Shloka 12
नारद-देवमत-संवादः
Nārada–Devamata Dialogue on Prāṇa, Apāna, and Udāna
सत्त्वात् समानो व्यानश्न इति यज्ञविदो विदु: । प्राणापानावाज्यभागौ तयोर्मध्ये हुताशनः
sattvāt samāno vyānaśna iti yajñavido viduḥ | prāṇāpānāv ājyabhāgau tayor madhye hutāśanaḥ |
那罗陀说道：通晓祭义者教导说，由萨埵（sattva）生萨摩那（Samāna）与毗耶那（Vyāna）。普拉那（Prāṇa）与阿帕那（Apāna）如同两份酥油供献，而其间立有火。由是此身可知为祭坛：诸息为供物，内火受之。
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ‘inner yajña’ model: the vital airs (prāṇa and apāna) function like oblations, and the inner fire (hutāśana/Agni) receives them. This reframes ethical living and self-discipline as a continuous sacrifice, where bodily processes are governed with clarity (sattva) and restraint.
Nārada is instructing about the esoteric meaning of sacrifice, shifting attention from external ritual to an internalized, yogic understanding of yajña through the functions of the life-breaths and the inner fire.