A curated collection of direct mentions of Kumbhak (कुम्भक) - breath retention - in classical Yoga literature with IAST transliteration and English translation.
Main Kumbhak Verses From Ancient Yoga Texts & Siddha Yogis
This collection presents principal passages on Pūraka/Pūrak (inhalation), Recaka/Rechak (exhalation), Kumbhak/Kumbhak (the breath pause), Sahita Kumbhak (retention accompanied by inhalation and exhalation), Kevala Kumbhak, and the inner and outer pauses.
Books quoted: Gorakṣaśataka, Yoga Cūḍāmaṇi Upaniṣad, Śāṇḍilya Upaniṣad, Yogatattva Upaniṣad, Śivasaṃhitā, Dattātreyayogaśāstra, Yoga Yājñavalkya, Bhagavad Gītā, Amṛtanāda Upaniṣad, Darśanopaniṣad (Jābāladarśana Upaniṣad), Śivapurāṇa, Agnipurāṇa, Yoga Kuṇḍalinī Upaniṣad, Haṭharatnāvalī, Vasiṣṭhasaṃhitā, Muktikā Upaniṣad, Yogavāsiṣṭha, Vijñānabhairava Tantra, Dhyānabindu Upaniṣad, Varāha Upaniṣad, Yogaśikhā Upaniṣad, Triśikhi-Brāhmaṇa Upaniṣad, Tirumantiram, and Manusmṛti.
Verse numbers follow the linked digital text unless a textual note states otherwise. Wording has been lightly normalized for IAST spacing and sandhi. Traditional claims are translated as claims made by the text; they are not presented as modern clinical findings.
1. Gorakṣaśataka
Verse 39 — movement and stillness
cale vāte calaṃ sarvaṃ niścale niścalaṃ bhavet |
yogī sthāṇutvam āpnoti tato vāyuṃ nibandhayet || 39 ||
Mind–body benefit passage
Translation:
“When the breath-current moves, the whole inner field moves; when it becomes still, that field also becomes still. The yogin discovers steadiness and therefore learns to regulate the breath.”
Verses 43–46 — Pūrak, Kumbhak, Rechak and ease
baddhapadmāsano yogī prāṇaṃ candreṇa pūrayet |
dhārayitvā yathāśakti bhūyaḥ sūryeṇa recayet || 43 ||amṛtodadhisaṅkāśaṃ kṣīrodadhavalaprabham |
dhyātvā candramayaṃ bimbaṃ prāṇāyāme sukhī bhavet || 44 ||prāṇaṃ sūryeṇa cākṛṣya pūrayed udaraṃ śanaiḥ |
kumbhayitvā vidhānena bhūyaś candreṇa recayet || 45 ||prajvalajjvalanajvālāpuñjam ādityamaṇḍalam |
dhyātvā nābhisthitaṃ yogī prāṇāyāme sukhī bhavet || 46 ||
Mind–body benefit passage: verses 44 and 46 twice use sukhī bhavet—“one becomes easeful or happy.”
Translation:
“Seated steadily, fill through the lunar channel, retain within present capacity, and release through the solar channel. Let the mind rest on a cool, luminous moon-image, and the practice becomes easeful. Then draw through the solar channel, fill slowly, retain according to the method, and release through the lunar channel. With attention gathered around a warm solar image at the navel, the practice again becomes easeful.”
Ten-Step note: The phrases yathāśakti and śanaiḥ support capacity and slowness. The Ten Steps retain those principles but not the nostril alternation or visualization requirement.
Verse 47 — the threefold architecture
recakaḥ pūrakaś caiva kumbhakaḥ praṇavātmakaḥ |
prāṇāyāmo bhavet tredhā mātrādvādaśasaṃyutaḥ || 47 ||
Translation:
“Recaka, Pūraka and Kumbhak form the threefold movement of Prāṇāyāma; the text relates them to praṇava and twelve measures.”
