Shloka 40
अहिंसा-प्रधान धर्मविचारः
Ahiṃsā as the Superior Dharma: Practical and Scriptural Reasoning
वायुर्भीमो भीमनादो महौजा: स सर्वेषां प्राणिनां प्राणभूत: । नानावृत्ति्देहिनां देहभेदे तस्माद् वायुर्देवदेवो विशिष्ट:
vāyur bhīmo bhīmanādo mahaujāḥ sa sarveṣāṃ prāṇināṃ prāṇabhūtaḥ | nānāvṛttir dehināṃ dehabhede tasmād vāyur devadevo viśiṣṭaḥ ||
Vāyu—terrible, à la voix de tonnerre et d’une grande puissance—c’est Bhīma ; et ce Vāyu est le souffle même de tous les êtres vivants. Quand les êtres incarnés voient leur corps se briser, ce même vent vital emprunte des voies et des formes multiples. Ainsi, dans ce corps, Vāyu—dieu des dieux en tant que prāṇa—est proclamé le plus excellent.
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that Vāyu, understood as prāṇa (the vital life-breath), is the sustaining principle of all beings and is supreme within the body; even at death, prāṇa is described as taking diverse courses, emphasizing its primacy over the perishable body.
Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha) is instructing on the hierarchy of inner powers and the nature of life within the body, identifying Vāyu/prāṇa as the foremost principle and linking Bhīma’s awe-inspiring power to his origin in Vāyu.