Shloka 12
ब्राह्मण उवाच व्यानश्व तमुदानश्व भाषमाणमथोचतु: । अपान न व्वं श्रेष्ठोडईसि प्राणो हि वशगस्तव,ब्राह्मण कहते हैं--तब व्यान और उदानने पूर्वोक्त बात कहनेवाले अपानसे कहा --“अपान! केवल प्राण तुम्हारे अधीन है, इसलिये तुम हमसे श्रेष्ठ नहीं हो सकते”
brāhmaṇa uvāca—vyānaś ca tam udānaś ca bhāṣamāṇam athocatuḥ | apāna na tvaṁ śreṣṭho ’si prāṇo hi vaśagas tava ||
The Brāhmaṇa said: Then Vyāna and Udāna addressed Apāna, who had been speaking thus: “Apāna, you are not superior to us, for only Prāṇa is under your control.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses that claims of superiority among the life-forces are misguided: Apāna cannot be ‘best’ merely because Prāṇa is said to be under its influence. The underlying ethical point is humility and recognition of mutual dependence among functions that sustain life.
Within the Brāhmaṇa’s discourse, the vital airs are personified and debate their relative greatness. Here Vyāna and Udāna respond to Apāna’s earlier speech, rejecting Apāna’s claim to superiority by arguing that its control extends only to Prāṇa.