To them Prāṇa, the most excellent, said: “Do not fall into illusion. I alone, dividing myself into five forms, support and maintain this body”. But they did not believe.

Prāṇa speaks — the supreme vital principle. He affirms that it is he, not the elements nor the senses, who truly sustains life. And that he does so by dividing himself into five forms (pañcadhā).

This fivefold division is the doctrine of the five prāṇas:

1. Prāṇa — the ascending breath (thoracic)
2. Apāna — the descending breath (abdominal/pelvic)
3. Samāna — the equalizing breath (digestive)
4. Udāna — the upward breath (throat/head)
5. Vyāna — the diffused breath (circulatory)

But the others do not believe (aśraddadhānāḥ). This represents the ignorance (avidyā) that cannot recognize the supreme vital principle. The senses and mind believe they are the protagonists, not perceiving the vital force that animates them all.

For the yogī, this is a crucial teaching: the true “I” is not the body, nor the senses, nor the mind, but Prāṇa — and beyond Prāṇa, the Ātman that witnesses even Prāṇa.