Shloka 19
Adhyāya 214: Tapas Redefined—Perpetual Discipline, Hospitality, and the Ethics of Eating (तपः-निरूपणम्, विघसाशी-अतिथिप्रिय-धर्मः)
मध्ये च हृदयस्यैका शिरा तत्र मनोवहा । शुक्रे संकल्पजं नृणां सर्वगात्रै्विमुड्चति
madhye ca hṛdayasyaikā śirā tatra manovahā | śukre saṅkalpajaṃ nṛṇāṃ sarvagātrair vimucyati ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «En el centro mismo del corazón hay un solo conducto (nāḍī) llamado “Manovahā”, portador de la mente. Cuando un hombre forma una resolución nacida del deseo, ésta actúa sobre el semen, lo atrae desde todos los miembros y provoca su descarga».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links mental intention (saṅkalpa), especially desire-oriented resolve, with bodily processes, implying an ethical lesson: mastery of the mind is crucial for mastery of the senses and for brahmacarya/self-restraint.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he explains a traditional mind–body mechanism: a ‘manovahā’ channel in the heart is said to transmit mental resolve and thereby affect the movement and discharge of semen throughout the body.