Shloka 9
Brahmā’s Enumeration of Primacies (Ādi) and the Supremacy of Knowledge
Jñāna
द्विजवरो! पक्षियोंमें बाज, यज्ञोंमें उत्तम आहुति और सम्पूर्ण रेंगकर चलनेवाले जीवोंमें साँप श्रेष्ठ है ।।
vāyudeva uvāca | dvijavara! pakṣiṇāṃ bājaḥ, yajñeṣūttamāhutiḥ, samasta-reṅgacara-jīvānāṃ ca sarpaḥ śreṣṭhaḥ || kṛtam ādir yugānāṃ ca sarveṣāṃ nātra saṃśayaḥ | hiraṇyaṃ sarvaratnānām oṣadhīnāṃ yavās tathā ||
风神伐由说道：“噫，二次生者中之最胜者！在诸鸟之中，鹞鹰为首；在诸祭祀之中，至上的投献供物为最上；在一切爬行之类中，蛇最为卓绝。同样，克利多（即萨提耶）劫为诸劫之初——对此毫无疑问。在一切宝石之中，黄金为最胜；在诸谷物与药草之中，大麦（yava）为最胜。”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a dharmic sense of ordered excellence: in every domain there are exemplars (best among birds, offerings, creatures, ages, gems, and grains). By recognizing such hierarchies, one aligns understanding with cosmic order (ṛta/dharma), especially affirming Kṛta/Satya Yuga as the primordial standard of righteousness.
Vāyudeva addresses a learned brāhmaṇa and delivers a compact, proverbial instruction. Rather than advancing action, the passage functions as a didactic catalogue of ‘foremost’ things, grounding the discussion in ritual values (yajña and āhuti) and cosmological time (the yugas).