Shloka 29
ध्यानयोगः — Dhyāna-Yoga
Discipline of Meditation and Mental Restraint
अपाने जुद्वति प्राणं प्राणेडपानं तथापरे । प्राणापानगती रुद्ध्वा प्राणायामपरायणा:
apāne juhvati prāṇaṁ prāṇe 'pānaṁ tathāpare | prāṇāpānagatī ruddhvā prāṇāyāmaparāyaṇāḥ ||
अर्जुन उवाच—केचित् प्राणं अपाने जुह्वति, अपानं प्राणे तथापरे। प्राणापानगती रुद्ध्वा प्राणायामपरायणाः॥
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents prāṇāyāma as a form of yajña (sacrificial discipline): by consciously regulating and restraining prāṇa and apāna, one turns spiritual effort inward, cultivating self-control and purification rather than seeking merit only through external rites.
In the teaching on different kinds of sacrifice, the speaker describes yogic practitioners who treat breath regulation itself as an offering—symbolically ‘pouring’ one breath into the other and restraining both movements—showing that disciplined inner practice is also a valid spiritual path amid the broader discourse on duty and right action.