Shloka 10

Devanagari script

अपानप्राणयोर्मध्ये प्राणापानसमाहित: । समन्वितस्त्वधिष्ठानं सम्यक्पचति पावक:,अपान और प्राणके मध्यभाग (नाभि) में प्राण और अपान दोनोंका आश्रय लेकर स्थित हुआ जठरानल खाये हुए अन्नको भलीभाँति पचाता है

Transliteration

apānaprāṇayor madhye prāṇāpānasamāhitaḥ | samanvitastv adhiṣṭhānaṃ samyak pacati pāvakaḥ ||

Translation

अपानप्राणयोर्मध्ये नाभिदेशे प्राणापानसमाहितः। तयोः समन्वयाश्रयः पावकः सम्यगन्नं पचति॥

Word by Word

अपानप्राणयोःof apāna and prāṇa

मध्येin the middle

प्राणापानसमाहितःcomposed/collected with prāṇa and apāna (as support)

समन्वितःendowed/associated (with them)

तुindeed/but

अधिष्ठानम्the seat/support (substratum)

सम्यक्properly, well

पचतिcooks/digests

पावकःfire (digestive fire)

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bharadvāja

prāṇa

apāna

pāvaka (jaṭharāgni)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Digestion is presented as a regulated process: the digestive fire functions correctly when prāṇa and apāna are balanced and properly situated. The broader ethical suggestion is that harmony of inner forces—order, restraint, and right coordination—sustains life and supports dharmic living.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bharadvāja explains a yogic-physiological point within Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse: how vital winds (prāṇa and apāna) relate to the digestive fire at the navel region, enabling the proper digestion of consumed food.