Shloka 3
Pañcahotṛ-Vidhāna and the Dispute of the Five Vāyus (पञ्चहोतृविधानम् — पञ्चवायूनां श्रेष्ठत्वविवादः)
प्राण, अपान, उदान, समान और व्यान--ये पाँचों प्राण पाँच होता हैं। विद्वान् पुरुष इन्हें सबसे श्रेष्ठ मानते हैं ।।
brāhmaṇy uvāca | svabhāvāt sapta-hotāra iti me pūrvikā matiḥ | yathā vai pañca-hotāraḥ paro bhāvas tad ucyatām ||
婆罗门妇人说道：“我先前以为，依其本性，‘献祭者（hotṛ）’应有七位；如今从你的话中，我得知只有五位。请开示这五位当如何理解，并说明他们何以尊胜。”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a shift from an earlier model of “seven offerers” to a teaching about “five offerers,” urging clarification of their higher significance—suggesting that spiritual understanding refines ritual categories into an inner, ethical-spiritual interpretation.
A Brahmin woman, engaged in dialogue with a teacher, states her prior belief in seven inherent ‘hotṛs’ and asks for an explanation of the newly introduced doctrine of five ‘hotṛs,’ requesting an account of why these five are considered superior.