Upaniṣads · Varāha 5.7
॥
Devanāgarī
उड्डियाणं तदेव स्यात्तत्र बन्धोऽभिधीयते । उड्डियाणो ह्यसौ बन्धो मृत्युमातङ्गकेशरी
Transliteración (IAST)
uḍḍiyāṇaṃ tadeva syāttatra bandho'bhidhīyate | uḍḍiyāṇo hyasau bandho mṛtyumātaṅgakeśarī
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
उड्डियाणं तत् एव स्यात्uḍḍiyāṇaṃ tat eva syātthat indeed is uddiyana
तत्र बन्धः अभिधीयतेtatra bandhaḥ abhidhīyatethere, it is called a lock
उड्डियाणः हि असौ बन्धःuḍḍiyāṇaḥ hi asau bandhaḥthis lock, uddiyana, indeed
मृत्यु-मातङ्ग-केशरीmṛtyu-mātaṅga-keśarīa lion for the elephant of death
Traducción
"That indeed is uddiyana; there it is called a lock. For this lock, uddiyana, is a lion for the elephant of death."
Versión
1dee05e6899f · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The first of the bandhas, "locks," is named: uddiyana-bandha. This technique is bodily and consists in drawing the belly in under the ribs on an empty exhale; the name is from ud-di, "to fly up," for the internal organs seem to rise. The technique is genuine and used in yoga; what it does to the body I shall not undertake to judge, but that it does something, anyone who has tried it knows.
Worth noting is the comparison: mrityu-mataṅga-keshari, "a lion for the elephant of death." This comparison is a ready-made formula in Indian literature: lion and elephant are the image of one who overcomes something greater than himself. Let us add what deserves saying of the promise contained here.
Overcoming death is promised; and this promise, in hatha-yogic works, is repeated with every technique. Let us say plainly: a bodily technique does not cancel death, and all who performed them have died. The Vaishnava side answers such promises with a distinction worth citing, which, in my view, settles the question.
There is a postponement, and there is an outcome. The techniques give, let us say, a postponement: the body holds longer, and this is true and verifiable. But a postponement is not an outcome, for what is prolonged still ends; and a lion that has overcome one elephant has not abolished elephants.
Its own promise pertains not to the body: mam eti, "comes to Me" — that is, what changes is not the length of life, but its direction.