Verse 51 — the central safeguard
mandaṃ mandaṃ pibed vāyuṃ mandaṃ mandaṃ viyojayet |
nādhikaṃ stambhayed vāyuṃ na ca śīghraṃ vimocayet || 51 ||
Translation:
“Drink the air gently, gently; release it gently, gently. Do not suspend the breath excessively, and do not let it go suddenly.”
Ten-Step note: This is the closest textual parallel to the method’s gentleness, early ending of both pauses, unhurried exhalation and refusal to test a limit.
Source: GRETIL text based on the Kaivalyadhama critical edition
2. Yoga Cūḍāmaṇi Upaniṣad
Verses 95–97 — capacity, release and ease
baddhapadmāsano yogī prāṇaṃ candreṇa pūrayet |
dhārayed vā yathāśaktyā bhūyaḥ sūryeṇa recayet || 95 ||amṛtodadhisaṅkāśaṃ gokṣīradhavalopamam |
dhyātvā candramasaṃ bimbaṃ prāṇāyāme sukhī bhavet || 96 ||sphuratprajvalasaṃjvālāpūjyam ādityamaṇḍalam |
dhyātvā hṛdi sthitaṃ yogī prāṇāyāme sukhī bhavet || 97 ||
Mind–body benefit passage: verses 96–97 repeat sukhī bhavet.
Translation:
“Fill through the lunar channel, retain only within present capacity, and release through the solar channel. With attention resting on a cool moon-disc, one becomes easeful in Prāṇāyāma. With attention resting on a radiant sun-disc in the heart, one becomes easeful in Prāṇāyāma.”
Verses 100–101 — breath-measure and the three phases
prāṇo dehasthito yāvad apānaṃ tu nirundhayet |
ekaśvāsamayī mātrā ūrdhvādho gagane gatiḥ || 100 ||recakaḥ pūrakaś caiva kumbhakaḥ praṇavātmakaḥ |
prāṇāyāmo bhaved evaṃ mātrādvādaśasaṃyutaḥ || 101 ||
Translation:
“A mātrā is related here to one breath and its movement through the inner space. Recaka, Pūraka and Kumbhak make Prāṇāyāma threefold, joined in this text to praṇava and twelve measures.”
Verses 116–119 — benefit, harm and measured care
prāṇāyāmena yuktena sarvarogakṣayo bhavet |
prāṇāyāmaviyuktebhyaḥ sarvarogasamudbhavaḥ || 116 ||hikkā kāsas tathā śvāsaḥ śiraḥkarṇākṣivedanāḥ |
bhavanti vividhā rogāḥ pavanavyatyayakramāt || 117 ||yathā siṃho gajo vyāghro bhaved vaśyaḥ śanaiḥ śanaiḥ |
tathaiva sevito vāyur anyathā hanti sādhakam || 118 ||yuktaṃ yuktaṃ tyajed vāyuṃ yuktaṃ yuktaṃ prapūrayet |
yuktaṃ yuktaṃ prabadhnīyād evaṃ siddhim avāpnuyāt || 119 ||
Mind–body benefit and safety passage
Translation:
“The text says that correctly integrated Prāṇāyāma diminishes illness, while disordered handling of the breath can give rise to illness; it names hiccup, cough, breathing difficulty and pains of the head, ears and eyes. As a lion, elephant or tiger is approached gradually, gradually, so must the breath be attended; otherwise it harms the practitioner. Release appropriately, fill appropriately and retain appropriately.”
Ten-Step note: The enduring instruction is not the sweeping health promise but the safeguard surrounding it: gradual practice, appropriateness and no coercion. Any pain, air hunger, dizziness or alarm ends the pause.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Yoga Cūḍāmaṇi Upaniṣad
3. Śāṇḍilya Upaniṣad
Verses 1.8.6–7 — the breath is approached, not conquered
yathā siṃho gajo vyāghro bhaved vaśyaḥ śanaiḥ śanaiḥ |
tathaiva sevito vāyur anyathā hanti sādhakam || 6 ||yuktaṃ yuktaṃ tyajed vāyuṃ yuktaṃ yuktaṃ ca pūrayet |
yuktaṃ yuktaṃ ca badhnīyād evaṃ siddhim avāpnuyāt || 7 ||
Translation:
“As a lion, elephant or tiger becomes manageable gradually, gradually, so should the breath be attended; otherwise it harms the practitioner. Release it appropriately, fill it appropriately and bind it appropriately.”
