Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.19
॥
Devanāgarī
प्राणरोधमथेदानीं प्रवक्ष्यामि समासतः । प्राणश्च दहनो वायुरायामः कुम्भकः स्मृतः
Transliteration (IAST)
prāṇarodhamathedānīṃ pravakṣyāmi samāsataḥ | prāṇaśca dahano vāyurāyāmaḥ kumbhakaḥ smṛtaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्राण-रोधम् अथ इदानींprāṇa-rodham atha idānīṃrestraint of breath now
प्रवक्ष्यामि समासतःpravakṣyāmi samāsataḥI shall set forth briefly
प्राणः च दहनः वायुःprāṇaḥ ca dahanaḥ vāyuḥbreath is the burning wind
आयामः कुम्भकः स्मृतःāyāmaḥ kumbhakaḥ smṛtaḥ"extension" is called "the pot"
Translation
"Now I shall briefly set forth the restraint of breath. Breath is the burning wind; "extension" is called "the pot"".
Version
a9060ae13c76 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A definition is given: ayama, "extension," is the same as kumbhaka, "pot-holding." The word kumbhaka comes from kumbha, "pot": one who holds the breath is likened to a filled vessel whose neck is stopped. The image is physical and exact: a full pot neither spills nor takes in, until it is tilted.
Worth noting too is the definition of breath: pranash cha dahanah vayuh, "breath is the burning wind." This definition, for all its antiquity, is remarkably true. Breath indeed sustains burning: without air fire goes out, and without breath the body's warmth goes out. That this link was noticed, and breath called "burning," is a genuine observation, not a poetic figure.
In Vaishnava books the same is connected to a different name and was examined when reading Bhavana (p17): the Gita says that He, "having become the fire Vaishvanara, joined with in-breath and out-breath, digests the fourfold food" (15.14). In both, breath and fire are linked; the difference is to whom the action is ascribed. Separately, a word must be said about samasatah, "briefly." The author promises brevity — and keeps his word: the whole exposition of breathing techniques takes him a dozen and a half lines, whereas later manuals write whole books on the same subject.