Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 6.12
॥
Devanāgarī
प्राणसंयमनेनैव ज्ञानान्मुक्तो भविष्यति । बाह्यादापूरणं वायोःरुदरे पूरको हि सः
Transliteration (IAST)
prāṇasaṃyamanenaiva jñānānmukto bhaviṣyati | bāhyādāpūraṇaṃ vāyoḥrudare pūrako hi saḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्राण-संयमनेन एवprāṇa-saṃyamanena evaby the very restraint of breath
ज्ञानात् मुक्तः भविष्यतिjñānāt muktaḥ bhaviṣyatifrom knowledge, he will be free
बाह्यात् आपूरणं वायोःbāhyāt āpūraṇaṃ vāyoḥfilling with wind from outside
उदरे पूरकः हि सःudare pūrakaḥ hi saḥin the belly — that indeed is puraka
Translation
"By the very restraint of breath, he will be free by knowledge. Filling the belly with wind from outside — that indeed is filling."
Version
aaa5c10bd258 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The line joins two means: prana-sanyamana ("breath control") and jnana ("knowledge"). This combination deserves noting, for in books on yoga they usually contend: some rank practice higher, others knowledge. Here they are placed side by side, and this, in my view, is truer. A technique without understanding is gymnastics; understanding without doing is talk.
The Vaishnava side joins them the same way, and adds a third, chief for it; and a verse deserves citing, where all three are named and ranked by their worth. The Bhagavatam: "Neither knowledge devoid of attachment [to Me], nor deeds devoid of devotion, adorn Me; bhakti, however, satisfies Me even without knowledge and without renunciation" (11.14.20–21, where the sense is: devotion is effective by itself, while knowledge and renunciation are effective only when accompanied by it). This verse deserves examination, for it says something not obvious. It is not said that knowledge and renunciation are bad; it is said that they are not self-sufficient, while devotion is self-sufficient.
The reason for this is given elsewhere in its famous teaching: knowledge and renunciation are means, and a means has value only in relation to a goal; devotion is both means and goal at once, for service does not cease upon attainment. The second half of the line returns to defining terms and explains puraka; definitions of the other two will be given in the next line.