Prana

V.S. Apte provides fourteen different meanings for the Sanskrit word {{IAST|prāṇa}} ({{lang|sa|प्राण}}) including breath or respiration;{{Citation | last=Apte | first=Vaman Shivram | year=1965 | title=The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary | place=Delhi | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers | edition=4th | isbn=81-208-0567-4 |page=679}} the breath of life, vital air, principle of life (usually plural in this sense, there being five such vital airs generally assumed, but three, six, seven, nine, and even ten are also spoken of);For the vital airs as generally assumed to be five, with other numbers given, see: Macdonell, p. 185. energy or vigour; the spirit or soul.

Of these meanings, the concept of "vital air" is used by Bhattacharyya to describe the concept as used in Sanskrit texts dealing with pranayama, the manipulation of the breath.Bhattacharyya, p. 311. Thomas McEvilley translates prāṇa as "spirit-energy".{{cite web |last1=McEvilley |first1=Thomas |title=The Roots Of Tantra: The Spinal Serpent P. 94. |url=http://www.abhidharma.ru/A/Ioga/Tantra/Content/0006.pdf |website=Abhidharma |publisher=Harper and Brown |ref=P. 94.}} The breath is understood to be its most subtle material form, but is also believed to be present in the blood, and most concentrated in semen and vaginal fluid.Richard King, Indian philosophy: an introduction to Hindu and Buddhist thought. Edinburgh University Press, 1999, p. 70.

Scholars are divided on the original meanings of prana and apana. Some, like Böhtlingk, argue that originally prana meant inbreathing, while apana meant outbreathing. Others, like Deussen, claim the opposite, stating that prana meant outbreathing and apana meant inbreathing. However, they agree that in later times, these two terms came to refer to air located in different parts of the body, with prana associated with the upper parts and apana with the lower parts.{{sfn|Brown|1919}}

The ancient concept of prāṇa is described in many Hindu texts, including Upanishads and Vedas. Prāṇa is typically divided into constituent parts, particularly when concerned with the human body. While not all early sources agree on the names or number of these divisions, the most common list from the Mahabharata, the Upanishads, Ayurvedic and Yogic sources includes five classifications, often subdivided.{{cite book |last1=Sivananda |first1=Sri Swami |author-link=Swami Sivananda |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=9OCLDgAAQBAJ}} |title=The Science of Pranayama |date=2008 |publisher=BN Publishing |isbn=978-9650060206}}{{Page needed |date=December 2016}} This list includes prāṇa (inward moving energy), apāna (outward moving energy), vyāna (circulation of energy), udāna (energy of the head and throat), and samāna (digestion and assimilation).

Early mention of specific prāṇas often emphasized prāṇa, apāna and vyāna as "the three breaths". This can be seen in the proto-yogic traditions of the Vratyas among others.{{sfn|Eliade|Trask|White|2009|p=104}} Texts like the Vaikānasasmārta utilized the five prāṇas as an internalization of the five sacrificial fires of a panchāgni homa ceremony.{{sfn|Eliade|Trask|White|2009|pp=111–112}}

One of the earliest references to prāṇa is found in the Chandogya Upanishad, but many other Upanishads also use the concept, including the Katha, Mundaka, and Prashna Upanishads. The concept is elaborated upon in great detail in the literature of haṭha yoga,{{cite book |last1=Mallinson |first1=James |author-link=James Mallinson (author) |title=The Shiva Samhita: A Critical Edition and an English Translation |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=hlQRnDOr178C}} |date=2007 |publisher=YogaVidya.com |location=Woodstock, New York |isbn=978-0971646650 |edition=1st}} tantra, and Ayurveda.

