Shloka 6
तुलाधार-उपदेशः
Tulādhāra’s Instruction to Jājali on Ahiṃsā and Abhaya-dāna
वायोरनियमस्पर्शों वादस्थानं स्वतन्त्रता । बलं शैघ्र्यं च मोक्ष च कर्म चेष्टा55त्मता भव:
bhīṣma uvāca | vāyor aniyata-sparśo vāg-adhisthānaṃ svatantratā | balaṃ śaighryaṃ ca mokṣaś ca karma ceṣṭātmatā bhavaḥ | aniyata-sparśaḥ vāk-indriyasya sthitiḥ calana-phirana-ādīnāṃ svatantratā balaṃ śīghra-gamitā mala-mūtra-ādīnāṃ śarīrāt bahiḥ niṣkāsanaṃ utkṣepaṇa-ādi karma kriyā-śaktiḥ prāṇaḥ janma-mṛtyū ca—ete sarve vāyoḥ guṇāḥ |
भीष्म ने कहा—वायु के गुण हैं: अनियत स्पर्श (जो एक स्थान में स्थिर नहीं), वाक्-इन्द्रिय का आधार, गमन-आगमन की स्वतन्त्रता, बल और शीघ्रगामिता; मल-मूत्र आदि का शरीर से निष्कासन; उत्क्षेपण आदि कर्म; क्रिया-शक्ति; प्राण-तत्त्व; तथा जन्म-मृत्यु से उसका सम्बन्ध—ये सब वायु के लक्षण हैं।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse enumerates the functional ‘qualities’ of the vital wind (vāyu/prāṇa) that sustain embodied life—speech, movement, strength, swift activity, excretion, and the general power of action—showing that life and bodily agency depend on regulated inner forces; hence discipline and understanding of these forces support ethical self-control.
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he explains to the listener the constituents and operations within the body from an adhyātmika (inner, philosophical-physiological) perspective, here focusing specifically on the functions attributed to vāyu as a key sustaining principle.