उपनिषद् · Kaṭha 5.3
॥
देवनागरी
ऊर्ध्वं प्राणम् उन्नयति अपानं प्रत्यग् अस्यति ।
मध्ये वामनम् आसीनं विश्वे देवा उपासते
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
ūrdhvaṃ prāṇam unnayati apānaṃ pratyag asyati /
madhye vāmanam āsīnaṃ viśve devā upāsate
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
ऊर्ध्वम्ūrdhvamupward; upward
प्राणम्prāṇamthe prāṇa; the vital breath
उन्नयतिunnayatihe leads upward (ud-√nī); lifts; he draws it up
अपानम्apānamthe apāna (the downward breath); the lower current of life; the descending out-breath
प्रत्यक्pratyakinward; back
अस्यतिasyatihe casts (from √as — 'to throw'); he hurls; he sends downward
मध्येmadhyein the middle; within
वामनम्vāmanamthe Dwarf (vāmana); the Small [in form]; the Tiny One
आसीनम्āsīnamseated; abiding
विश्वेviśveall; the universal ones
देवाःdevāḥthe gods; divine powers
उपासतेupāsatethey worship (upa-√ās); serve; they venerate
अनुवाद
He leads the prāṇa upward and casts the apāna downward. The Dwarf seated in the middle all the gods venerate.
संस्करण
626d7fe823f1 · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 9:13:03 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
From the universal expanse back into the rib-cage, to the mechanics of life itself. ūrdhvaṁ prāṇam unnayati apānaṁ pratyag asyati — "he leads the prāṇa up, he casts the apāna down": in-breath and out-breath, the ascending and descending currents of life — who works these bellows? Not "the organism": madhya vāmanam āsīnam — "the Dwarf seated in the middle". He governs the breathing — the most intimate and unbroken of all processes: we breathe because He breathes us.
vāmana — "dwarf": the continuation of the line of "the Puruṣa of a thumb" (verses 83–84): the Great in a small measure. To the ear of tradition the name of Vāmana also sounds here — the dwarf avatāra of Viṣṇu who embraced the universe in three strides: a small form containing the immeasurable is His favourite manner of appearing. viśve devā upāsate — "all the gods venerate [Him]": the powers of nature serve the One seated in a creature's heart — a hierarchy that overturns all idolatry: it is not the heart that should bow to the elements, but the elements bow to Him who is in the heart.
The practical nerve of the verse: the nearest testimony to God is one's own breath. Whoever doubts His nearness even once, let him ask who has just now raised his in-breath.