Shloka 5
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
ततः प्रलीने सर्वस्मिन् भूते स्थावरजड्मे । स्मृतिमन्तस्तदा धीरा न लीयन्ते कदाचन,इस प्रकार सम्पूर्ण चराचर भूतोंका लय हो जानेपर भी स्मरणशक्तिसे सम्पन्न धीर-हृदय योगी पुरुष कभी नहीं लीन होते
tataḥ pralīne sarvasmin bhūte sthāvara-jaḍe | smṛtimantaḥ tadā dhīrā na līyante kadācana ||
Vāyu dit : «Quand tous les êtres —mobiles et immobiles, jusqu’aux inertes— se sont dissous, les sages inébranlables, doués de la vraie réminiscence, ne se dissolvent jamais. Même au cœur de la dissolution cosmique, le yogin dont la conscience est ancrée dans le souvenir et le discernement n’est pas emporté par le sort de l’existence incarnée.»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when the cosmos undergoes dissolution (pralaya), the truly steady yogin—endowed with smṛti (clear recollection/mindful awareness) and firmness of understanding—does not ‘dissolve’ in the sense of losing awakened consciousness. The verse elevates inner steadiness and remembrance as safeguards against existential collapse.
Vāyudeva is instructing about the nature of dissolution and spiritual stability: while all beings, including the immovable and inert, merge back at pralaya, certain realized, composed practitioners remain unaffected—signaling a teaching on yogic attainment and transcendence of cosmic cycles.