Shloka 24
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
प्राणात् प्रणीयते प्राणी व्यानाद् व्यायच्छते तथा । गच्छत्यपानो<5धश्चैव समानो हृद्यवस्थित:
bharadvāja uvāca |
prāṇāt praṇīyate prāṇī vyānād vyāyacchate tathā |
gacchaty apāno 'dhaś caiva samāno hṛdy avasthitaḥ ||
Bharadvāja disse: “Pelo prāṇa o ser encarnado é conduzido e sustentado; pelo vyāna ele se esforça e realiza atividade vigorosa. O apāna move-se para baixo, enquanto o samāna permanece na região do coração — assim operam os ares vitais, tornando o corpo vivo capaz de movimento e função.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse explains how distinct vital airs (prāṇa, vyāna, apāna, samāna) govern different bodily functions—sustaining life, enabling exertion, directing downward movement, and balancing within the heart—supporting a broader ethical-philosophical point in Śānti Parva: understanding the body’s workings aids self-mastery and steadiness in dharma.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, the sage Bharadvāja is teaching about the physiology and inner principles of the embodied being. He enumerates the functions of the vital airs to clarify how life operates within the body, as part of a larger discourse on knowledge, discipline, and liberation-oriented understanding.