Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 5.9
॥
Devanāgarī
पुनः पिङ्गलयापूर्य वह्निबीजमनुस्मरेत् । पुनर्विरचयेद्धीमानिडयैव शनैः शनैः
Transliteration (IAST)
punaḥ piṅgalayāpūrya vahnibījamanusmaret | punarviracayeddhīmāniḍayaiva śanaiḥ śanaiḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
पुनः पिङ्गलया आपूर्यpunaḥ piṅgalayā āpūryaagain, having filled by pingala
वह्नि-बीजम् अनुस्मरेत्vahni-bījam anusmaretlet him remember the seed of fire
पुनः विरेचयेत् धीमान्punaḥ virecayet dhīmānagain let the wise one release
इडया एव शनैः शनैःiḍayā eva śanaiḥ śanaiḥby ida, slowly, slowly
Translation
"Again, having filled by pingala, let him remember the seed of fire; again let the wise one release, by ida, slowly, slowly."
Version
49b8eb467569 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The technique is repeated in reverse: now inhale on the right, exhale on the left. Thus a full circle is composed. Worth noting are the words shanaih shanaih, "slowly, slowly," that is, without haste and without strain.
This caution stands everywhere in books on breath, and is no accident: these techniques, undertaken with more diligence than one can bear, are harmful, and every manual notes this. But it is worth stating too a more general rule that follows from this, useful far beyond breath. In every undertaking requiring a long time, what harms is not a small effort, but an excessive one. A person who takes up too much at once strains himself and gives up; one who takes up a little goes on for years.
The Vaishnava side holds this rule and states it in its list of the six conditions of success (Upadeshamrita 3), where the first is utsaha, "zeal," the second nishchaya, "conviction," and the third dhairya, "patience." This order deserves noting. Zeal is named first, for without it one will not begin; but right after conviction comes patience — that is, a readiness to go on for a long time and not expect quick results.
Let us add too what the same work names among what ruins an undertaking: prayasa, "excessive effort," stands first in its list of six obstacles (Upadeshamrita 2). Not laziness is named first, but precisely overexertion; and anyone who has observed beginners will confirm that they give up more often from exhaustion than from indolence.