Sāriputta, there are these four kinds of generation.

What are the four?

Egg‑born generation, Womb‑born generation, Moisture‑born generation, and Spontaneous generation.

What is egg‑born generation?

There are these beings born by breaking out of the shell of an egg; this is called egg‑born generation.

What is womb‑born generation?

There are these beings born by breaking out from the caul (the amniotic membrane enclosing a fetus); this is called womb‑born generation.

What is moisture‑born generation?

There are these beings born in a rotten fish, in a rotten corpse, in rotten porridge, in a cesspit, or in a sewer; this is called moisture‑born generation.

What is spontaneous generation?