Upanishads · Varāha 5.74
॥
Devanāgarī
यत्र तिष्ठति सा प्रोक्ता घटाख्या भूमिका बुधैः । न सजीवो न निर्जीवः काये तिष्ठति निश्चलम् । यत्र वायुः स्थिरः खे स्यात्सेयं प्रथमभूमिका
Transliteration (IAST)
yatra tiṣṭhati sā proktā ghaṭākhyā bhūmikā budhaiḥ | na sajīvo na nirjīvaḥ kāye tiṣṭhati niścalam | yatra vāyuḥ sthiraḥ khe syātseyaṃ prathamabhūmikā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत्र तिष्ठति सा प्रोक्ताyatra tiṣṭhati sā proktāwhere it stands, that is called
घट-आख्या भूमिका बुधैःghaṭa-ākhyā bhūmikā budhaiḥby the wise the stage named the vessel
न स-जीवः न निर्-जीवःna sa-jīvaḥ na nir-jīvaḥneither with life nor without life
काये तिष्ठति निश्चलम्kāye tiṣṭhati niścalamit stands motionless in the body
यत्र वायुः स्थिरः खे स्यात्yatra vāyuḥ sthiraḥ khe syātwhere the wind is firm in space
सा इयं प्रथम-भूमिकाsā iyaṃ prathama-bhūmikāthat is this — the first stage
Translation
"Where [the wind] stands, that is called by the wise the stage named the vessel: neither with life nor without life, it stands motionless in the body; where the wind is firm in space, — that is this, the first stage."
Version
f0ae2cfea4ee · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Worth noting the expression na sa-jivo na nir-jivah, "neither with life nor without life." That is, the state is described as something between the living and the dead. This description is, apparently, accurate: at deep retention, breathing truly does stop, and the person from outside appears neither alive nor dead.
Let us add what deserves saying of this description as a goal. The condition "neither alive nor dead" is, by any reckoning, a state between; and to proclaim it a rung toward the highest is to choose a direction toward death rather than toward life. We noted this when reading the thirty-eighth verse, and let us repeat the conclusion in its shortest form: everything living moves, and a teaching that sets motionlessness as its goal has chosen the wrong model.
The Vaishnava side stands firm on this, and it is worth citing its own description, so the difference becomes vivid. Its highest states are described as an excess of movement: pulaka (hair standing on end), kampa (trembling), sveda (perspiration), svara-bheda (a breaking voice), vaivarnya (change of complexion), ashru (tears), pralaya (falling senseless). These eight marks are listed by Rupa Gosvami and called the ashta-sattvika-vikara, "the eight clear transformations"; discussed when reading the Jabala-darshana (5.11).
Comparing the two descriptions, we see: here stillness, there shaking. And both are offered as the summit.