Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.406

v1.c3.406

Apāna.—The word appears repeatedly in the Atharvaveda,¹ and later as one of the vital breaths (Prāṇa), usually with Prāṇa, and often with one or more of the other three. Its original sense² appears to have been ‘inspiration.’ Its connection with the lower part of the body (nābhi, ‘navel’), which is found already in the Aitareya Upaniṣad,³ is not unnatural.