Shloka 4
नारद-देवमत-संवादः
Nārada–Devamata Dialogue on Prāṇa, Apāna, and Udāna
देवमत उवाच केनायं सृज्यते जन्तु: कश्चान्य: पूर्वमेति तम् । प्राणद्वन्द्धं च मे ब्रूहि तिर्यगूर्धष्यमधश्च॒ यत्
devamata uvāca: kenāyaṃ sṛjyate jantuḥ? kaścānyaḥ pūrvam eti tam | prāṇadvandvaṃ ca me brūhi tiryag ūrdhvaṃ adhaś ca yat ||
提婆摩多问道：“此有情因何而生？又有何种别的原理先于它而来，作为先行之因？并请为我说明‘诸命气之对偶’——遍满下界、中界与上界者。”
देवमत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a philosophical inquiry into causality and embodiment: it asks what produces living beings, what prior principle precedes their manifestation, and how the vital forces (prāṇas) operate as a duality that pervades all levels of existence. The ethical thrust is humility before ultimate causes and the disciplined pursuit of knowledge through questioning.
Devamatā addresses a sage (contextually Narada in this dialogue) with a set of metaphysical questions. She seeks an explanation of the origin of creatures, the antecedent cause behind their arising, and the nature of the prāṇic duality that functions throughout the cosmos—above, in the middle, and below.