History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.248

v7.c94.248

Prāṇāyāma—It is this aṅga of Yoga that figures most in the works on Dharmaśāstra from the earliest times. Literally the word means 'restraint or pause of prāṇa'. Other synonymous words are 'prāṇasaṁyama' (note 2310) and 'prāṇasaṁrodha'. The important point is: What does 'Prāṇa' mean here. The word is derived from the root 'an' (to breathe) with the prefix 'pra'. The verb and its forms occur in the Ṛgveda as in I. 101. 5, X. 121 3, X. 125. 4. In various passages of the Ṛg. prāṇa means simply 'breath' (as in I. 66. 1, III. 53. 21, X. 69. 6). In Ṛg X. 90. 13 (prānād-vāyur-ajāyata) it is stated that Vāyu (air, wind) arose from the prāṇa of the primeval *puruṣa*. The word 'asu' also is used in the Ṛgveda in the sense of 'prāṇa' in I 113. 16 (udhīrdhvam jīvo asur-na āgāt), I 164. 4 We have both *prāṇana* (breath) and *jīvana* (life) in Ṛg. I. 48 10 (addressed to Uṣas). Perhaps *apāna* is suggested in Ṛg. X. 189. 2 (antaścarati rocanāsya prānād-apānatī). All the five names of prāṇas appear in pairs as in the note²³⁵³ below from Tai. S. In the Tai. S. I. 7. 9. 2 occur the three words 'prāṇa, apāna and vyāna'. The Atharvaveda (in VIII. 1. 1) mentions 'prāṇāḥ' and 'apānāḥ' in the plural and 'asu', 'prāṇa' and 'āyuḥ' in VIII. 1. 3, all probably meaning 'life'. In the Upaniṣads, prāṇa becomes the vital force or principle of all beings, the representative or symbol of *brahma*; vide Br. Up. I 6. 3 (Prāṇo vā amṛtam, nāmarūpe satyam, tābhyām-ayam prāṇaśchannaḥ), Br. Up. I. 5. 23, which, after quoting a verse that the sun rises from Prāṇa and sets in Prāṇa, goes on to say (tasmādekam-eva vratam caret, prāṇyāc-caiva-apānyācca, nen-mā pāpmā mṛtyur-āpnavad-iti) 'therefore one must observe only one vow, he should inhale and exhale with the (fearful) thought that otherwise, the Evil one, Death, might seize me'. Here it appears that we have the germ of the theory of the importance of prāṇāyāma. In Chān. Up. V. 18-24 it is stated that the five *āhutis* are offered to prāṇa, vyāna, apāna, samāna and udāna (in the words 'Prāṇāya svāhā' &c ) at the time of a meal and that one who knows the true meaning of Agnihotra and offerings offers it in all worlds, in all beings and in all selves. Even now these āhutis are taken before meals by brāhmaṇas, only the order of the five differs. Praśna II. 13 says :—' All this that is established in the three worlds is under the dominance of Prāṇa.' In Chān. Up IV. 3. 3 Prāṇa is again given five names on account of its working in the different parts of the human body viz. prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, samāna and udāna (all five being named in the Tai. S.). It follows that some distinction among. the operation of the five prāṇas must have been made at least a thousand years before the Christian era.