Prose after 1.8.14 — Sahita and Kevala
atha kumbhakaḥ | sa dvividhaḥ sahitaḥ kevalaś ceti |
recapūrakayuktaḥ sahitaḥ tadvivarjitaḥ kevalaḥ |
kevalasiddhiparyantaṃ sahitam abhyaset |
Translation:
“Kumbhak is twofold: Sahita and Kevala. Joined with Recaka and Pūraka it is Sahita; without them it is Kevala. Sahita is practised until Kevala is perfected.”
Ten-Step note: The Ten-Step round uses the Sahita relationship but does not seek spontaneous cessation. A comfortable, fully recoverable round is complete in itself.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Śāṇḍilya Upaniṣad
4. Yogatattva Upaniṣad
Verses 36–39 — slow, within capacity and without opposition
ṛjukāyaḥ prāñjaliś ca praṇamed iṣṭadevatām |
tato dakṣiṇahastasya aṅguṣṭhenaiva piṅgalām || 36 ||nirudhya pūrayed vāyum iḍayā tu śanaiḥ śanaiḥ |
yathāśaktyavirodhena tataḥ kuryāc ca kumbhakam || 37 ||punas tyajet piṅgalayā śanair eva na vegataḥ |
punaḥ piṅgalayāpūrya pūrayed udaraṃ śanaiḥ || 38 ||dhārayitvā yathāśakti recayed iḍayā śanaiḥ |
yayā tyajet tayāpūrya dhārayed avirodhataḥ || 39 ||
Translation:
“With the body upright, fill slowly, slowly through Iḍā. Perform Kumbhak within present capacity and without opposition. Release slowly through Piṅgalā, never with force. Fill slowly, retain within capacity, exhale slowly and let the holding remain free of inner conflict.”
Ten-Step note: Avirodhena and avirodhataḥ make the body a participant rather than an opponent. The Ten Steps keep that principle but not the nostril pattern or the later fixed ratios.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Yogatattva Upaniṣad
5. Śivasaṃhitā
Verses 3.24–26 — according to capacity, slowly and not forcefully
iḍayā pūrayed vāyuṃ yathāśaktyā tu kumbhayet || 3.24 ||
tatas tyaktvā piṅgalayā śanair eva na vegataḥ |
punaḥ piṅgalayāpūrya yathāśaktyā tu kumbhayet || 3.25 ||
iḍayā recayed vāyuṃ na vegena śanaiḥ śanaiḥ |
idaṃ yogavidhānena kuryād viṃśatikumbhakān … || 3.26 ||
Translation:
“Fill through Iḍā and retain within capacity. Release through Piṅgalā slowly, not forcefully. Fill through Piṅgalā, retain within capacity, and exhale through Iḍā slowly, slowly—not with force. The passage then prescribes twenty Kumbhaks.”
Ten-Step note: The words on pace and capacity are applicable; alternate-nostril control and twenty retentions are not part of one Ten-Step round.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Śivasaṃhitā
6. Dattātreyayogaśāstra
Verses 56 and 60 — the definition of Sahita
nirudhya pūrayed vāyum iḍayā ca śanaiḥ śanaiḥ |
yathāśaktinirodhena tataḥ kuryāt tu kumbhakam || 56 ||kurvīta recapūrābhyāṃ sahitān prativāsaram |
sahito recapūrābhyāṃ tasmāt sahitakumbhakaḥ || 60 ||
Translation:
“Closing the other nostril, fill through Iḍā slowly, slowly; then perform Kumbhak within one’s capacity. A retention accompanied by Recaka and Pūraka is called Sahita Kumbhak precisely because those phases accompany it.”
Ten-Step note: The structural definition applies. The source’s nostril control, large repetition schedule and progression toward Kevala are not imported.
