अन्नं चराणामचरा ह्यपद: पादचारिणाम् । अहस्ता हस्तयुक्तानां द्विपदां च चतुष्पद: ॥ ९ ॥
annam caranam acara hy apadah pada-carinam ahasta hasta-yuktanam dvi-padam ca catus-padah
- annam
- food
- caranam
- of those that move on wings
- acarah
- the nonmoving (fruits and flowers)
- hi
- indeed
- apadah
- the living entities without legs, like the grass
- pada-carinam
- of the animals who move on legs, like the cows and buffalo
- ahastah
- animals without hands
- hasta-yuktanam
- of the animals with hands, like the tigers
- dvi-padam
- of human beings, who have two legs
- ca
- and
- catuh-padah
- the four-legged animals like the deer
By nature’s arrangement, fruits and flowers are considered the food of insects and birds; grass and other legless living entities are meant to be the food of four-legged animals like cows and buffalo; animals that cannot use their front legs as hands are meant to be the food of animals like tigers, which have claws; and four-legged animals like deer and goats, as well as food grains, are meant to be the food of human beings.