The Atharvaveda describes prāṇa: 'When they had been watered by Prana, the plants spake in concert: 'thou hast, forsooth, prolonged our life, thou hast made us all fragrant.' (11.4–6) 'The holy (âtharvana) plants, the magic (ângirasa) plants, the divine plants, and those produced by men, spring forth, when thou, O Prâna, quickenest them (11.4–16). 'When Prâna has watered the great earth with rain, then the plants spring forth, and also every sort of herb.' (11.4–17) 'O Prâna, be not turned away from me, thou shall not be other than myself! As the embryo of the waters (fire), thee, O Prâna, do bind to me, that I may live.' (11.4){{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

The Upanishads, particularly the Yoga Upanishads, discuss various breaths with specific names and functions. Prana is consistently regarded as the primary breath, akin to breath in English, while apana is associated with carrying off excrement. The Prashna Upanishad first described prana governing upper body functions and apana controlling lower functions, based on the concept of distinct airs or gases governing bodily functions. Aitareya Upanishad also support this division of breaths, associating prana with the nasal region and apana with the abdominal region.{{Sfn|Brown|1919}}

The Bhagavad Gita verse 4.27 describes the yoga of self-control as the sacrifice of the actions of the senses and of prāṇa in the fire kindled by knowledge.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=25}} More generally, the conquest of the senses, the mind, and prāṇa is seen as an essential step on the yogin's path to samadhi, or indeed as the goal of yoga.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=47}} Thus, for example, the Malinivijayottaratantra 12.5–7 directs the seeker "who has conquered posture, the mind, prāṇa, the senses, sleep, anger, fear, and anxiety"{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=60}} to practise yoga in a beautiful, undisturbed cave.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=60}}

File:The 5 Vayus.jpg

One way of categorizing prāṇa is by means of vāyus. Vāyu means "wind" or "air" in Sanskrit, and the term is used in a variety of contexts in Hindu philosophy. Prāṇa is considered the basic vāyu from which the other vāyus arise, as well as one of the five major vāyus. Prāṇa is thus the generic name for all the breaths, including the five major vāyus of prāṇa, apāna, uḍāna, samāna, and vyāna.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=128, 173–174, 191–192}} The Nisvasattvasamhita Nayasutra describes five minor winds, naming three of these as nāga, dhanamjaya, and kurma;{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=191–192}} the other two are named in the Skandapurana (181.46) and Sivapurana Vayaviyasamhita (37.36) as devadatta and krtaka.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=174}}

{{Further|Nadi (yoga)}}

File:SahajaSubtleSystem.svg of Indian philosophy, showing the three major nadis or channels, the Ida (B), Sushumna (C), and Pingala (D), which run vertically in the body.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=172–173}}]]

Indian philosophy describes prana flowing in nadis (channels), though the details vary.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=172–173}} The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (2.I.19) mentions 72,000 nadis in the human body, running out from the heart, whereas the Katha Upanishad (6.16) says that 101 channels radiate from the heart.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=172–173}} The Vinashikhatantra (140–146) explains the most common model, namely that the three most important nadis are the Ida on the left, the Pingala on the right, and the Sushumna in the centre connecting the base chakra to the crown chakra, enabling prana to flow throughout the subtle body.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=172–173}}

When the mind is agitated due to our interactions with the world at large, the physical body also follows in its wake. These agitations cause violent fluctuations in the flow of prana in the nadis.{{Cite journal |last=Sridhar |first=M. K. |date=2015 |title=The concept of Jnana, Vijnana and Prajnana according to Vedanta philosophy |journal=International Journal of Yoga: Philosophy, Psychology and Parapsychology |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=5 |doi=10.4103/2347-5633.161024|doi-access=free|s2cid=147000303 }}

{{Main|Pranayama}}

Prāṇāyāma is a common term for various techniques for accumulating, expanding and working with prana. Pranayama is one of the eight limbs of yoga and is a practice of specific and often intricate breath control techniques. The dynamics and laws of Prana were understood through systematic practice of Pranayama to gain mastery over Prana.{{Cite book |title=Pranayama, The art and science |last=Nagendra |first=H. R. |publisher=Swami Vivekananda Yoga Prakashana |year=1998 |location=Bangalore, India }}

Many pranayama techniques are designed to cleanse the nadis, allowing for greater movement of prana. Other techniques may be utilized to arrest the breath for samadhi or to bring awareness to specific areas in the practitioner's subtle or physical body. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is utilized to generate inner heat in the practice of tummo.{{cite book |author=Ra Yeshe Senge |title=The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat: The Life of Ra Lotsawa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ycTsBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT242 |year=2015 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-698-19216-4|pages=242 see entry for Tummo}}{{cite book |author=Dharmakirti |title=Mahayana tantra: an introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MdQKAAAAYAAJ |year=2002 |publisher=Penguin Books |pages=126–127|isbn=9780143028536 }}