Edition note: Numbers and some readings vary across online recensions; these numbers follow the linked text.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Dattātreyayogaśāstra
7. Yoga Yājñavalkya
Verses 6.24–25a — direct definitions
bāhyād āpūraṇaṃ vāyor udare pūrako hi saḥ |
sampūrṇakumbhavad vāyor dhāraṇaṃ kumbhako bhavet || 24 ||
bahir yad recanaṃ vāyor udarād recakaḥ smṛtaḥ | … || 25 ||
Translation:
“Drawing external air inward is Pūraka. Holding the air like a filled pot is Kumbhak. Sending it outward is remembered as Recaka.”
Verses 6.30–31 — comfort, Kevala and Sahita
tayor nāśe samarthaḥ syāt kartuṃ kevalakumbhakam |
recakaṃ pūrakaṃ muktvā sukhaṃ yad vāyudhāraṇam || 30 ||
prāṇāyāmo ’yam ity uktaḥ sa vai kevalakumbhakaḥ |
recya cāpūrya yaḥ kuryāt sa vai sahitakumbhakaḥ || 31 ||
Translation:
“Comfortable retention apart from Recaka and Pūraka is called Kevala Kumbhak. The retention performed after exhaling and filling is Sahita Kumbhak.”
Ten-Step note: The pot image means containment, not pressure. The word sukham preserves comfort as a meaningful boundary. The Ten-Step sequence is Sahita in form and does not pursue Kevala.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Yoga Yājñavalkya
8. Bhagavad Gītā
Verse 4.29 — restraint of the two breath-currents
apāne juhvati prāṇaṃ prāṇe ’pānaṃ tathāpare |
prāṇāpānagatī ruddhvā prāṇāyāmaparāyaṇāḥ || 4.29 ||
Translation:
“Some offer Prāṇa into Apāna and Apāna into Prāṇa; restraining the movements of both currents, they become devoted to Prāṇāyāma.”
Verses 5.27–28 — balanced breathing, fear and anger
sparśān kṛtvā bahir bāhyāṃś cakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ |
prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā nāsābhyantaracāriṇau || 5.27 ||
yatendriyamanobuddhir munir mokṣaparāyaṇaḥ |
vigatecchābhayakrodho yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ || 5.28 ||
Mind–body benefit passage
Translation:
“Let external contacts remain outside, steady the gaze, and bring the Prāṇa and Apāna moving within the nostrils into balance. With senses, mind and understanding gathered, the contemplative person is described as free from compulsive desire, fear and anger.”
Textual note: The Gītā does not use the noun kumbhaka here. Verse 4.29 speaks of restraining the movements of Prāṇa and Apāna, while 5.27–28 joins balanced nasal breathing with a wider meditative discipline. It should not be represented as the complete Ten-Step procedure.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Bhagavad Gītā
9. Amṛtanāda Upaniṣad
Verse 10 — the three components
ruciraṃ recakaṃ caiva vāyor ākarṣaṇaṃ tathā |
prāṇāyāmās trayaḥ proktā recapūrakakumbhakāḥ || 10 ||
Translation:
“The three components of Prāṇāyāma are named Recaka, Pūraka and Kumbhak.”
Textual note: The first half of the verse is difficult in the linked reading; the threefold list in the second half is clear.
Verses 12–14 — Recaka, Pūraka and Kumbhak imagery
utkṣipya vāyum ākāśaṃ śūnyaṃ kṛtvā nirātmakam |
śūnyabhāvena yuñjīyād recakasyeti lakṣaṇam || 12 ||vaktrenotplanālena toyam ākarṣayen naraḥ |
evaṃ vāyur grahītavyaḥ pūrakasyeti lakṣaṇam || 13 ||nocchvasen na ca niśvāset gātrāṇi naiva cālayet |
evaṃ bhāvaṃ niyuñjīyāt kumbhakasyeti lakṣaṇam || 14 ||
Translation:
“Recaka is pictured as releasing the air into open space and resting in emptiness. Pūraka is pictured as drawing in air as gently and steadily as water through a lotus stalk. In Kumbhak there is neither inhalation nor exhalation, and the limbs remain quiet.”
