Shloka 5
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
ततः प्रलीने सर्वस्मिन् भूते स्थावरजड्मे । स्मृतिमन्तस्तदा धीरा न लीयन्ते कदाचन,इस प्रकार सम्पूर्ण चराचर भूतोंका लय हो जानेपर भी स्मरणशक्तिसे सम्पन्न धीर-हृदय योगी पुरुष कभी नहीं लीन होते
tataḥ pralīne sarvasmin bhūte sthāvara-jaḍe | smṛtimantaḥ tadā dhīrā na līyante kadācana ||
Vāyu said: “When all beings—moving and unmoving, even the inert—have dissolved, the steadfast sages endowed with true recollection do not dissolve at any time. Even amid cosmic dissolution, the yogin whose awareness is anchored in remembrance and discernment is not swept away by the fate of embodied existence.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when the cosmos undergoes dissolution (pralaya), the truly steady yogin—endowed with smṛti (clear recollection/mindful awareness) and firmness of understanding—does not ‘dissolve’ in the sense of losing awakened consciousness. The verse elevates inner steadiness and remembrance as safeguards against existential collapse.
Vāyudeva is instructing about the nature of dissolution and spiritual stability: while all beings, including the immovable and inert, merge back at pralaya, certain realized, composed practitioners remain unaffected—signaling a teaching on yogic attainment and transcendence of cosmic cycles.