Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 6.25
॥
Devanāgarī
जिह्वया वायुमाकृष्य यः पिबेत्सततं नरः । श्रमदाहविनिर्मुक्तो योगी नीरोगतामियात्
Transliteration (IAST)
jihvayā vāyumākṛṣya yaḥ pibetsatataṃ naraḥ | śramadāhavinirmukto yogī nīrogatāmiyāt
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
जिह्वया वायुम् आकृष्यjihvayā vāyum ākṛṣyahaving drawn in wind with the tongue
यः पिबेत् सततं नरःyaḥ pibet satataṃ naraḥwho drinks it constantly, a man
श्रम-दाह-विनिर्मुक्तःśrama-dāha-vinirmuktaḥfree of fatigue and heat
योगी नीरोगताम् इयात्yogī nīrogatām iyātthe yogi arrives at health
Translation
"The man who, having drawn in wind with the tongue, drinks it constantly, — that yogi, free of fatigue and heat, arrives at health."
Version
ff798810610d · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A technique is described, known by the name shitali, "cooling": the tongue is rolled into a tube and air is drawn through it as through a straw. It must be said that this technique truly does cool, and the promise here is modest and verifiable: air passed over the moist tongue enters cooler than usual, and in heat this is noticeable. This is a rare case, and deserves noting with approval. After so many promises to heal everything, the book describes a technique that does exactly what is promised — and no more.
The expression pibet, "drinks" air, deserves separate comment. The verb "to drink" is applied to breathing, and this is no accident of speech: in these books breath is constantly likened to drinking, and air to moisture. The correspondence is supported also by the fact that with such an inhale, moisture is genuinely felt in the mouth.
The Vaishnava side uses the verb "to drink" too, and in its most central place at that: the Bhagavatam says that the account of Him is drunk with the ears — shrinvantah... pibanti; and those who do this it calls bhagavata. This transfer deserves being held on to, for it explains why its practice speaks so much of hearing. One does not hear for information; one hears as one drinks — and hence the same thing can be heard a hundred times, as water is drunk a hundred times without complaint that it is still the same.