Shloka 40
अग्नीषोमोत्पत्तिः
Agni–Soma Origin and the Brahmāgnīṣomīya Doctrine
योडद्धि: संयोज्य जीमूतान् पर्जन्याय प्रयच्छति । उद्वहो नाम बंहिष्ठस्तृतीय: स सदागति:,“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
yo dadhīḥ saṃyojya jīmūtān parjanyāya prayacchati | udvaho nāma bahiṣṭhas tṛtīyaḥ sa sadāgatiḥ ||
Bhishma said: “That vital wind which, having gathered the waters and joined them to the clouds, delivers those clouds to the rain-bearing power—ever moving onward—is called Udvaha. Because it proceeds along a ‘third course’ and operates outwardly on a vast scale, it is spoken of as the third.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links the inner life-wind (a prāṇa-function) with the outer cosmic process of rainfall, presenting nature’s cycles as orderly and purposeful. It implies that the same sustaining principle operates within the body and in the world, supporting life through regulated movement and distribution.
In Bhishma’s instruction, he describes a specific ‘wind’ called Udvaha: it lifts/collects waters, unites them with clouds (jīmūta), and consigns them to the rain-giving function (Parjanya). This is characterized as an outward, wide-ranging operation and therefore termed the ‘third course.’