Shloka 42
Nārada’s Instructions: Śrāddha, True Dharma, Contentment, Yoga, and Devotion-Centered Renunciation
अक्षं दशप्राणमधर्मधर्मौ चक्रेऽभिमानं रथिनं च जीवम् । धनुर्हि तस्य प्रणवं पठन्ति शरं तु जीवं परमेव लक्ष्यम् ॥ ४२ ॥
akṣaṁ daśa-prāṇam adharma-dharmau cakre ’bhimānaṁ rathinaṁ ca jīvam dhanur hi tasya praṇavaṁ paṭhanti śaraṁ tu jīvaṁ param eva lakṣyam
Les dix souffles vitaux du corps sont comme les rayons de la roue; le haut et le bas de la roue sont dharma et adharma; le jīva identifié au corps est le propriétaire du char. Le praṇava « Om » est l’arc; le jīva pur est la flèche; et l’Être Suprême est la cible.
Ten kinds of life air always flow within the material body. They are called prāṇa, apāna, samāna, vyāna, udāna, nāga, kūrma, kṛkala, devadatta and dhanañjaya. They are compared here to the spokes of the chariot’s wheels. The life air is the energy for all of a living being’s activities, which are sometimes religious and sometimes irreligious. Thus religion and irreligion are said to be the upper and lower portions of the chariot’s wheels. When the living entity decides to go back home, back to Godhead, his target is Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the conditioned state of life, one does not understand that the goal of life is the Supreme Lord. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ . The living entity tries to be happy within this material world, not understanding the target of his life. When he is purified, however, he gives up his bodily conception of life and his false identity as belonging to a certain community, a certain nation, a certain society, a certain family and so on ( sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam ). Then he takes the arrow of his purified life, and with the help of the bow — the transcendental chanting of praṇava, or the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra — he throws himself toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
FAQs
This verse presents Oṁ as the bow for spiritual practice: the jīva is the arrow, and the Supreme Lord is the only true target—indicating focused devotion and realization aimed at God, not merely worldly goals.
Prahlada uses a vivid metaphor to show how the jīva (rider) moves through embodied life driven by prāṇa, dharma/adharma, and especially false ego—so one can redirect life toward the Supreme as the final aim.
Treat daily discipline (breath, habits, ethics) as the ‘chariot,’ reduce ego-based identity, and keep a single spiritual aim—remembering and serving the Supreme—so actions become aligned with liberation and devotion.