Shloka 4
चरणं मारुतात्मेति प्राणापानौ च तन््मयौ | स्पर्शन॑ चेन्द्रियं विद्यात् तथा स्पर्श च तन््मयम्,चलना-फिरना वायुका धर्म है। प्राण और अपान भी वायुस्वरूप ही हैं (समान, उदान और व्यानको भी वायुरूप ही मानना चाहिये)। स्पर्शन्द्रिय (त्वचा) तथा स्पर्श नामक गुणको भी वायुमय ही समझना चाहिये
caraṇaṁ mārutātmā iti prāṇāpānau ca tanmayau | sparśanaṁ cendriyaṁ vidyāt tathā sparśaṁ ca tanmayam |
Vyāsa said: “Movement is said to be of the very nature of Wind. The vital breaths—prāṇa and apāna—are likewise constituted of that same Wind. One should also understand the organ of touch (the skin) and the quality called touch to be pervaded by, and made of, that very Wind.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a unifying view: movement, the vital breaths (prāṇa and apāna), and tactile experience (skin as the organ and touch as the quality) are all manifestations of Vāyu. It frames bodily functions and sensory perception as expressions of a single elemental principle, encouraging insight into the underlying unity behind diverse phenomena.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Vyāsa is explaining a philosophical analysis of the body and its functions. He identifies specific activities and faculties—locomotion, respiration, and touch—and assigns them to the domain of Wind (Vāyu), as part of a broader teaching on how elements and principles constitute embodied life.