Shloka 10
नारद–शुक संवादः (Nārada–Śuka Dialogue): Tyāga, Saṃyama, and Vyakta–Avyakta Viveka
प्राणायामो हि सगुणो निर्गुणं धारयेन्मन: । यद्यदृश्यति मुज्चन् वै प्राणान् मैथिलसत्तम । वाताधिकयं भवत्येव तस्मात् तं न समाचरेत्
yājñavalkya uvāca | prāṇāyāmo hi saguṇo nirguṇaṃ dhārayen manaḥ | yadyadṛśyati muñcan vai prāṇān maithilasattama | vātādhikyaṃ bhavaty eva tasmāt taṃ na samācaret |
Yājñavalkya dijo: «El prāṇāyāma, cuando se practica con atributos (saguṇa)—esto es, sostenido por un objeto definido de contemplación—ayuda a aquietar la mente en el estado sin atributos (nirguṇa). Pero, oh el mejor de los maithilas, si alguien exhala los alientos vitales sin la visión interior de la deidad señalada (o del principio rector) en el momento de la inhalación y de las demás fases, entonces un exceso de vāta (viento) surge sin falta en el cuerpo. Por ello, no debe practicarse un prāṇāyāma desprovisto de meditación».
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Breath-discipline should be joined to focused contemplation (saguṇa support) so that the mind can become steady in the attributeless (nirguṇa) state; doing prāṇāyāma mechanically, without meditative ‘vision’ or proper inner focus, is discouraged because it can cause imbalance (vāta aggravation) and fails to serve its spiritual purpose.
In a didactic exchange within Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya instructs a Maithila interlocutor on correct yogic method: prāṇāyāma is presented as a means to stabilize the mind, but only when integrated with meditation; otherwise it is portrayed as potentially harmful and spiritually unproductive.