Shloka 16
Abhaya-Itihāsa: Karma, Indriyas, and the Non-sensory Brahman
Brāhmaṇī–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda
तस्मिंल्लीने प्रलीयेत समानो व्यान एव च । अपानप्राणयोर्मध्ये उदानो व्याप्य तिष्ठति । तस्माच्छयान पुरुष प्राणापानौ न मुडचतः
tasmiṁl līne pralīyeta samāno vyāna eva ca | apāna-prāṇayor madhye udāno vyāpya tiṣṭhati | tasmāc chayānaṁ puruṣaṁ prāṇāpānau na muñcataḥ |
Vāyu, le dieu du Vent, dit : Lorsque le prāṇa se résorbe (dans l’apāna), samāna et vyāna s’apaisent eux aussi avec lui. Entre l’apāna et le prāṇa, l’udāna se tient, imprégnant toute chose. Ainsi, chez l’homme endormi, prāṇa et apāna ne l’abandonnent pas : la vie est maintenue par l’accord ordonné des souffles vitaux, même lorsque les sens se reposent.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that life is maintained by an organized hierarchy of vital functions (prāṇas). Even in sleep, when outward activity quiets, prāṇa and apāna continue their sustaining work, while udāna pervades and stabilizes the system—showing an ethical-spiritual lesson of inner order and dependence on subtle supports.
Vāyu-deva explains the interrelation of the vital airs within the body: prāṇa’s absorption leads to the subsiding of samāna and vyāna, while udāna remains positioned between prāṇa and apāna, pervading all. This physiological-metaphysical account is used to clarify why the sleeping person is not deserted by life-breath.