SB 11.14.32 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीभगवानुवाच सम आसन आसीन: समकायो यथासुखम् । हस्तावुत्सङ्ग आधाय स्वनासाग्रकृतेक्षण: ॥ ३२ ॥ प्राणस्य शोधयेन्मार्गं पूरकुम्भकरेचकै: । विपर्ययेणापि शनैरभ्यसेन्निर्जितेन्द्रिय: ॥ ३३ ॥

Verse text

śrī-bhagavān uvāca sama āsana āsīnaḥ sama-kāyo yathā-sukham hastāv utsaṅga ādhāya sva-nāsāgra-kṛtekṣaṇaḥ prāṇasya śodhayen mārgaṁ pūra-kumbhaka-recakaiḥ viparyayeṇāpi śanair abhyasen nirjitendriyaḥ

Synonyms

śrī — bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said ; same — having a level surface ; āsane — on the seat ; āsīnaḥ — sitting ; sama — kāyaḥ — sitting with the body straight and erect ; yathā — sukham — sitting comfortably ; hastau — the two hands ; utsaṅge — in the lap ; ādhāya — placing ; sva — nāsa — agra — on the tip of one’s own nose ; kṛta — focusing ; īkṣaṇaḥ — the glance ; prāṇasya — of the breath ; śodhayet — should purify ; mārgam — the pathway ; pūra — kumbhaka — recakaiḥ — by the mechanical breathing exercises, or prāṇāyāma ; viparyayeṇa — by reversing the processes, namely recaka, kumbhaka and pūraka ; api — also ; śanaiḥ — following the process step by step ; abhyaset — one should practice prāṇāyāma ; nirjita — having controlled ; indriyaḥ — the senses .

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Sitting on a level seat that is not too high or too low, keeping the body straight and erect yet comfortable, placing the two hands on one’s lap and focusing the eyes on the tip of one’s nose, one should purify the pathways of breathing by practicing the mechanical exercises of pūraka, kumbhaka and recaka, and then one should reverse the procedure (recaka, kumbhaka, pūraka). Having fully controlled the senses, one may thus practice prāṇāyāma step by step.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The Supreme Lord said: Sitting on a level seat that is not too high or too low, keeping the body straight and erect yet comfortable, placing the two hands on one’s lap and focusing the eyes on the tip of one’s nose, one should purify the pathways of prāṇa by practicing the exercises of pūraka, kumbhaka and recaka. Having fully controlled the senses, then one should gradually alter the practice to recaka, pūraka, kumbhaka One should glace at the tip of the nose for keeping the mind steady. The yoga scriptures say antar lakṣyo’bahir dṛṣṭiḥ sthira-cittaḥ susaṁyataḥ: when the vision is directed inward the mind becomes steady and controlled. Viparyayeana means performing recaka, pūraka and then kumbhaka. [Note: One should first inhale, hold the breath and then exhale. After this one should practice exhaling, inhaling,and then holding the breath. This however amounts to the same thing. Perhaps the second method should be exhale, hold inhale.]

Purport

According to this procedure, the hands are to be placed palms upward, one on top of the other. Thus, one may practice prāṇāyāma through mechanical breath control in order to achieve steadiness of the mind. As stated in the yoga-śāstra, antar-lakṣyo bahir-dṛṣṭiḥ sthira-cittaḥ susaṅgataḥ: “The eyes, which generally see externally, must be turned inward, and thus the mind is steadied and fully controlled.”