संजय उवाच
यथाप्रज्ञं महाप्राज्ञ भौमान् वक्ष्यामि ते गुणान् ॥
शास्त्रचक्षुर् अवेक्षस्व नमस् ते भरतर्षभ ॥
द्विविधानीह भूतानि त्रसानि स्थावराणि च ॥
त्रसानां त्रिविधा योनिर् अण्डस्वेदजरायुजाः ॥
त्रसानां खलु सर्वेषां श्रेष्ठा राजञ् जरायुजाः ॥
जरायुजानां प्रवरा मानवाः पशवश् च ये ॥
नानारूपाणि बिभ्राणास् तेषां भेदाश् चतुर्दश ॥
अरण्यवासिनः सप्त सप्तैषां ग्रामवासिनः ॥
सिंहव्याघ्रवराहाश् च महिषा वारणास् तथा ॥
ऋक्षाश् च वानराश् चैव सप्तारण्याः स्मृता नृप ॥
गौर् अजो मनुजो मेषो वाज्यश्वतरगर्दभाः ॥
एते ग्राम्याः समाख्याताः पशवः सप्त साधुभिः ॥
एते वै पशवो राजन् ग्राम्यारण्याश् चतुर्दश ॥
वेदोक्ताः पृथिवीपाल येषु यज्ञाः प्रतिष्ठिताः ॥
ग्राम्याणां पुरुषः श्रेष्ठः सिंहश् चारण्यवासिनाम् ॥
सर्वेषाम् एव भूतानाम् अन्योन्येनाभिजीवनम् ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
yathāprajñaṃ mahāprājña bhaumān vakṣyāmi te guṇān ||
śāstracakṣur avekṣasva namas te bharatarṣabha ||
dvividhānīha bhūtāni trasāni sthāvarāṇi ca ||
trasānāṃ trividhā yonir aṇḍasvedajarāyujāḥ ||
trasānāṃ khalu sarveṣāṃ śreṣṭhā rājañ jarāyujāḥ ||
jarāyujānāṃ pravarā mānavāḥ paśavaś ca ye ||
nānārūpāṇi bibhrāṇās teṣāṃ bhedāś caturdaśa ||
araṇyavāsinaḥ sapta saptaiṣāṃ grāmavāsinaḥ ||
siṃhavyāghravarāhāś ca mahiṣā vāraṇās tathā ||
ṛkṣāś ca vānarāś caiva saptāraṇyāḥ smṛtā nṛpa ||
gaur ajo manujo meṣo vājyaśvataragardabhāḥ ||
ete grāmyāḥ samākhyātāḥ paśavaḥ sapta sādhubhiḥ ||
ete vai paśavo rājan grāmyāraṇyāś caturdaśa ||
vedoktāḥ pṛthivīpāla yeṣu yajñāḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ ||
grāmyāṇāṃ puruṣaḥ śreṣṭhaḥ siṃhaś cāraṇyavāsinām ||
sarveṣām eva bhūtānām anyonyenābhijīvanam ||
Sanjaya said: "O most wise one, according to my understanding I shall tell you the earthly qualities. Behold with the eye of scripture; homage to you, O best of the Bharatas. Here beings are of two kinds: moving and unmoving. Among the moving, birth is threefold: from egg, from moisture, and from the womb. O king, among all the moving, the womb-born are indeed the best; and among the womb-born, humans and animals are foremost. Bearing manifold forms, they fall into fourteen divisions: seven dwell in the forest and seven dwell near people. O king, lions, tigers, boars, buffaloes, elephants, bears, and monkeys are remembered as the seven forest-dwellers. The cow, the goat, man, the ram, the horse, the mule, and the donkey are declared by the wise to be the seven domestic animals. O king, these fourteen animals, domestic and forest, are named in the Vedas; upon them, O protector of the earth, sacrifices are established. Among the domestic, man is the best; among the forest-dwellers, the lion. All beings alike sustain their lives through one another."
a90ecaab174a · published Jul 17, 2026, 8:37:17 PM UTC
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Sanjaya answers not with political geography but with a cosmological classification. The earth is precious because life, sacrifice, livelihood, and the mutual dependence of beings all rest upon it. In this way the question of possessing the earth turns into a question of responsibility for the order of the living world.