Bhagavad-gītā 4.29
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अपाने जुह्वति प्राण प्राणेऽपानं तथाऽपरे। प्राणापानगती रुद्ध्वा प्राणायामपरायणाः।।4.29।।
apāne juhvati prāṇaṁ prāṇe ’pānaṁ tathāpare prāṇāpāna-gatī ruddhvā prāṇāyāma-parāyaṇāḥ apare niyatāhārāḥ prāṇān prāṇeṣhu juhvati sarve ’pyete yajña-vido yajña-kṣhapita-kalmaṣhāḥ
There are some who practice controlling the vital energy and governing the subtle forces of prana and apana, thereby sacrificing their prana to apana, or their apana to prana.
English rendering by Shri Purohit Swami. Each source voice remains named.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| apāne | the incoming breath |
| juhvati | offer |
| prāṇam | the outgoing breath |
| prāṇe | in the outgoing breath |
| apānam | incoming breath |
| tathā | also |
| apare | others |
| prāṇa | of the outgoing breath |
| apāna | and the incoming breath |
| gatī | movement |
| ruddhvā | blocking |
| prāṇa-āyāma | control of breath |
| parāyaṇāḥ | wholly devoted apare:others |
| niyata | having controlled |
| āhārāḥ | food intake |
| prāṇān | life-breaths |
| prāṇeṣhu | life-energy |
| juhvati | sacrifice |
| sarve | all |
| api | also |
| ete | these |
| yajña-vidaḥ | knowers of sacrifices |
| yajña-kṣhapita | being cleansed by performances of sacrifices |
| kalmaṣhāḥ | of impurities |
Some Yogis practise Puraka (inhalation), some Yogis practise Rechaka (exhalation),,and some Yogis practise Kumbhaka (retention of breath). The five subPranas and the other Pranas are merged in the chief Prana (MukhyaPrana) by the practice of Pranayama.
Attributed explanatory witness: Swami Sivananda. Chapter lens: Follow the links among teaching lineage, divine appearance, action, knowledge, sacrifice and the teacher–student relationship.
Three named reading witnesses
Śaṅkara edition witness
Swami GambiranandaConstantly practicing control of the vital forces by stopping the movements of the outgoing and incoming breaths, some offer as a sacrifice the outgoing breath into the incoming breath; while still others, the incoming breath into the outgoing breath.
Rāmānuja edition witness
Swami AdidevanandaOthers, with restricted diets, are devoted to the control of breath. Some sacrifice the inward breath in the outward breath; similarly, others sacrifice the outward breath in the inward breath. Some others, stopping the flow of both the inward and outward breaths, sacrifice the inward and outward breaths.
Sivananda commentary witness
Swami SivanandaSome Yogis practise Puraka (inhalation), some Yogis practise Rechaka (exhalation),,and some Yogis practise Kumbhaka (retention of breath). The five subPranas and the other Pranas are merged in the chief Prana (MukhyaPrana) by the practice of Pranayama.
These are concise, attributed reading witnesses from identified editions. They are presented for comparison and are not merged into one anonymous interpretation.
Meaning map
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- 1
There are some who practice controlling the vital energy and governing the subtle forces of prana and apana, thereby sacrificing their prana to apana, or their apana to prana
- 2
apāne: the incoming breath
- 3
parāyaṇāḥ: wholly devoted apare:others
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