Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 10
दहत्यूर्ध्व स्थितो यच्च प्राणान् तृणां स्थिरश्न यत्
dahaty ūrdhva-sthito yac ca prāṇān tṛṇāṁ sthiraśna yat
Vāyu-deva said: “That which, stationed above, burns; and that which consumes the very life-breath of grasses—this too is to be understood in its proper nature and function.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse points to the natural powers that burn and consume life (symbolically fire/heat and related forces) and implies an ethical reflection: harm can occur even through elemental processes, so one should understand causality and the workings of nature when judging action, responsibility, and dharma.
Vāyu-deva is speaking and describing a force that burns from above and consumes the life-breath of grasses, as part of a broader instruction that classifies or explains natural phenomena and their effects within a dharmic framework.