Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 82
षट्त्रिंशदंगुलो हंसः प्रयाणं कुरुते बहिः । सव्यापसव्यमार्गेण प्रयाणात्प्राण उच्यते
ṣaṭtriṃśadaṃgulo haṃsaḥ prayāṇaṃ kurute bahiḥ | savyāpasavyamārgeṇa prayāṇātprāṇa ucyate
हंस-रूप प्राण छत्तीस अंगुळांपर्यंत बाहेर गमन करतो. तो डावा व उजवा अशा मार्गांनी चालतो म्हणून त्याला ‘प्राण’—पुढे जाणारा—असे म्हणतात.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A stylized swan (haṃsa) made of breath-mist moving out from the nostrils in a measured arc; two luminous channels (left/right) flanking the central axis.
FAQs
Breath is sacred and patterned; understanding its pathways is a foundation for yogic mastery and inner purification.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred setting; the verse itself focuses on yogic physiology taught within Kāśī’s dharma framework.
No external rite is prescribed; it defines prāṇa’s movement and its left-right channels as a basis for practice.