He, from pride, as if rose upward. When he went out, all the others also went out; and when he remained established, all remained established. As bees when the queen bee rises, all rise; and when she settles, all settle. So speech, mind, eye and ear, satisfied, praised Prāṇa.

This is one of the most beautiful metaphors of the Upaniṣads. Prāṇa rises (utkrāmati) — leaves the body — and with him all other principles go out. When he returns and establishes himself (pratiṣṭhate), all are reestablished.

The comparison with bees (makṣikā) and their queen (madhukararājan) is perfect. In a swarm, where the queen goes, all other bees follow. Without the queen, the swarm has no cohesion. So is Prāṇa to the other vital principles.

Abhimāna — pride, self-affirmation. Prāṇa demonstrates his superiority not by arguments but by simple fact: without him, nothing works. This is an experiment that every yogī can verify in their own practice. In deep prāṇāyāma states, when the flow of prāṇa is controlled, all other senses automatically quiet down.

The senses, now prītāḥ (satisfied, convinced), proceed to praise (stuvanti) Prāṇa. This is the prāṇa-stuti that follows in the subsequent verses.