Shloka 17
Pañcahotṛ-Vidhāna and the Dispute of the Five Vāyus (पञ्चहोतृविधानम् — पञ्चवायूनां श्रेष्ठत्वविवादः)
मयि प्रलीने प्रलयं व्रजन्ति सर्वे प्राणा: प्राणभूतां शरीरे । मयि प्रचीर्णे च पुनश्चरन्ति श्रेष्ठो हाहं पश्यत मां प्रलीनम्
mayi pralīne pralayaṁ vrajanti sarve prāṇāḥ prāṇabhūtāṁ śarīre | mayi pracīrṇe ca punaś caranti śreṣṭho hāhaṁ paśyata māṁ pralīnam ||
Le brahmane dit : «Lorsque je me retire et me fonds en moi-même, tous les souffles vitaux qui font la vie des êtres incarnés se résorbent et se dissolvent dans le corps. Et lorsque je me déploie de nouveau et me remets en mouvement, tous recommencent à agir. C’est pourquoi je suis le premier. Voyez — à présent je me retire en moi-même (et par mon retrait, votre vie aussi s’affaissera).»
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts the primacy of prāṇa as the sustaining principle of embodied life: when prāṇa withdraws, life collapses (pralaya for the individual body), and when it becomes active again, all functions resume. It frames prāṇa as a governing power whose presence or absence determines vitality.
In a didactic exchange, the Brahmin speaker personifies and elevates prāṇa, declaring its superiority and demonstrating (or threatening to demonstrate) withdrawal—implying that if prāṇa subsides, the others dependent on it will also lose their functioning.