Shloka 24
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
प्राणात् प्रणीयते प्राणी व्यानाद् व्यायच्छते तथा । गच्छत्यपानो<5धश्चैव समानो हृद्यवस्थित:
bharadvāja uvāca |
prāṇāt praṇīyate prāṇī vyānād vyāyacchate tathā |
gacchaty apāno 'dhaś caiva samāno hṛdy avasthitaḥ ||
婆罗多婆阇说道：“凭借普拉那（prāṇa），具身者得以被引导前行并得以维系；凭借遍行气（vyāna），他奋力作为，行诸强健之业。下行气（apāna）向下运行，而平衡气（samāna）安住于心域——诸命风如是运作，使活体得以行动并具诸功用。”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse explains how distinct vital airs (prāṇa, vyāna, apāna, samāna) govern different bodily functions—sustaining life, enabling exertion, directing downward movement, and balancing within the heart—supporting a broader ethical-philosophical point in Śānti Parva: understanding the body’s workings aids self-mastery and steadiness in dharma.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, the sage Bharadvāja is teaching about the physiology and inner principles of the embodied being. He enumerates the functions of the vital airs to clarify how life operates within the body, as part of a larger discourse on knowledge, discipline, and liberation-oriented understanding.