The Classical Doctrine of Indian Medicine: Its Origins and its Greek Parallels c10.56

c10.56

*Udāna*, the fifth breath of the classical list, is mentioned twice (XI, 8, 4 and 26) in a hymn which like the preceding one gives us an “inventory of the man”. With him are named *prāṇa* and *apāna* in a pair in dual number and it is itself associated in the pair *vyānodānau* with *vyāna*. *Samāna* does not figure in this series. The context does not help us understand the correct sense of *udāna* but its mention does at least show that the *Atharvaveda* already knows all the breaths of the classical series.