Shloka 8
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
प्राणापानावुदानश्च॒ समानो व्यान एव च
prāṇāpānāv udānaś ca samāno vyāna eva ca | prāṇa apāna udāna samāna vyāna—ime pañca vāyavo niyatarūpeṇa śarīrasya bhitare nivasanti; ataḥ te sūkṣmāḥ | manaḥ vāṇī ca buddhiś ca saha gaṇanāt eṣāṃ saṅkhyā aṣṭau bhavati | ime aṣṭau asya jagata upādāna-kāraṇāni |
风神说道：“普拉那（prāṇa）、阿帕那（apāna）、乌达那（udāna）、萨玛那（samāna）与维亚那（vyāna）——此五种生命之风恒常住于身内，故属微细。若再加上意（manas）、语（vāc）与智（buddhi），则成八种。此八者乃此世界之物质基质与所依。”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches an inner, ethical metaphysics: the human being is sustained by five subtle vital airs, and when mind, speech, and intellect are added, these eight principles form the constitutive basis of embodied experience and the world as we engage it. Self-knowledge begins by recognizing these subtle supports rather than identifying solely with the gross body.
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener by enumerating the vital functions within the body and expanding the count to eight by including mind, speech, and intellect, presenting them as foundational constituents (upādāna-kāraṇas) relevant to understanding life, embodiment, and the structure of worldly experience.