Shanti Parva Adhyaya 187 Shloka 1 - Mahabharata | Lao | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 1

Adhyātma-nirdeśa

Definition of Adhyātma): Mahābhūtas, Indriyas, Guṇas, and the Witness (Kṣetrajña

Devanagari script

है 22 2 २ बछ। अर: - प्राणवायुके दस भेद इस प्रकार हैं--प्राण

Transliteration

bharadvāja uvāca | yadi prāṇayate vāyur vāyur eva viceṣṭate | śvasity ābhāṣate caiva tasmāj jīvo nirarthakaḥ ||

Translation

ພາຣະດວາຊະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ຖ້າເປັນແຕ່ລົມຊີວິດ (vāyu) ເທົ່ານັ້ນທີ່ຄ້ຳຈຸນຊີວິດ ແລະເປັນແຕ່ລົມເທົ່ານັ້ນທີ່ເຮັດໃຫ້ຮ່າງກາຍເຄື່ອນໄຫວ; ຖ້າເປັນລົມນັ້ນເອງທີ່ຫາຍໃຈ ແລະກະທັ້ງເວົ້າ—ການຍອມຮັບວ່າມີ “ຊີວະ” (jīva) ແຍກຕ່າງຫາກຢູ່ໃນຮ່າງກາຍນີ້ ກໍກາຍເປັນເລື່ອງໄຮ້ຄວາມໝາຍ»។

Word by Word

यदिif

प्राणयतेkeeps alive / gives life (to)

वायुःwind; vital air

एवindeed; alone

विचेष्टतेmoves about; acts; makes efforts

श्वसितिbreathes

आभाषतेspeaks; utters

चand

एवindeed; alone

तस्मात्therefore; from that

जीवःthe living self; soul (jiva)

निरर्थकःmeaningless; purposeless; redundant

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bharadvāja

vāyu (vital air)

jīva (individual self)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a philosophical challenge: if all life-functions (vitality, motion, breathing, speech) can be attributed to prāṇa/vāyu, then what explanatory role remains for a distinct jīva (individual self)? It sets up the need to distinguish mere physiological functions from consciousness/agency.

What is happening in the narrative?

In a didactic dialogue in Śānti Parva, the sage Bharadvāja raises a doubt using reasoning about prāṇa: he argues that since vāyu appears to perform all bodily functions, positing a separate self seems redundant—inviting the teacher’s reply on the reality of the jīva.