Ten-Step note: The lotus-stalk image supports an unhurried intake, but the Ten Steps use nasal breathing. Quietness in Kumbhak means stillness without bracing; involuntary struggle ends the pause.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Amṛtanāda Upaniṣad
10. Darśanopaniṣad (Jābāladarśana Upaniṣad)
Verses 6.1–2 and 6.12–13 — the threefold definition
prāṇāyāmakramaṃ vakṣye sāṅkṛte śṛṇu sādaram |
prāṇāyāma iti prokto recapūrakakumbhakaiḥ || 1 ||
varṇatrayātmakāḥ proktā recapūrakakumbhakāḥ |
sa eṣa praṇavaḥ proktaḥ prāṇāyāmaś ca tanmayaḥ || 2 ||bāhyād āpūraṇaṃ vāyor udare pūrako hi saḥ || 12 ||
sampūrṇakumbhavad vāyor dhāraṇaṃ kumbhako bhavet |
bahir virecanaṃ vāyor udarād recakaḥ smṛtaḥ || 13 ||
Translation:
“Prāṇāyāma is described through Recaka, Pūraka and Kumbhak. Filling from outside is Pūraka; holding like a full pot is Kumbhak; releasing outward is Recaka.”
Verse 6.16 — clarity of mind
prāṇāyāmena cittaṃ tu śuddhaṃ bhavati suvrata |
citte śuddhe śuciḥ sākṣāt pratyagjyotir vyavasthitaḥ || 16 ||
Mind benefit passage
Translation:
“Through Prāṇāyāma, the mind becomes clear. As mental disturbance settles, the text says that inward light stands revealed.”
Ten-Step note: This is a traditional contemplative benefit, not a guaranteed outcome. The full-pot image must not be converted into overfilling or pressure.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Jābāladarśana Upaniṣad
11. Śivapurāṇa, Vāyavīyasaṃhitā
Uttara-bhāga 37.21, 24–25 — three phases and a middle pace
prāṇaḥ svadehajo vāyus tasyāyāmo nirodhanam |
tad recakaṃ pūrakaṃ ca kumbhakaṃ ca tridhocyate || 21 ||na muñcati na gṛhṇāti vāyum antarbahiḥ sthitam |
sampūrṇaṃ kumbhavat tiṣṭhed acalaḥ sa tu kumbhakaḥ || 24 ||recakādyaṃ trayam idaṃ na drutaṃ na vilambitam |
tad yataḥ kramayogena tv abhyased yogasādhakaḥ || 25 ||
Translation:
“The regulation of the body’s breath is called threefold: Recaka, Pūraka and Kumbhak. In Kumbhak one neither releases nor draws in air, remaining still like a filled pot. This triad should be practised neither hurriedly nor over-delayed, but carefully and progressively.”
Ten-Step note: “Neither hurried nor over-delayed” supports an unforced middle pace. The pot remains an image of stillness, not pressure.
Numbering note: Full references may appear as 7.2.37.21–25; the linked arrangement labels the passage 72.21–25.
Source: Śivapurāṇa, Vāyavīyasaṃhitā 72.21–25
12. Agnipurāṇa
Chapter 373.7–9 — direct definitions
nāsikāpuṭam aṅgulyā pīḍyaiva ca pareṇa ca |
audaraṃ recayed vāyuṃ recanād recakaḥ smṛtaḥ || 7 ||bāhyena vāyunā dehaṃ dṛtivat pūrayed yathā |
tathā pūrṇaś ca santiṣṭhet pūraṇāt pūrakaḥ smṛtaḥ || 8 ||na muñcati na gṛhṇāti vāyum antarbahiḥ sthitam |
sampūrṇakumbhavat tiṣṭhed acalaḥ sa tu kumbhakaḥ || 9 ||
Translation:
“Releasing the abdominal air is remembered as Recaka. Filling the body with external air is called Pūraka. When one neither releases nor draws in air and remains still like a full pot, that is Kumbhak.”
