Shloka 31
Jvarotpatti — The Origin and Distribution of Jvara
Fever
ऊष्मणा सह विंशो वा संघात: पाउ्चभौतिक: । महान् संधारयत्येतच्छरीरं वायुना सह
Ūṣmaṇā saha viṁśo vā saṅghātaḥ pañcabhautikaḥ | mahān sandhārayaty etac charīraṁ vāyunā saha ||
Asita sprach: „Dieses leibliche Aggregat, aus den fünf Elementen gebildet, ist—wenn man die Wärme mitrechnet—gleichsam eine Gesamtheit von zwanzig Prinzipien. Das Große Prinzip (mahat) trägt diesen Körper zusammen mit dem Lebenswind (vāyu). Jener Wind, mächtig im Durchdringen und Durchweben des Leibes, ist lediglich ein Werkzeug des mahat.“
असित उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the body as a composite of elemental principles and explains that the sustaining intelligence-principle (mahat) upholds the body together with vital wind (vāyu); vāyu is presented as an operative instrument rather than the ultimate controller.
In Śānti Parva’s reflective instruction, Asita is describing a philosophical analysis of the body—counting its constituent principles and clarifying how life-functions (vāyu/prāṇa) relate to deeper metaphysical principles (mahat).