Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 1,3.13
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ प्राणम् अत्यवहत् सः यदा मृत्युम् अत्यमुच्यत सः वायुः अभवत् सः अयम् वायुः परेण मृत्युम् अतिक्रान्तः पवते
Transliteration (IAST)
atha prāṇam atyavahat saḥ yadā mṛtyum atyamucyata saḥ vāyuḥ abhavat saḥ ayam vāyuḥ pareṇa mṛtyum atikrāntaḥ pavate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; further
प्राणम्prāṇamthe prāṇa; breath
अत्यवहत्atyavahathe carried beyond; he led across
सःsaḥhe; that one
यदाyadāwhen; at the moment when
मृत्युम्mṛtyumdeath; dying
अत्यमुच्यतatyamucyatashe was freed beyond; she passed beyond death
सःsaḥhe; that one
वायुःvāyuḥthe wind (vāyu); the wind; Vāyu
अभवत्abhavatshe became; arose
सःsaḥhe; that one
अयम्ayamthis; he
वायुःvāyuḥthe wind (vāyu); the wind; Vāyu
परेणpareṇaon the far side; beyond
मृत्युम्mṛtyumdeath; dying
अतिक्रान्तःatikrāntaḥone who has passed over; one who has surpassed
पवतेpavateit blows (from √pū/pav — 'to blow, to purify'); it blows purifying; it blows
Translation
Then it carried the breath of smell beyond. When it was released from death, it became the wind. This wind, having passed beyond death, blows.
Version
deb9ce554a2c · published Jul 27, 2026, 12:40:48 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second transfiguration: the breath of smell becomes Vāyu, the wind. Every verb in this series is the verb of a free element: fire "shines", the wind "blows" (pavate — both 'blows' and 'purifies'): the rescued senses do not rest beyond the grave of death — they do what they did before, but on a cosmic scale and without a wound.
Herein lies the consolation of the whole series: our faculties are not doomed with the body; entrusted to Life, they inherit the elements. Breathe as the wind blows — appropriating nothing — and your breathing is already of that immortal stock.