Shloka 20
Skanda–Svāhā-saṃvāda; Gaṇa-vyutpatti and Śvetaparvata-vaibhava
Chapter 220
वडवाग्नि: पिबत्यम्भो योडसौ परमदारुण: | ऊर्ध्वभागूर्ध्वभाड़नाम कवि: प्राणाश्रितस्तु यः:,जो अत्यन्त भयंकर वडवानलरूपसे समुद्रका जल सोखते रहते हैं, वे ही शरीरके भीतर ऊर्ध्वगति--'उदान' नामसे प्रसिद्ध हैं। ऊपरकी ओर गतिशील होनेसे ही उनका नाम 'ऊर्ध्वऐभाक्' है। वे प्राणवायुके आश्रित एवं त्रिकालदर्शाी हैं। (उन्हें बृहस्पतिका पाँचवाँ पुत्र माना गया है)
Vaḍavāgniḥ pibat y ambho yo ’sau paramadāruṇaḥ | Ūrdhvabhāgūrdhvabhāḍ nāma kaviḥ prāṇāśritas tu yaḥ ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “That exceedingly fierce ‘mare-fire’ (vaḍavāgni) which drinks up the ocean’s waters is, within the body, known as the upward-moving vital current called Udāna. Because it moves upward it is also called ‘Ūrdhvabhāg/Ūrdhvabhāk’. Dependent upon Prāṇa, it is a seer—one who knows the three times.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links a cosmic phenomenon (the submarine mare-fire that ‘drinks’ the ocean) with an inner physiological-spiritual principle: the upward-moving vital force called Udāna, dependent on Prāṇa and associated with higher movement and insight (seerhood, knowledge of time).
Mārkaṇḍeya is explaining a doctrinal identification: the terrifying vaḍavāgni is interpreted as an inner power in the body—Udāna—describing its upward motion, its reliance on Prāṇa, and its status as a ‘kavi’ who knows the three times.