Shloka 4
धर्मलक्षण-प्रश्नः (Marks and Sources of Dharma) | Chapter 251: Inquiry into the Definition of Dharma
चरणं मारुतात्मेति प्राणापानौ च तन््मयौ | स्पर्शन॑ चेन्द्रियं विद्यात् तथा स्पर्श च तन््मयम्
caraṇaṁ mārutātmā iti prāṇāpānau ca tanmayau | sparśanaṁ cendriyaṁ vidyāt tathā sparśaṁ ca tanmayam |
Dijo Vyāsa: «El movimiento se dice que es de la naturaleza misma del Viento. Los alientos vitales—prāṇa y apāna—están igualmente constituidos por ese mismo Viento. Del mismo modo, debe entenderse que el órgano del tacto (la piel) y la cualidad llamada “tacto” están impregnados y hechos de ese mismo Viento.»
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.