Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.75
॥
Devanāgarī
इत्यधोर्ध्वरजः शुक्लं शिवे तदनु मारुतः । प्राणापानौ समौ याति सदा जातौ तथैव च
Transliteration (IAST)
ityadhordhvarajaḥ śuklaṃ śive tadanu mārutaḥ | prāṇāpānau samau yāti sadā jātau tathaiva ca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
इति अधः-ऊर्ध्व-रजः शुक्लंiti adhaḥ-ūrdhva-rajaḥ śuklaṃthus the below and above, red and white
शिवे तत् अनु मारुतःśive tat anu mārutaḥin Shiva, and after that, the wind
प्राण-अपानौ समौ यातिprāṇa-apānau samau yātiboth breaths become even
सदा जातौ तथा एव चsadā jātau tathā eva caalways born, so too
Translation
"Thus the below and above, the red and the white — in Shiva; and after that, the wind: both breaths become even, always born, so too".
Version
b9f5dc31be59 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Samau, "even, equal," is said of the two breaths; and this word deserves unpacking, for it describes the sought-for state more precisely than the others. All the labor set forth in this chapter is directed, plainly considered, at equalizing the two breaths: that which goes up and that which goes down; left and right. This state, as noted when reading Tripuratapini (17), is in experience the minute when one breathes through both nostrils equally; it happens to everyone several times a day and is held to be best for concentration.
Worth noting is that the sought-for is named not "victory," not "ascent," and not "breakthrough," but equality. This is not common in descriptions of this kind, and it deserves praise: the limit is set not in intensification, but in balance. The Vaishnava side values the word sama, "even," and applies it elsewhere. The Gita names sama-darshana, "even sight," a mark of one who has arrived: "in a brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater, the wise see one thing" (5.18); and there too — sama-chittatvam, "evenness of consciousness" (13.9).
That is, in both books the limit is described by one word; only there the breaths are equalized, and here — one's relation to people. And the second measure, I think, is the more reliable: breath must be watched for, while evenness toward people is visible from outside, without observation.