Shloka 4
Pañcahotṛ-Vidhāna and the Dispute of the Five Vāyus (पञ्चहोतृविधानम् — पञ्चवायूनां श्रेष्ठत्वविवादः)
ब्राह्मण उवाच प्राणेन सम्भूतो वायुरपानो जायते ततः । अपाने सम्भूतो वायुस्ततो व्यान: प्रवर्तते
brāhmaṇa uvāca—prāṇena sambhūto vāyur apāno jāyate tataḥ | apāne sambhūto vāyus tato vyānaḥ pravartate |
婆罗门说道：“由普拉那（prāṇa）这生命之风，生出阿帕那（apāna）；由阿帕那又生出维亚那（vyāna），并开始运行。如此，每一息风皆依另一息风而起。”于是五种生命之气——欲知谁才是真正的首领——前往众生之祖、太祖梵天（Brahmā）之前，请他宣告其中谁为“श्रेष्ठ”（最胜者），使被点名者成为诸气之长。
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse introduces the interdependence of the vital airs: each functions by support from another, and their question to Brahmā frames an inquiry into what truly deserves primacy—suggesting that ‘greatness’ is to be discerned by sustaining power and essential function rather than mere assertion.
A Brahmin narrator describes how the life-winds arise and operate in sequence (prāṇa giving rise to apāna, and apāna to vyāna). The five vāyus then approach Brahmā, the grandsire, asking him to name the श्रेष्ठ among them so that one may be acknowledged as the leader.