Shloka 12
नारद-देवमत-संवादः
Nārada–Devamata Dialogue on Prāṇa, Apāna, and Udāna
सत्त्वात् समानो व्यानश्न इति यज्ञविदो विदु: । प्राणापानावाज्यभागौ तयोर्मध्ये हुताशनः,यज्ञवेत्ता पुरुष यह जानते हैं कि सत्त्गगुणसे समान और व्यानकी उत्पत्ति होती है। प्राण और अपान आज्यभाग नामक दो आहुतियोंके समान हैं। उनके मध्यभागमें अग्निकी स्थिति है। यही उदानका उत्कृष्ट रूप है, जिसे ब्राह्मणलोग जानते हैं। जो निर्द्धन्द्र कहा गया है, उसे भी बताता हूँ, तुम मेरे मुखसे सुनो
sattvāt samāno vyānaśna iti yajñavido viduḥ | prāṇāpānāv ājyabhāgau tayor madhye hutāśanaḥ |
Nārada said: Those who know the inner meaning of sacrifice teach that from sattva arises Samāna and Vyāna. Prāṇa and Apāna are like two oblations of clarified butter, and between them stands the fire. Thus the body itself is understood as a sacrificial altar: the life-breaths become offerings, and the inner fire receives them.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ‘inner yajña’ model: the vital airs (prāṇa and apāna) function like oblations, and the inner fire (hutāśana/Agni) receives them. This reframes ethical living and self-discipline as a continuous sacrifice, where bodily processes are governed with clarity (sattva) and restraint.
Nārada is instructing about the esoteric meaning of sacrifice, shifting attention from external ritual to an internalized, yogic understanding of yajña through the functions of the life-breaths and the inner fire.