Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.731

v2.c4.731

Prāṇa is also used in a wider sense to denote the organs of sense,¹³ or as Sāyaṇa¹⁴ puts it, the ‘orifices of the head,’ etc. These are given as six in one passage of the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa,¹⁵ presumably the eyes, ears, and nostrils. More frequently there are stated to be seven in the head, the mouth being then included.¹⁶ Sometimes again they are mentioned as nine,¹⁷ or as seven in the head and two below.¹⁸ Ten are counted in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa¹⁹ and the Jaiminīya Brāhmaṇa,²⁰ while even eleven are mentioned in the Kāṭhaka Upaniṣad,²¹ and twelve in the Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā,²² where the two breasts are added. Exactly what organs are taken to make up the numbers beyond seven is not certain.²³ The tenth is the navel (nābhi) in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā;²⁴ when eleven are named the Brahma-randhra²⁵ (suture in the crown) may be included; in the Atharvaveda,²⁶ as interpreted by the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad,²⁷ the seventh and eighth are the organs of taste and speech respectively. But usually these make one only, and the eighth and ninth are either in the breast²⁸ or below (the organs of evacuation).²⁹