Shloka 5

Ācāra-vidhi (Rules of Conduct) — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Catalogue

Devanagari script

एवं त्विह स सर्वत्र प्राणेन परिचाल्यते । पृष्ठतस्तु समानेन स्वां स्वां गतिमुपाश्रित:

Transliteration

evaṃ tv iha sa sarvatra prāṇena paricālyate | pṛṣṭhatas tu samānena svāṃ svāṃ gatim upāśritaḥ ||

Translation

इस शरीर में सर्वत्र समस्त क्रियाएँ प्राण के द्वारा प्रवर्तित होती हैं। और फिर वही प्राण, पीछे से ‘समान’ नामक समत्वकारी वायु बनकर, अपनी-अपनी नियत गति का आश्रय लेकर, शरीर की क्रियाओं को उनके-उनके मार्ग में धारण और संचालित करता है।

Word by Word

• {'evaṃ': 'thus, in this manner', 'tu': 'but, indeed', 'iha': 'here (in this context

• in the body)', 'saḥ': 'he/that (referring to prāṇa as the operative principle)', 'sarvatra': 'everywhere, in all parts', 'prāṇena': 'by prāṇa

• by the vital breath/life-force (instrumental case)', 'paricālyate': 'is moved, is activated, is set in motion', 'pṛṣṭhataḥ': 'from behind

• from the rear/back (as a supporting/propelling force)', 'samānena': 'by samāna (the equalizing/balancing vital air)', 'svām svām': 'each its own

• respective', 'gatim': 'course, movement, function, pathway', 'upāśritaḥ': 'having resorted to

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bharadvāja
• prāṇa
• samāna (vāyu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse explains prāṇa as the organizing life-force that activates all bodily functions, and highlights samāna as the harmonizing aspect that regulates and sustains each function in its proper course.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bharadvāja is describing an inner, quasi-physiological doctrine: how the vital airs operate within the embodied being, presenting prāṇa as the mover of the organs and samāna as the balancing regulator that supports their respective activities.