Shloka 14
Skanda-janma: Śivā/Svāhā, Agni, and the Manifestation of Guha
Mahābhārata 3.214
अग्निवेगवह:ः प्राणो गुदान्ते प्रतिहन्यते । स ऊर्ध्वमागम्य पुन: समुत्क्षिपति पावकम्,गुदासे प्राण अग्निके वेगको लेकर गुदान्तमें टकराता है, फिर वहाँसे ऊपरको उठकर वह जठराग्निको भी ऊपर उठाता है
agnivegavahaḥ prāṇo gudānte pratihanyate | sa ūrdhvam āgamya punaḥ samutkṣipati pāvakam |
狩人は、倫理の教えを現実の身に根づかせるため、生理の一端を説く。火の勢いに駆られた生命の息は、グダの末端に打ち当たり、やがて再び上へと昇って、内なる火—消化の熱—を揺り動かし、持ち上げる。ここに示されるのは、身体の働きが秩序ある法に従って運行するということ。ゆえに、規律と節制もまた、その自然の秩序に沿うべきであり、衝動に従ってはならぬ。
व्याध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the ordered movement of prāṇa and the kindling of inner fire as an analogy: just as the body functions according to a lawful rhythm, ethical life should be governed by discipline and dharma rather than by uncontrolled urges.
In the hunter’s instruction (vyādha’s discourse), he explains how prāṇa moves within the body—striking at the lower end and then rising to stimulate the inner fire—supporting a broader moral teaching about regulated living.