Shloka 20
Vānaprastha-vṛtti and the Transition toward the Fourth Āśrama (वानप्रस्थवृत्तिः चतुर्थाश्रमोपक्रमश्च)
तस्मिन्नुपरते5जो5स्य पीतशब्त्र: प्रकाशते । ऊर्णारूपसवर्णस्य तस्य रूप॑ प्रकाशते
tasminn uparate 'jo 'sya pītaśastraḥ prakāśate | ūrṇārūpasavarṇasya tasya rūpaṃ prakāśate ||
毗耶娑说：“当连那光辉（火大之炽）亦复止息之时，所显现者乃风，名为‘吞噬诸兵器者’，仿佛已吞尽其余一切威力。于是，瑜伽行者唯体验开阔虚空中遍满的气流之动。其自身之形亦被觉知为极其微细——如羊毛之丝缕——轻盈、细小，似无所依，而与风同住于虚空的广大之中。”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
As meditation deepens, the yogin experiences a progressive dissolution of grosser supports (like the fire/radiance principle), until only the subtle movement of vāyu in ākāśa is apprehended. The practitioner’s sense of self also becomes extremely subtle and non-attached—‘unsupported’—illustrating vairāgya (dispassion) and the inward turning away from material foundations.
Vyāsa describes a contemplative state in which tejas subsides and vāyu alone appears as dominant, metaphorically ‘having swallowed’ the other powers. The yogin perceives pervasive air in the sky and regards his own form as minute and light like a wool filament, existing along with the wind in open space.