Topic

Prana

3 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on prana. Explore teachings across 2 chapters.

All Verses

Chapter 4 • Verse 27 →The Yoga of Knowledge and Renunciation
Sarvanindriaya-karmani prana-karmani capare, atma-samyama-yogagnau juhvati jnana-dipite

Others sacrifice all the functions of the senses and all the functions of the life force into the fire of yoga for self-restraint, kindled with knowledge.

  • •Yoga itself is a sacred fire in which all activity is offered
  • •Self-restraint illumined by knowledge is the highest sacrifice
  • •All vital functions can be consciously surrendered
yogaself-restraintknowledgesacrifice
Chapter 8 • Verse 10 →The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman
Prayana-kale manasacalena bhaktya yukto yoga-balena caiva, bhruvor madhye pranam aveshya samyak sa tam param purusham upaiti divyam

One who at the time of death fixes the life-air between the eyebrows with devotion and the power of yoga, with the mind not deviating — that person attains the divine Supreme Person. The yogic practice of drawing the prana to the ajna chakra (between the eyebrows) at the moment of death facilitates conscious union with the Divine.

  • •Yogic mastery of prana enables conscious departure at death
  • •The ajna chakra is the focal point for liberation at the moment of death
  • •Devotion combined with yogic practice leads to the Supreme
deathajna chakrayogaliberation
Chapter 8 • Verse 12 →The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman
Sarva-dvarani samyamya mano hridi nirudhya ca, murdhny adhayatmanah pranam asthito yoga-dharanam

Closing all the doors of the body, fixing the mind in the heart, drawing the life-force to the crown of the head, and establishing oneself in yogic concentration — this is the practice for liberation. This verse describes the precise yogic technique: withdrawing the senses, interiorizing the mind, and redirecting the prana upward through the spine.

  • •Withdrawing the senses from external objects is the first step in yogic liberation
  • •The mind must be fixed in the heart before the prana can be directed upward
  • •The crown of the head (brahmarandhra) is the portal for liberation
pratyaharayogic techniquecrown chakraliberation