Ācāra-vidhi (Rules of Conduct) — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Catalogue
आय्यं हि पायुपर्यन्तमन्ते स्याद् गुदसंज्ञितम् । सत्रोतस्तस्मात् प्रजायन्ते सर्वस्रोतांसि देहिनाम्
āyyaṃ hi pāyuparyantam ante syād gudasaṃjñitam | srotas tasmāt prajāyante sarvasrotāṃsi dehinām ||
Bharadvāja berkata: Saluran besar yang memanjang dari mulut hingga ke dubur, pada hujungnya dikenali sebagai rektum. Daripada saluran utama itulah lahir semua saluran lain bagi makhluk yang berjasad.
भरद्वाज उवाच
The verse presents a didactic, quasi-physiological model: a principal bodily tract running from mouth to anus is treated as the foundational ‘channel,’ from which the body’s other channels are understood to branch. In Shanti Parva’s instructional context, such descriptions support reflection on embodiment and the structured nature of life within the body.
Bharadvāja is speaking in an explanatory mode, defining key bodily terms (pāyu, guda) and describing how the network of ‘srotas’ is conceived to originate from a main passage. The passage functions as a teaching segment within Shanti Parva’s broader discourse-oriented chapters.