Shloka 11
Pañcahotṛ-Vidhāna and the Dispute of the Five Vāyus (पञ्चहोतृविधानम् — पञ्चवायूनां श्रेष्ठत्वविवादः)
अपान उवाच मयि प्रलीने प्रलयं व्रजन्ति सर्वे प्राणा: प्राणभूतां शरीरे । मयि प्रचीर्णे च पुनश्चरन्ति श्रेष्ठो हाहं पश्यत मां प्रलीनम्
apāna uvāca mayi pralīne pralayaṁ vrajanti sarve prāṇāḥ prāṇabhūtāṁ śarīre | mayi pracīrṇe ca punaś caranti śreṣṭho hāhaṁ paśyata māṁ pralīnam ||
アパーナは言った。「我が沈めば、生きとし生けるものの身体にある生命のはたらきは皆、滅びへと向かう。我が巡れば、皆ふたたび動き出す。ゆえに我こそ最上である。見よ――いま我は己のうちへと引き退く。我が退けば、他のものどももまた停止に落ちよう。」
अपान उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts the interdependence of the life-functions (prāṇas) and highlights Apāna’s crucial role: when Apāna withdraws, the other vital operations subside; when it moves, they resume. Ethically, it points to disciplined awareness of the body’s forces as a basis for self-mastery.
Apāna is speaking in a competitive or comparative discourse among the prāṇas, claiming superiority by demonstrating that its withdrawal leads the others toward cessation, and its activity enables their functioning.