Shloka 38
उदयं ज्योतिषां शश्वत् सोमादीनां करोति यः । अन्तर्देहेषु चोदानं यं वदन्ति मनीषिण:,“जो सदा सोम, सूर्य आदि ग्रहोंका उदय एवं उद्भव करता है, मनीषी पुरुष शरीरके भीतर जिसे “उदान” कहते हैं, जो चारों समुद्रोंस जलको ऊपर उठाकर जीमूत नामक मेघोंमें स्थापित करता है तथा जीमूत नामक मेघोंको जलसे संयुक्त करके उन्हें पर्जन्यके हवाले कर देता है, वह महान् वायु 'उद्बधह” कहलाता है, जो तृतीय मार्गपर चलनेके कारण तीसरा कहा गया है
udayaṁ jyotiṣāṁ śaśvat somādīnāṁ karoti yaḥ | antardeheṣu codānaṁ yaṁ vadanti manīṣiṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: He who continually brings about the rising of the luminaries—beginning with the Moon—and whom the wise describe as the vital current called Udāna within embodied beings: that power is being indicated as the cosmic wind that governs upward movement, linking the inner life-breath with the outer order of the heavens.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links macrocosm and microcosm: the same governing principle that orders the rising of celestial lights is present within living beings as Udāna, the upward-moving vital force. It suggests an ethical-spiritual vision where understanding inner discipline (prāṇa) aligns one with cosmic order (ṛta/dharma).
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on higher knowledge and the foundations of order. Here he identifies a cosmic function—causing the luminaries to rise—and equates it with the internal life-current called Udāna, presenting a contemplative teaching on how universal forces operate within the body.