Udāna
Udāna · ud-āna, “the upward breath”
Prāṇa has other meanings too: see all meanings of Prāṇa.
Grammar: masculine noun, from the root an (to breathe) with the prefix ud (up): “the breath that goes upward”.
Meaning: one of the five vāyus (vital airs) of the body, which dwells in the throat and moves upward.
In the scriptures: the munis, speaking to Vyāsa of the making of the body, tell that as the embryo grows, vāyu enters the body together with the Paramātmā, and in the body that vāyu becomes five: prāṇa dwells in the heart, nourishing the Paramātmā; apāna below the navel; udāna in the throat; vyāna pervading the whole body; and samāna in the navel. From these vāyus comes the arising of beings perceived by the senses (Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 179).
Vyāsa tells the munis what happens at the time of death. When the prāṇa is departing, a fierce vāyu is stirred up and the subtle fire in the body flares; blazing like a fire that burns without fuel, it breaks open the vital points (marma-sthānas). Then the udāna vāyu rises upward and stops the food eaten and the water drunk by that jīva from going down (Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 214).
Related terms: Prāṇa · Apāna · Vyāna · Samāna · Vāyu
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 179, 214