उपनिषद् · Jābāladarśana 5.7
॥
देवनागरी
इडया प्राणमाकृष्य पूरयित्वोदरे स्थितम् । ततोऽग्निं देहमध्यस्थं ध्यायञ्ज्वालावलीयुतम्
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
iḍayā prāṇamākṛṣya pūrayitvodare sthitam | tato'gniṃ dehamadhyasthaṃ dhyāyañjvālāvalīyutam
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
इडया प्राणम् आकृष्यiḍayā prāṇam ākṛṣyaby ida, having drawn in prana
पूरयित्वा उदरे स्थितम्pūrayitvā udare sthitamhaving filled, [holding it] standing in the belly
ततः अग्निं देह-मध्य-स्थंtataḥ agniṃ deha-madhya-sthaṃthen the fire, standing in the middle of the body
ध्यायन् ज्वाला-आवली-युतम्dhyāyan jvālā-āvalī-yutamcontemplating, joined with a row of flame-tongues
अनुवाद
"Having drawn in prana by ida and filled [it, holding it] standing in the belly, then contemplating the fire standing in the middle of the body, joined with a row of flame-tongues…"
संस्करण
de223d53fb79 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The technique itself is set out, and it is the same as in every book on breath: inhale through one nostril, retention, exhale through the other. The three actions have names: puraka ("filling"), kumbhaka ("the vessel," that is, retention), and rechaka ("emptying"). Worth noting is that, together with the breath, dhyayan, "contemplating," is prescribed: during the retention, one is to hold before the mind the image of fire.
This combination matters and forms, apparently, the essence of the technique. Breath retention alone is a bodily exercise and gives nothing but hardiness; with an image, it becomes a work of the mind. The Vaishnava side is reserved toward breathing techniques, as already discussed when reading the fourth khanda; but the very combination of sound or image with breath is present in it too, though in a different form.
That form is this: repetition of the Name of itself measures the breath. A person repeating aloud breathes in step with the repetition, without thinking about it; and the same regulation results, but achieved not by watching the breath, but by being occupied with the word. The advantage of such an arrangement deserves naming. One who watches his breath inevitably governs it, and hence strains; one who repeats the Name does not think of breath at all, and it settles of itself.
This rule, however, the book does not dispute here: it too prescribes contemplation during the retention, that is, occupying the mind — only its object of contemplation is different.