[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Vedic Index of Names and Subjects](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912) › v2.c4.s2.156 # Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s2.156 Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s2.156 - **Language:** English ### [v2.c4.s2.156](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s2.156) Bīja denotes ‘seed,’ the operation of sowing seed (vap) being several times referred to in the Rigveda¹ and later.² In a metaphorical sense the term is used in the Upaniṣads of the classes of beings according to origin, of which the Chāndogya Upaniṣad³ enumerates three, the Aitareya⁴ four. The former list includes aṇḍa-ja, ‘egg-born,’ jīva-ja, ‘born alive,’ and udbhij-ja, ‘produced from sprouts,’ ‘germinating,’ while the latter adds sveda-ja, ‘sweat-born’—that is, ‘generated by hot moisture,’ an expression which is glossed to comprise flies, worms, etc. Cf. Kṛṣi. - [Previous: v2.c4.s2.155](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s2.155) - [Next: v2.c4.s2.157](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s2.157) - [Up: v2.c4.s2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s2) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s2.156](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s2.156) · Pramāṇa