Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.737

v2.c4.737

The word Prāṇa has sometimes merely the general sense of breath, even when opposed to Apāna.³⁰ But its proper sense is beyond question ‘breathing forth,’ ‘expiration,’ and not as the St. Petersburg Dictionary explains it, ‘the breath inspired,’ a version due to the desire to interpret Apāna as ‘expiration,’ a meaning suggested by the preposition apa, ‘away.’ This being clearly shown both by the native scholiasts³¹ and by other evidence,³² Böhtlingk³³ later accepted the new view.