Upaniṣads · Varāha 5.54
॥
Devanāgarī
नाडीनामाश्रयः पिण्डो नाड्यः प्राणस्य चाश्रयः । जीवस्य निलयः प्राणो जीवो हंसस्य चाश्रयः
Transliteración (IAST)
nāḍīnāmāśrayaḥ piṇḍo nāḍyaḥ prāṇasya cāśrayaḥ | jīvasya nilayaḥ prāṇo jīvo haṃsasya cāśrayaḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
नाडीनाम् आश्रयः पिण्डःnāḍīnām āśrayaḥ piṇḍaḥthe support of the passages is the body
नाड्यः प्राणस्य च आश्रयःnāḍyaḥ prāṇasya ca āśrayaḥthe passages are the support of breath
जीवस्य निलयः प्राणःjīvasya nilayaḥ prāṇaḥbreath is the abode of the living being
जीवः हंसस्य च आश्रयःjīvaḥ haṃsasya ca āśrayaḥthe living being is the support of the swan
Traducción
"The support of the passages is the body; the passages are the support of breath; breath is the abode of the living being; the living being is the support of the swan."
Versión
89335fb467f0 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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A ladder of supports is built, and it is worth setting it out, for it is a short summary of the whole teaching of this chapter. The body holds the passages, the passages hold breath, breath holds the living being, the living being holds the swan, and the swan (by the next verse) holds power, and power holds the whole world. Worth noting that the ladder runs bottom to top: the support of the higher turns out to be the lower.
This construction is curious and, in my view, the reverse of what one would expect. Ordinarily the more stable is called the support; here it turns out that breath rests on the tubes, and the living being on breath. The Vaishnava side objects to such an order, and its objection is simple.
If the living being rests on breath, then with the cessation of breath it ought to cease; but by its own teaching, and by the teaching of these very books, it passes over into another body. So breath is not a support but a vessel: a vessel is not the support of water, for water poured out of it does not vanish. Its own ladder is built top to bottom, and voiced in the Gita in one verse: mattah parataram nanyat kinchid asti dhananjaya; mayi sarvam idam protam sutre mani-gana iva, "there is nothing higher than Me; all this is strung on Me, as pearls upon a thread" (7.7).
The image of thread and pearls is, in my view, better than a ladder: it says that one thing holds, not each preceding thing — and that what is held remains distinct, for pearls on a thread do not merge.