Shloka 17
Ācāra-vidhi (Rules of Conduct) — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Catalogue
एवं सर्वेषु विहित: प्राणापानेषु देहिनाम् । तस्मिन् समिध्यते नित्यमग्नि: स्थाल्यामिवाहित:
evaṁ sarveṣu vihitaḥ prāṇāpāneṣu dehinām | tasmin samidhyate nityam agniḥ sthālyām ivāhitaḥ ||
Wika ni Bharadvāja: Kaya nito, sa lahat ng may katawan, ang mga apoy ng buhay ay maayos na naitatakda sa paggalaw ng prāṇa at apāna. Doon, ang panloob na apoy ay patuloy na nagliliyab—nananatili sa loob ng katawan—gaya ng apoy na iniingatan at inaalagaan sa palayok na nakapatong sa dapugan.
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the body’s sustaining inner fire is continuously kindled through the proper establishment and functioning of prāṇa and apāna; disciplined regulation of the vital winds supports vitality, digestion, and steadiness.
Bharadvāja explains a physiological-yogic principle: within embodied beings, the vital breaths (prāṇa and apāna) provide the basis upon which the inner fire remains steadily alight, compared to a fire maintained in a cooking pot on a hearth.