Shloka 40
अहिंसा-प्रधान धर्मविचारः
Ahiṃsā as the Superior Dharma: Practical and Scriptural Reasoning
वायुर्भीमो भीमनादो महौजा: स सर्वेषां प्राणिनां प्राणभूत: । नानावृत्ति्देहिनां देहभेदे तस्माद् वायुर्देवदेवो विशिष्ट:
vāyur bhīmo bhīmanādo mahaujāḥ sa sarveṣāṃ prāṇināṃ prāṇabhūtaḥ | nānāvṛttir dehināṃ dehabhede tasmād vāyur devadevo viśiṣṭaḥ ||
Si Vāyu—kakila-kilabot, may tinig na parang kulog, at may dakilang lakas—ay si Bhīma; at ang Vāyu ring iyon ang mismong hininga ng buhay ng lahat ng nilalang. Kapag ang mga may katawan ay dumanas ng pagkapira-piraso ng katawan, ang iisang hanging-buhay na iyon ay tumatahak sa sari-saring landas at anyo. Kaya sa loob ng katawang ito, si Vāyu—ang diyos ng mga diyos bilang prāṇa—ang ipinahahayag na pinakadakila.
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that Vāyu, understood as prāṇa (the vital life-breath), is the sustaining principle of all beings and is supreme within the body; even at death, prāṇa is described as taking diverse courses, emphasizing its primacy over the perishable body.
Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha) is instructing on the hierarchy of inner powers and the nature of life within the body, identifying Vāyu/prāṇa as the foremost principle and linking Bhīma’s awe-inspiring power to his origin in Vāyu.