Upanishads · Praśna 4.4
॥
Devanāgarī
यद् उच्छ्वासनिःश्वासावेतावाहुती समं नयतीति स समानः ।
मनो ह वावन यजमानः ।
इष्टफलम् एवोदानः ।
स एनं यजमानम् अहरहर्ब्रह्म गमयति
Transliteration (IAST)
yad ucchvāsaniḥśvāsāvetāvāhutī samaṃ nayatīti sa samānaḥ |
mano ha vāvana yajamānaḥ |
iṣṭaphalam evodānaḥ |
sa enaṃ yajamānam aharaharbrahma gamayati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत्yatthat which; inasmuch as
उच्छ्वास-निःश्वासौucchvāsa-niḥśvāsauthe in-breath and the out-breath (ucchvāsa-niḥśvāsa); the two breaths; inhalation and exhalation
एतौ आहुतीetau āhutīthe two oblations (āhuti, dual); the two sacrificial portions; a pair of offerings
समम् नयति इतिsamam nayati iti'it leads equally', thus; it equalizes
सः समानःsaḥ samānaḥthis is samāna; it is the equalizing prāṇa
मनः ह वाmanaḥ ha vāthe mind indeed; the manas itself
अन यजमानःana yajamānaḥthe mind is the sacrificer (yajamāna); the manas is the offerer of the sacrifice; the patron of the sacrifice
इष्टफलम् एवiṣṭaphalam evathe fruit of the sacrifice (iṣṭa-phala); the sacrificial fruit; the outcome of the offering
उदानःudānaḥthe udāna; the ascending prāṇa
सःsaḥshe; that one
एनम् यजमानम्enam yajamānamthis sacrificer; the said performer of the sacrifice
अहर् अहर्ahar aharday by day; every day
ब्रह्मbrahmato Brahman; into Brahman
गमयतिgamayatileads (causative of √gam); brings up; escorts
Translation
"The in-breath and the out-breath are the two oblations which samāna carries in equal measure: [she] is the priest. The mind is the sacrificer, and udāna the fruit of the sacrifice: day by day she leads the sacrificer up to Brahman."
Version
a40193178958 · published Jul 26, 2026, 8:35:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The inner agnihotra is assembled to its full order. ucchvāsa-niḥśvāsau etau āhutī — "the in-breath and the out-breath are two oblations": every pair of breaths is a double āhuti upon the inner fire (a sacrifice performed some twenty thousand times a day!); samaṁ nayatīti sa samānaḥ — samāna, "who carries in equal measure", is the officiating priest who keeps the libations even; mano ha vāva yajamānaḥ — "the mind is the sacrificer": the one for whose sake and in whose name the rite is performed; iṣṭa-phalam evodānaḥ — "udāna is the fruit of the sacrifice": sa enaṁ yajamānam ahar ahar brahma gamayati — "day by day she leads the sacrificer to Brahman".
The last line is astonishing: every night, in deep sleep, udāna leads the mind — the sacrificer — up to Brahman! That daily "return to the Ground" is the dreamless rest out of which a man rises renewed without himself knowing where he has been. The Upaniṣad knows: he was with Brahman — but unconsciously, a sleeping guest.
The whole difference between the sleeper and the sage, then, is the consciousness of one and the same road: the yogī goes awake where everyone is carried nightly. Sleep is a free proof of Brahman's nearness: He is not far off — He is there where you fall when you let everything go. It remains to learn what — rather, Who — meets one there; of that, verses 46–52.