Upanishads · Varāha 5.31
॥
Devanāgarī
एवमेतासु नाडीषु धरन्ति दशवायवः । एवं नाडीगतिं वायुगतिं ज्ञात्वा विचक्षणः
Transliteration (IAST)
evametāsu nāḍīṣu dharanti daśavāyavaḥ | evaṃ nāḍīgatiṃ vāyugatiṃ jñātvā vicakṣaṇaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एवम् एतासु नाडीषुevam etāsu nāḍīṣuthus, in these passages
धरन्ति दश वायवःdharanti daśa vāyavaḥthe ten winds are held
एवं नाडी-गतिं वायु-गतिंevaṃ nāḍī-gatiṃ vāyu-gatiṃthus, knowing the course of the passages and the course of the winds
ज्ञात्वा विचक्षणःjñātvā vicakṣaṇaḥthe discerning one
Translation
"Thus, in these passages, the ten winds are held; thus, having known the course of the passages and the course of the winds, the discerning one…"
Version
3b873a4048db · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The description of the passages is complete, and ten winds are named: the five chief ones (prana, apana, vyana, udana, samana) and five secondary ones, discussed when reading the Jabala-darshana (4.24) and the Pranagnihotra. Let us briefly repeat the names of the secondary ones, for they are amusing and show how closely things were observed. Naga produces belching, kurma — blinking, krikara — sneezing, devadatta — yawning, dhananjaya remains in the body after death.
That is, every involuntary movement of the body was ascribed to its own wind. This construction is, of course, not physiology; but it is a good-faith attempt to leave nothing unexplained, and in this a genuine observational care is visible. Let us add what deserves saying of the word vichakshana, "discerning," with which the verse ends.
It says: having known all this, the discerning one... — and further follows a description of the exercise. That is, knowledge here is a condition of the doing, not its substitute.
The Vaishnava side fully agrees on this, and states the same through a rule cited when reading the fourth chapter (4.4): examination that has not changed one's practice has not occurred. Its only difference is in the object of knowledge: there one knows the body's structure, here the structure of the relation; and of the three words sambandha, abhidheya, prayojana, discussed when reading the second verse of this chapter.