四生

catur-yoni, the four forms of birth:

(1) 胎 or 生 jarāyuja, viviparous, as with mammalia;

(2) 卵生 aṇḍaja, oviparous, as with birds;

(3) 濕生 or 寒熱和合生 saṃsvedaja, moisture, or water-born, as with worms and fishes;

(4) 化生 aupapāduka, metamorphic, as with moths from the chrysalis, or with (sa) devas, or in the hells, or the first beings in a newly evolved world.