Ten-Step note: The container images do not require maximal inflation. “Full” remains comfortably full, and “empty” remains comfortably empty.
Source: Agnipurāṇa, Sanskrit text, chapter 373
13. Yoga Kuṇḍalinī Upaniṣad
Verses 1.19–21 — Sahita and Kevala
prāṇarodham athedānīṃ pravakṣyāmi samāsataḥ |
prāṇaś ca dahano vāyur āyāmaḥ kumbhakaḥ smṛtaḥ || 19 ||
sa eva dvividhaḥ proktaḥ sahitaḥ kevalas tathā |
yāvat kevalasiddhiḥ syāt tāvat sahitam abhyaset || 20 ||
sūryojjāyī śītalī ca bhastrī caiva caturthikā |
bhedair eva samaṃ kumbho yaḥ syāt sahitakumbhakaḥ || 21 ||
Translation:
“Kumbhak is described as twofold, Sahita and Kevala. Sahita is practised until Kevala is perfected; the text then associates Sahita with four named varieties.”
Ten-Step note: This establishes the historical distinction only. The Ten-Step sequence is not one of the four named varieties and does not borrow forceful or bandha-related elements from them.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Yoga Kuṇḍalinī Upaniṣad
14. Haṭharatnāvalī
Verse 2.28 — Kevala defined by comfort
atha kevala—
recakaṃ pūrakaṃ muktvā sukhaṃ yad vāyudhāraṇam |
prāṇāyāmo ’yam ity uktaḥ sa vai kevalakumbhakaḥ || 2.28 ||
Translation:
“Kevala is the comfortable holding of the breath apart from Recaka and Pūraka.”
Ten-Step note: The method does not attempt Kevala. The relevant word is sukham: comfort remains meaningful even in an advanced definition.
Source: Haṭharatnāvalī 2.28
15. Vasiṣṭhasaṃhitā
Commonly cited passage 3.28–29 — Sahita before Kevala
sahitaṃ kevalaṃ cātha kumbhakaṃ nityam abhyaset |
yāvat kevalasiddhiḥ syāt tāvat sahitam abhyaset ||
Translation:
“Kumbhak is practised as Sahita and Kevala; until Kevala is perfected, Sahita is practised.”
Textual caution: This wording appears in closely related yoga texts. It is retained as a commonly cited Vasiṣṭhasaṃhitā passage, but a printed or critical edition should be checked before assigning a definitive number in publication.
Reference: Marathi Vishwakosh entry citing the Vasiṣṭhasaṃhitā
16. Muktikā Upaniṣad
Verses 2.51–52 — inner and outer intervals
apāne ’staṃgate prāṇo yāvan nābhyudito hṛdi |
tāvat sā kumbhakāvasthā yogibhir yānubhūyate || 51 ||
bahir astaṃgate prāṇe yāvan nāpāna udgataḥ |
tāvat pūrṇāṃ samāvasthāṃ bahiṣṭhaṃ kumbhakaṃ viduḥ || 52 ||
Translation:
“When Apāna has subsided and Prāṇa has not yet arisen in the heart, yogins experience that interval as Kumbhak. When Prāṇa has subsided outwardly and Apāna has not yet arisen, they know that complete, even interval as external Kumbhak.”
Ten-Step note: These intervals illuminate Antar and Bāhya Kumbhak conceptually. “Complete” does not mean physiologically empty, and the pause is noticed without being prolonged into discomfort.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Muktikā Upaniṣad
17. Yogavāsiṣṭha
Verses 6.25.9 and 6.25.51–52 — the interval and freedom from grief
apāne ’staṃgate prāṇo yāvan nābhyudito hṛdi |
tāvat sā kumbhakāvasthā yogibhir yānubhūyate || 9 ||bahiḥ kumbhakam ālambya ciraṃ bhūyo na śocyate |
apāne ’staṃgate prāṇe kiṃcid abhyudayonmukhe || 51 ||
antaḥkumbhakam ālambya ciraṃ bhūyo na śocyate |
prāṇarecakam ālambya apānād dūrakoṭigam || 52 ||
Mind benefit passage presented as a contemplative claim
Translation:
“The interval after Apāna has subsided and before Prāṇa has arisen in the heart is experienced as Kumbhak. The later meditation names outer and inner Kumbhak and says that one who rests in them is no longer overcome by grief.”
