Shloka 40
प्राणाख्यम् अनिलं वश्यम् अभ्यासात् कुरुते तु यत् प्राणायामः स विज्ञेयः सबीजो ऽबीज एव च
prāṇākhyam anilaṃ vaśyam abhyāsāt kurute tu yat prāṇāyāmaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ sabījo 'bīja eva ca
That discipline by which, through sustained practice, the wind called prāṇa is brought under mastery is known as prāṇāyāma; and it is taught in two modes—“with seed” and “seedless.”
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Definition of prāṇāyāma and its two modes (sabīja/abīja)
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Prāṇāyāma is the disciplined mastery of prāṇa through sustained practice, taught as ‘with seed’ and ‘seedless’ modes.
Vedantic Theme: Atman
Application: Practice gentle, safe breath regulation under guidance; treat breath as a bridge to mental steadiness, moving from supported attention (sabīja) to quiet absorption (abīja).
Vishishtadvaita: Breath-control is framed as a means to steady the mind for Supreme-oriented contemplation, not as an end in itself—consistent with Vishishtadvaita’s teleology of God-realization.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
Here prāṇāyāma is defined as the disciplined mastery of the life-breath through sustained practice, presented as a core yogic means within the Moksha section that steadies the mind for higher realization.
He frames prāṇāyāma as having two forms: sabīja, supported by a “seed” (an object, intention, or focal support), and abīja, in which practice becomes supportless—subtler and more interior, oriented toward stillness.
Even when the verse speaks in yogic terms, it belongs to the Purana’s liberation-teaching where inner control and clarity ultimately serve devotion and realization of Vishnu as the Supreme Reality guiding cosmic order and the soul’s release.