Shloka 14
Pañcahotṛ-Vidhāna and the Dispute of the Five Vāyus (पञ्चहोतृविधानम् — पञ्चवायूनां श्रेष्ठत्वविवादः)
मयि प्रलीने प्रलयं व्रजन्ति सर्वे प्राणा: प्राणभूतां शरीरे । मयि प्रचीर्णे च पुनश्चरन्ति श्रेष्ठो हाहं पश्यत मां प्रलीनम्
mayi pralīne pralayaṁ vrajanti sarve prāṇāḥ prāṇabhūtāṁ śarīre | mayi pracīrṇe ca punaś caranti śreṣṭho hāhaṁ paśyata māṁ pralīnam ||
ブラーフマナは言った。「我が沈むとき、衆生の身を生かす一切の生命の息（プラーナ）もまた滅へと沈む。我が再び巡れば、彼らもことごとく巡り始める。ゆえに我こそ最上である。見よ—いま我は退きつつある。次には汝ら自身の消滅もまた続くであろう。」
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts the dependence of all bodily life-functions (prāṇas) on a single governing principle: when that principle withdraws, life collapses into dissolution; when it becomes active, life resumes. Ethically, it redirects pride and fear toward discernment of what truly sustains life, encouraging humility and insight into impermanence.
In a brāhmaṇa’s discourse, a principle identified with the life-force (prāṇa) proclaims its supremacy by describing how all other vital functions cease when it ‘dissolves’ and revive when it ‘moves.’ The speaker urges the listeners to witness this withdrawal, warning that their own dissolution follows when the sustaining life-force departs.