Shloka 17
दमप्रशंसा — Praise of Self-Restraint
Dama
स्पर्शने त्वक् तथा वायु: प्राणापानव्यपाश्रय: । व्यानोदानौ समानश्न पञज्चधा देहयापनम्,स्पर्शके प्रति राग होनेसे त्वगिन्द्रिय और वायुका प्राकट्य होता है। वायु प्राण और अपानका आश्रय है। वही उदान, व्यान तथा समान है। इस प्रकार वह पाँच रूपोंमें प्रकट हो शरीर-यात्राका निर्वाह करती है
sparśane tvak tathā vāyuḥ prāṇāpāna-vyapāśrayaḥ | vyān-udānau samānaś ca pañcadhā deha-yāpanam ||
ビーシュマは説く。触の感覚への執着が起こると、皮膚という感官（触覚）と生命の風が顕現する。その生命の風はプラーナとアパーナと呼ばれる働きを支え、またウダーナ、ヴャーナ、サマーナとも名づけられる。かくして五つの機能相として現れ、身体の生の旅路を保ち続けるのである。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Attachment to sensory contact (here, touch) is linked with the activation of the tactile faculty and the vital principle (vāyu). That single vital principle functions in five modes—prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna, and samāna—by which embodied life is maintained. Understanding this supports ethical self-regulation: mastery over sense-attachment and awareness of bodily processes aids steadiness and restraint.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma is describing the inner constitution of embodied beings—how sense engagement relates to physiological-vital functions. The verse is part of a broader didactic exposition on the body, senses, and the principles that sustain life, aimed at guiding the king toward calm, disciplined governance and personal self-control.