History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.262

v7.c94.262

It is now proper to see how the Y. S. defines and explains prāṇāyāma. 'When the stability of posture has been assured (or secured) prāṇāyāma is the pause (lit. cutting off) in the movements of inhalation and exhalation'. The bhāṣya explains '*śvāsa*' as 'drawing in of the air which is outside one's body' and '*praśvāsa*' as the expelling of the air in the trunk (or chest)' and the absence of both these is prāṇāyāma. This shows that the chief element in prāṇāyāma is the absence of both inhalation and exhalation i. e. *kumbhaka* in the technical language of yoga works The next sūtra states that prāṇāyāma (the pause in movement) is of three kinds, viz. external, internal and suppressed. The idea is that Kumbhaka (stopping or pause) may be done after one has taken in air from outside (first kind) or after one has expelled air from the trunk (2nd kind) or when one is in a normal condition (i. e. neither making an effort to fill his chest with air or emptying it of air) one may make a pause (3rd kind). Each of these may be regulated and considered from the point of the units of space, time (measurement by *kalās* or *mātrās*) and numbers. Prāṇāyāma is called *mṛdu* (mild) when pause is kept up for 36 mātrās, then moderate one when kept up for 72 mātrās and keen (*tīvra*) when kept up for 108 mātrās. When practised for days, fortnights and months, it is called protracted and when performed with great skill it is called sūkṣma (subtle).