Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 6.3
॥
Devanāgarī
इडया वायुमाकृष्य पूरयित्वोदरे स्थितम् । शनैः षोडशभिर्मात्रैरकारं तत्र संस्मरेत्
Transliteration (IAST)
iḍayā vāyumākṛṣya pūrayitvodare sthitam | śanaiḥ ṣoḍaśabhirmātrairakāraṃ tatra saṃsmaret
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
इडया वायुम् आकृष्यiḍayā vāyum ākṛṣyaby ida, having drawn in the wind
पूरयित्वा उदरे स्थितम्pūrayitvā udare sthitamand filled, [holding it] standing in the belly
शनैः षोडशभिः मात्रैःśanaiḥ ṣoḍaśabhiḥ mātraiḥslowly, by sixteen measures
अ-कारं तत्र संस्मरेत्a-kāraṃ tatra saṃsmaretlet him hold in mind the sound 'a' the while
Translation
"Having drawn in the wind by ida and filled [it, holding it] standing in the belly, — slowly, by sixteen measures, let him hold in mind the sound 'a' the while."
Version
fa6e3c5aef19 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A measure is set: sixteen matras for the inhale. A matra is a unit of time equal to one short vowel; it is otherwise defined as the time of one sweep of the hand around the knee, or one blink. The measure, then, is approximate and bodily.
The ratio will be this: sixteen for the inhale, sixty-four for the retention, thirty-two for the exhale — that is, one to four to two. This ratio stands everywhere in books on breath and is held fundamental. Worth noting is that the measure is taken from the body of the one practicing himself: not by a sundial and not by another's reckoning, but by one's own blinking.
This trait recurs in ancient instructions — we saw it too in the bodily measure of "ninety-six finger-widths" (4.1) — and it is sensible: everyone's measure is his own, and hence the instruction suits anyone. The Vaishnava side sets no measures of this kind and reckons differently: it counts names, not beats. Sixteen names compose the mantra; and a round of beads is one hundred eight repetitions of it.
The difference here is not one of convenience, but of what is counted. One who counts breaths watches himself; one who counts names is occupied with the one being named — and hence, for him, the count is a side matter, not the main one.