Shloka 12
Pañcahotṛ-Vidhāna and the Dispute of the Five Vāyus (पञ्चहोतृविधानम् — पञ्चवायूनां श्रेष्ठत्वविवादः)
ब्राह्मण उवाच व्यानश्व तमुदानश्व भाषमाणमथोचतु: । अपान न व्वं श्रेष्ठोडईसि प्राणो हि वशगस्तव
brāhmaṇa uvāca—vyānaś ca tam udānaś ca bhāṣamāṇam athocatuḥ | apāna na tvaṁ śreṣṭho ’si prāṇo hi vaśagas tava ||
Bà-la-môn nói: Bấy giờ Vyāna và Udāna liền nói với Apāna, kẻ đang phát biểu như thế: “Hỡi Apāna, ngươi không hơn chúng ta, vì chỉ có Prāṇa là nằm dưới quyền ngươi mà thôi.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses that claims of superiority among the life-forces are misguided: Apāna cannot be ‘best’ merely because Prāṇa is said to be under its influence. The underlying ethical point is humility and recognition of mutual dependence among functions that sustain life.
Within the Brāhmaṇa’s discourse, the vital airs are personified and debate their relative greatness. Here Vyāna and Udāna respond to Apāna’s earlier speech, rejecting Apāna’s claim to superiority by arguing that its control extends only to Prāṇa.