Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s4.57

v1.c3.s4.57

Udāna is usually the fifth of the vital breaths (Prāṇa) when five are enumerated.¹ Sometimes² it appears as the second, coming after Prāṇa, and followed by Vyāna or Samāna. Again,³ it is found simply opposed to Prāṇa, or it simply follows Prāṇa and Apāna.⁴ In the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa⁵ it is treated as the breath that consumes food, a notion traceable in the later Upaniṣads,⁶ while it is also regarded as the wind that rises up by the throat,⁷ and leads the spirit forth at death.⁸