Shloka 17
Ācāra-vidhi (Rules of Conduct) — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Catalogue
एवं सर्वेषु विहित: प्राणापानेषु देहिनाम् । तस्मिन् समिध्यते नित्यमग्नि: स्थाल्यामिवाहित:,प्राणियोंके प्राण, अपान आदि सभी वायुओंमें स्थापित हुई जठराग्नि शरीरमें ही रहकर सदा अग्नि-कुण्डमें रखी हुई अग्निकी भाँति प्रज्वलित होती रहती है
evaṁ sarveṣu vihitaḥ prāṇāpāneṣu dehinām | tasmin samidhyate nityam agniḥ sthālyām ivāhitaḥ ||
Bharadvāja said: Thus, within all embodied beings, the vital fires are duly set in the movements of prāṇa and apāna. There, the inner fire is kindled unceasingly—remaining within the body—like a fire kept and tended in a cooking-pot on the hearth.
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the body’s sustaining inner fire is continuously kindled through the proper establishment and functioning of prāṇa and apāna; disciplined regulation of the vital winds supports vitality, digestion, and steadiness.
Bharadvāja explains a physiological-yogic principle: within embodied beings, the vital breaths (prāṇa and apāna) provide the basis upon which the inner fire remains steadily alight, compared to a fire maintained in a cooking pot on a hearth.