In Ayurveda and therapeutic yoga, pranayama is utilized for many tasks, including to affect mood and aid in digestion. A. G. Mohan stated that the physical goals of pranayama may be to recover from illness or the maintenance of health, while its mental goals are: "to remove mental disturbances and make the mind focused for meditation".{{cite book |last1=Mohan |first1=A. G. |author1-link=A. G. Mohan |last2=Mohan |first2=Indra |title=Yoga Therapy: A Guide to the Therapeutic Use of Yoga and Ayurveda for Health and Fitness |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=H8YMAAAACAAJ}} |date=2004 |publisher=Shambhala Publications |location=Boston |isbn=978-1590301319 |page=135 |edition= 1st}}

According to Theos Bernard, the ultimate aim of pranayama is the suspension of breathing, "causing the mind to swoon".{{cite book | last=Bernard | first=Theos | author-link=Theos Casimir Bernard | title=Hatha Yoga: The Report of A Personal Experience | publisher=Harmony | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-9552412-2-2 | oclc=230987898 |page=57}} Swami Yogananda writes, "The real meaning of Pranayama, according to Patanjali, the founder of Yoga philosophy, is the gradual cessation of breathing, the discontinuance of inhalation and exhalation".{{cite book |last1=Yogananda |first1=Paramahansa |author-link=Paramahansa Yogananda |title=The Essence of Kriya Yoga |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltl1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT10 |date=2005 |publisher=Alight Publications |isbn=978-1931833189 |edition=1st |page=part10 (online)}}

Similar concepts exist in various cultures, including the Latin anima ("breath", "vital force", "animating principle"), Islamic and Sufic ruh, the Greek pneuma, the Chinese qi, the Polynesian mana, the Amerindian orenda, the German od, and the Hebrew ruah.{{cite book |last1=Feuerstein |first1=George |author-link=Georg Feuerstein |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=Ok54ngEACAAJ}} |title=The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice |date=2013 |publisher=Hohm Press |isbn=978-1935387589 |orig-year=1998}} Prāṇa is also described as subtle energy{{cite journal |last1=Srinivasan |first1=TM |year=2017 |title=Biophotons as subtle energy carriers |journal=International Journal of Yoga |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=57–58 |doi=10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_18_17 |pmc=5433113 |pmid=28546674 |doi-access=free}} or life force.{{cite journal |last=Rowold |first=Jens |date=August 2016 |title=Validity of the Biofield Assessment Form (BAF) |journal=European Journal of Integrative Medicine |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=446–452 |doi=10.1016/j.eujim.2016.02.007}}

• Chaitanya (consciousness)
• Chakra
• Scientific skepticism
• Qi Men Dun Jia
• Vijñāna
• Yoga Sutra

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{Cite journal |last=Brown |first=George William |date=1919 |title=Prāṇa and Apāna |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/592721 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=39 |pages=104–112 |doi=10.2307/592721 |jstor=592721 |issn=0003-0279}}
• {{cite book |last1=Eliade |first1=Mircea |author1-link=Mircea Eliade |last2=Trask |first2=Willard R. |last3=White |first3=David Gordon |author3-link=David Gordon White |title=Yoga: Immortality and Freedom |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=V07l6gThaV0C}} |date=2009 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0691142036 }}
• {{cite book | last1=Mallinson | first1=James |last2=Singleton |first2=Mark | author1-link=James Mallinson (author) |author2-link=Mark Singleton (yoga researcher) | title=Roots of Yoga | publisher=Penguin Books | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-241-25304-5 | oclc=928480104 }}

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{{Wikiquote}}

• [http://hara-hara-mahadev.blogspot.com/2009/09/hymn-to-prana.html Prana - A Overview as per vedic scriptures along with a hymn to Prana from Atharva Veda]
• [http://veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/prana.htm Prana – overview]
• [https://www.yogicwellnesssecrets.com/amazing-secret-to-health-and-wellbeing-as-per-yogic-science-prana/ Prana – Amazing Secret To Health and Wellbeing as per Yogic Science]

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Category:Energy (esotericism)

Category:Vitalism

Category:Hindu philosophical concepts

Category:Yoga concepts