Shloka 42
Mokṣa-dharma Yoga-Upadeśa: Equanimity, Sense-Restraint, and Vision of the Ātman (आत्मदर्शन-योगोपदेशः)
कुतो वायं प्रश्नसिति उच्छवसित्यपि वा पुनः । कं च देशमधिष्ठाय तिष्ठत्यात्मायमात्मनि,“यह जीव कैसे साँस लेता, कैसे उच्छवास खींचता और किस स्थानमें रहकर इस शरीरमें सदा विद्यमान रहता है?
kuto vāyaṃ praśna iti ucchvasiti api vā punaḥ | kaṃ ca deśam adhiṣṭhāya tiṣṭhaty ātmāyam ātmani ||
The Brahmin asked: “From where does this being’s in-breath arise, and how does it again draw the out-breath? And occupying what ‘place’ does this self remain—ever present within this embodied self?”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a philosophical inquiry into the relation between the life-breath (inhalation and exhalation) and the abiding Self: breath is treated as a functional sign of life, while the question presses deeper—what is the underlying locus and principle by which the embodied being persists.
A Brahmin interlocutor poses probing questions about how a living being breathes and where the Self ‘resides’ within the body, setting up a reflective discussion on inner reality beyond mere physical processes.