Shloka 8
Brahmā’s Enumeration of Primacies (Ādi) and the Supremacy of Knowledge
Jñāna
श्येन: पतत्रिणामादियर्यज्ञानां हुतमुत्तमम् । सरीसृपाणां सर्वेषां ज्येष्ठ: सर्पो द्विजोत्तमा:
śyenaḥ patatriṇām ādiḥ yajñānāṃ hutam uttamam | sarīsṛpāṇāṃ sarveṣāṃ jyeṣṭhaḥ sarpo dvijottamāḥ ||
اے بہترین دْوِج! پرندوں میں شَیْن (باز) سب سے آگے ہے؛ یَجْنوں میں ہُتی (آہوتی) سب سے اعلیٰ نذر ہے۔ تمام رینگنے والے جانداروں میں سانپ ہی بزرگ اور سردار ہے۔
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a principle of ordered excellence: within each domain (birds, sacrifices, reptiles) there is a recognized ‘foremost’ exemplar. This reflects a dharmic view of the world as structured by gradations of merit, seniority, and function—used here as a didactic comparison to guide judgment about what is chief or authoritative.
Vāyu-deva is speaking to a brāhmaṇa (dvijottama), offering illustrative examples of preeminence—hawk among birds, oblation within sacrifice, serpent among creeping beings—likely to support a broader argument about rank, priority, or rightful authority in the surrounding discourse of the Ashvamedhika Parva.