Upanishads · Prāṇāgnihotra 1.12
॥
Devanāgarī
प्राणाय स्वाहा । अपानाय स्वाहा । व्यानाय स्वाहा । उदानाय स्वाहा । समानाय स्वाहा । इति कनिष्ठिकाङ्गुल्याङ्गुष्ठेन च प्राणे जुहोति
Transliteration (IAST)
prāṇāya svāhā | apānāya svāhā | vyānāya svāhā | udānāya svāhā | samānāya svāhā | iti kaniṣṭhikāṅgulyāṅguṣṭhena ca prāṇe juhoti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्राणाय स्वाहा अपानाय स्वाहाprāṇāya svāhā apānāya svāhāto prāṇa — svāhā, to apāna — svāhā
व्यानाय स्वाहा उदानाय स्वाहाvyānāya svāhā udānāya svāhāto vyāna — svāhā, to udāna — svāhā
समानाय स्वाहाsamānāya svāhāto samāna — svāhā
कनिष्ठिका-अङ्गुल्या अङ्गुष्ठेन चkaniṣṭhikā-aṅgulyā aṅguṣṭhena cawith the little finger and the thumb
प्राणे जुहोतिprāṇe juhotihe pours into prāṇa
Translation
To prāṇa — svāhā, to apāna — svāhā, to vyāna — svāhā, to udāna — svāhā, to samāna — svāhā. Thus, with the little finger and the thumb, he pours into prāṇa.
Version
2c6979161b03 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Five morsels, five exclamations, five breaths; and the breaths themselves were discussed when reading the Jābāla-darśana (4.23). Note the exclamation svāhā, repeated here fivefold. Svāhā is the sacrificial exclamation uttered at the moment the libation is poured into the fire; it is interpreted as su-āhā, "well said," or as the name of Agni's wife.
More important than its etymology is its function: it is a verbal handover. The exclamation marks the instant a thing ceases to be mine and becomes offered. The detail about the fingers — kaniṣṭhikā ("little finger") and aṅguṣṭha ("thumb") — deserves noting as a sign of a living practice, discussed when reading the Bhasma-jābāla: what is described down to the finger was conveyed by word, not shown.
The Vaiṣṇava side knows and performs this same rite: before taking food, five exclamations are said over the five breaths, and this custom is alive in its communities. Let us add what it has changed here, and what deserves noting. Here the pouring is into the breaths: the food is given over to the vital forces, that is, ultimately, to the eater himself.
In its practice, the food is first set before Him, and only then accepted as the remainder. The difference is not in the rite, but in to whom it is given; and everyone can judge for himself the difference between self-service and service.