Shloka 42
Mokṣa-dharma Yoga-Upadeśa: Equanimity, Sense-Restraint, and Vision of the Ātman (आत्मदर्शन-योगोपदेशः)
कुतो वायं प्रश्नसिति उच्छवसित्यपि वा पुनः । कं च देशमधिष्ठाय तिष्ठत्यात्मायमात्मनि,“यह जीव कैसे साँस लेता, कैसे उच्छवास खींचता और किस स्थानमें रहकर इस शरीरमें सदा विद्यमान रहता है?
kuto vāyaṃ praśna iti ucchvasiti api vā punaḥ | kaṃ ca deśam adhiṣṭhāya tiṣṭhaty ātmāyam ātmani ||
Tinanong ng Brahmana: “Saan nagmumula ang paghinga papasok ng nilalang na ito, at paano niya muling hinihila ang paghinga palabas? At saang ‘pook’ nananahan ang sariling ito upang manatiling laging naririto—sa loob ng sariling may katawan?”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a philosophical inquiry into the relation between the life-breath (inhalation and exhalation) and the abiding Self: breath is treated as a functional sign of life, while the question presses deeper—what is the underlying locus and principle by which the embodied being persists.
A Brahmin interlocutor poses probing questions about how a living being breathes and where the Self ‘resides’ within the body, setting up a reflective discussion on inner reality beyond mere physical processes.