Shloka 135
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
प्राण: सत्त्वं रजश्नैव तमश्नाप्रमदस्तथा । प्राणो5पान: समानश्च उदानो व्यान एव च
prāṇaḥ sattvaṃ rajaś caiva tamaś cāpramadas tathā | prāṇo 'pānaḥ samānaś codāno vyāna eva ca ||
Bhīṣma dit : Tu es le souffle vital lui-même ; tu es les qualités de la nature — sattva, rajas et tamas — et tu es aussi apramāda, l’état de vigilance et de maîtrise de soi. Tu es encore les courants vitaux du corps : prāṇa, apāna, samāna, udāna et vyāna.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That the Supreme is immanent in both the macrocosmic principles (the three guṇas) and the microcosmic operations (the five vital currents). Recognizing this leads to apramada—wakeful, disciplined living—as a direct expression of dharma and devotion.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs and praises the highest reality, describing it as identical with the forces that sustain embodied existence—breath, qualities of nature, and the internal vital functions—thereby framing spiritual knowledge as seeing the divine in life itself.