Shloka 14
अध्वर्यु–यति संवादः
Adhvaryu–Yati Dialogue on Svabhāva, Ahiṃsā, and Mokṣa
प्राणा अप्यस्य छागस्य प्रापितास्ते स्वयोनिषु । शरीरं केवल शिष्ट निश्चेष्टमिति मे मति:
prāṇā apy asya chāgasya prāpitās te svayoniṣu | śarīraṃ kevalaśiṣṭaṃ niśceṣṭam iti me matiḥ ||
Le brāhmane dit : «Même les souffles vitaux de ce bouc ont été reconduits à leurs propres sources. À mon jugement, il ne demeure plus à présent que son corps, laissé là, immobile.»
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that life is not merely the physical body: when the prāṇas are withdrawn or resolved back into their sources, what remains is an inert body. Ethically, it stresses the seriousness of actions that extinguish vitality—treating a living being as reducible to matter is a grave moral concern.
A brāhmaṇa observes that the goat’s vital functions have been made to merge back into their respective origins, implying the goat has effectively been deprived of life. He concludes that only the motionless body remains, marking a moment of judgment and moral reflection within the episode.