारे उवा इत्यादी कीटक ‘स्वेदज’ म्हणून ओळखले जातात।
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a graded classification of births and states that the ‘second’ category is considered lower; in the surrounding explanation, sweat-born beings (svedaja)—like lice and similar insects—are treated as an inferior mode of embodiment, reflecting an ethical-cosmological hierarchy.
Vāyudeva is speaking and defining a category within a broader discussion on types of birth/creation; he labels the ‘second birth’ as comparatively inferior, with the accompanying gloss identifying it with sweat-born organisms.