Shloka 1
Ācāra-vidhi (Rules of Conduct) — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Catalogue
/ अपने-आप बछ। अर: पज्चाशीर्त्याधिकशततमो< ध्याय: शरीरके भीतर जठरानल तथा प्राण-अपान आदि वायुओंकी स्थिति आदिका वर्णन भरद्वाज उवाच पार्थिवं धातुमासाद्य शारीरो3ग्नि: कथं प्रभो । अवकाशविशेषेण कथं वर्तयतेडनिल:
bharadvāja uvāca | pārthivaṁ dhātum āsādya śārīro 'gniḥ kathaṁ prabho | avakāśa-viśeṣeṇa kathaṁ vartayate 'nilaḥ ||
バラドヴァージャは言った。「主よ、身体の火（agni）は、地の成分――身体の物質的基盤――に依って、いかにして宿るのですか。さらに生命の風（vāyu）は、身体の特定の空隙を通じて、いかに働き、身を活動へと駆り立てるのですか。」
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an inquiry into how life is sustained in the body: digestion/metabolism (agni) and vital motion (vāyu) depend on a material substrate (dhātu) and operate through defined internal spaces. It sets up a dharma-oriented, contemplative explanation of embodied existence as an ordered system rather than mere chance.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, the sage Bharadvāja asks a revered teacher to explain the inner workings of the body—specifically how the bodily fire and the vital winds function within the physical elements—preparing for a detailed discourse on prāṇa, apāna, and related principles.