Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, 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 |
Wika ni Vāyu: “O pinakamainam sa mga nilalang, O dakilang Brāhmaṇa: ang mga nilikhang isinilang mula sa sinapupunan (jarāyuja)—kahit pa baluktot o di-karaniwan ang anyo—ay nananatiling kabilang sa jarāyuja. Kabilang dito ang mga may dalawang paa, ang mga may maraming paa, ang mga kumikilos nang paikot-ikot o di-tuwid, at ang mga may anyong deformed o kapansanan.”
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.