Shloka 9
Ācāra-vidhi (Rules of Conduct) — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Catalogue
धातुष्वग्निस्तु विततः समानेन समीरित: । रसान् धातूंशच दोषांश्व वर्तयग्नवतिष्ठते,शरीरके समस्त धातुओंमें व्याप्त जो अग्नि है, वह समान वायुद्वारा संचालित होती है। वह समान वायु ही शरीरगत रसों, धातुओं (इन्द्रियों) और दोषों (कफ आदि) का संचालन करती हुई सम्पूर्ण शरीरमें स्थित है
dhātuṣv agnis tu vitataḥ samānena samīritaḥ | rasān dhātūṃś ca doṣāṃś ca vartayann avatiṣṭhate śarīrake ||
Bharadvāja said: The bodily fire that pervades all the constituents of the body is set in motion by the vital wind called Samāna. Remaining within the body, it regulates the bodily fluids, the tissues, and the humors (such as phlegm), sustaining their proper functioning. In this teaching, inner discipline is grounded in understanding the body’s ordered processes: balance and right regulation are presented as the basis for well-being and steadiness in dharma.
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the body’s metabolic ‘fire’ (agni) pervades all bodily constituents and is driven by Samāna-vāyu; together they regulate fluids (rasa), tissues (dhātus), and humors (doṣas). The ethical implication is that steadiness in life and dharma depends on inner balance and proper regulation rather than excess or disorder.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Bharadvāja explains a doctrine of the body’s inner workings—how agni and the vital wind Samāna maintain physiological order—within a broader discourse aimed at peace, restraint, and right living after the war.