Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 29

Chapter 4 – Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

अपाने जुह्वति प्राणं प्राणेऽपानं तथापरे ।
प्राणापानगती रुद्ध्वा प्राणायामपरायणाः ॥

Transliteration

apāne juhvati prāṇaṃ prāṇe.apānaṃ tathāpare .
prāṇāpānagatī ruddhvā prāṇāyāmaparāyaṇāḥ ॥

Meaning

Others, devoted to breath control, offer the outgoing breath into the incoming and the incoming into the outgoing, and restrain the movement of both.

Word meanings

अपाने – into apana, the incoming (or downward-moving) breath
जुह्वति – offer
प्राणम् – prana, the outgoing breath
प्राणे – into prana
अपानम् – apana
तथा – likewise
अपरे – others
प्राणापानगती – the movements of prana and apana
रुद्ध्वा – having restrained
प्राणायामपरायणाः – devoted to breath control, intent on pranayama

Anvaya (word order)

तथा अपरे प्राणायामपरायणाः प्राणापानगती रुद्ध्वा अपाने प्राणं जुह्वति, प्राणे अपानं (च जुह्वति) ।

Explanation

Now Krishna describes the sacrifice of pranayama, the regulation of the breath. Breath and mind are deeply connected: when the mind is agitated the breath becomes fast and irregular, and when the breath grows calm the mind too begins to settle. The practice of pranayama rests on this principle, and Krishna places it too among the sacrifices.

Shankara recognises the three parts of pranayama in this verse. ‘Apane juhvati pranam’ — offering prana into apana, that is, puraka, filling in the breath. ‘Prane'panam’ — offering apana into prana, that is, rechaka, letting the breath out. And ‘pranapana-gati ruddhva’ — stopping the movement of both, that is, kumbhaka, holding the breath. Thus inhalation, exhalation and retention are all indicated here.

‘Pranayama-parayanah’ — such seekers take breath control as their chief discipline and are wholly intent on it. In the Yoga tradition pranayama is considered an important means of purifying and concentrating the mind, because mastering the breath reduces the mind's restlessness and prepares the ground for meditation.

It is worth noticing that Krishna presents pranayama not as mere physical exercise but as ‘yajna’. When it is practised not out of a craving for health or power but for inner purification and the realisation of God, it becomes a sacrifice. The technique remains the same, but the spirit behind it lifts it from the ordinary to the sacred.

Context

In 4.28 Krishna named the sacrifices of wealth, austerity, yoga, study and knowledge. Here He describes the sacrifice of pranayama — mastering prana and apana through inhalation, exhalation and retention. In the next verse (4.30) He describes the sacrifice of those who regulate their diet and speaks of the fruit of all these sacrifices.

Life lesson

When the mind is agitated, pause for a few moments and take slow, deep breaths — the mind will begin to settle by itself. Attention to the breath is the simplest doorway back into oneself; practise it in a spirit of inner purification, not of selfish gain.

Key terms

Prana: the outgoing vital breath
Apana: the incoming or downward-moving vital breath
Pranayama: regulation of the breath — inhalation, exhalation and retention
Kumbhaka: retention of the breath, within or without