Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 4.26
॥
Devanāgarī
आस्यनासिकयोर्मध्ये नाभिमध्ये तथा हृदि । प्राणसंज्ञोऽनिलो नित्यं वर्तते मुनिसत्तम
Transliteration (IAST)
āsyanāsikayormadhye nābhimadhye tathā hṛdi | prāṇasaṃjño'nilo nityaṃ vartate munisattama
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आस्य-नासिकयोः मध्येāsya-nāsikayoḥ madhyebetween the mouth and the nostrils
नाभि-मध्ये तथा हृदिnābhi-madhye tathā hṛdiin the middle of the navel, and likewise in the heart
प्राण-संज्ञः अनिलः नित्यंprāṇa-saṃjñaḥ anilaḥ nityaṃnamed prana, the wind, always
वर्तते मुनि-सत्तमvartate muni-sattamadwells, O best of sages
Translation
"Between the mouth and the nostrils, in the middle of the navel, and likewise in the heart, always dwells the wind named prana, O best of sages."
Version
c16a62b7c2c9 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The places of prana are indicated: mouth and nostrils, navel, heart. Worth noting is that among them is named hridi, "in the heart" — and this word, in the Upanishads, carries more than an indication of an organ. Hridaya, "heart," in these books is the place where the Highest is found. The Chandogya says: "in this city of brahman there is a small dwelling, in it a small lotus, and in it a small space; what is within it must be sought" (8.1.1). The Katha: "the size of a thumb, the purusha dwells in the middle of oneself" (2.1.12).
Hence the coincidence of the seat of breath with the seat of the heart in these books is no accident, but deliberate: working with breath, one approaches the heart. The Vaishnava side uses the word "heart" constantly and understands it as a place of meeting, not as a center of powers. The Gita says: ishvarah sarva-bhutanam hrid-deshe'rjuna tishthati, "the Lord of all beings dwells in the region of the heart, O Arjuna" (18.61); and of the same place — "I dwell in the hearts of all; from Me come memory, knowledge, and their loss" (15.15).
The difference between the two understandings of the heart deserves stating, because it determines what is sought there. By one reckoning, in the heart one finds a source of power, and the work consists in opening it. By the other, in the heart one finds Another, and the work consists in not disturbing Him and not hindering Him.
The second, it should be said, requires a different bearing. One approaches a source of power with a technique; one approaches the One who dwells there with a request.