Ten-Step note: The practical correspondence is the awareness of a transition, not the instruction to hold for a long time. The statement about grief belongs to the text’s contemplative teaching and is not a guaranteed result.
Source: Sanskrit Wikisource, Yogavāsiṣṭha 6.25
18. Vijñānabhairava Tantra
Verse 27 — awareness at the breath boundary
kumbhitā recitā vāpi pūritā vā yadā bhavet |
tadante śāntanāmāsau śaktyā śāntaḥ prakāśate || 27 ||
Mind benefit passage
Translation:
“When the breath-energy has been retained, exhaled or filled, at the end or boundary of that phase the power called Śāntā is present, and peaceful awareness shines forth.”
Ten-Step note: Attention rests at the turning point; the verse does not ask the practitioner to lengthen that point beyond ease.
Source: Vijñānabhairava Tantra 26–30
19. Dhyānabindu Upaniṣad
Verses 20–21 — symbolic deities of the three phases
iḍayā vāyum āpūrya pūrayitvodarasthitam |
oṅkāraṃ dehamadhyasthaṃ dhyāyej jvālāvalīvṛtam || 20 ||
brahmā pūraka ity ukto viṣṇuḥ kumbhaka ucyate |
reco rudra iti proktaḥ prāṇāyāmasya devatāḥ || 21 ||
Translation:
“Having filled with air through Iḍā, meditate on Oṃ within the body. Brahmā is associated with Pūraka, Viṣṇu with Kumbhak and Rudra with Recaka; these are the deities of the three phases.”
Ten-Step note: This is theological symbolism, not physiology. It can be contemplated as beginning, sustaining and releasing, while belief remains a matter of personal choice.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Dhyānabindu Upaniṣad
20. Varāha Upaniṣad
Verses 5.57–58 — a contemplative inner reading
recakaṃ pūrakaṃ caiva kumbhamadhye nirodhayet |
dṛśyamāne pare lakṣye brahmaṇi svayam āśritaḥ || 57 ||
bāhyasthaviṣayaṃ sarvaṃ recakaḥ samudāhṛtaḥ |
pūrakaṃ śāstravijñānaṃ kumbhakaṃ svagataṃ smṛtam || 58 ||
Translation:
“With the highest aim in view, Recaka is the release of outward objects and demands; Pūraka is receiving knowledge; Kumbhak is allowing that understanding to remain and settle within.”
Ten-Step note: This passage explicitly gives a contemplative interpretation. It should not be mistaken for a mechanical breathing instruction.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Varāha Upaniṣad
21. Yogaśikhā Upaniṣad
Verse 1.88 — a fourfold Sahita classification
athābhyaset sūryabhedam ujjāyīṃ cāpi śītalīm |
bhastrāṃ ca sahito nāma syāc catuṣṭayakumbhakaḥ || 88 ||
Translation:
“Sūryabheda, Ujjāyī, Śītalī and Bhastrā form a fourfold historical classification called Sahita Kumbhak.”
Ten-Step note: The verse is classificatory. The named methods are not combined with the Ten-Step round.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Yogaśikhā Upaniṣad
22. Triśikhi-Brāhmaṇa Upaniṣad
Verses 95–96 — slow exhalation and a historical ratio
śanaiḥ śanair atha bahiḥ prakṣipet piṅgalānilam |
iḍayā vāyum āpūrya brahman ṣoḍaśamātrayā || 95 ||
pūritaṃ kumbhayet paścāc catuḥṣaṣṭyā tu mātrayā |
dvātriṃśanmātrayā samyag recayet piṅgalānilam || 96 ||
Translation:
“Release the air slowly, slowly through Piṅgalā; fill through Iḍā for sixteen measures; retain the filled breath for sixty-four and exhale through Piṅgalā for thirty-two.”
Ten-Step note: Śanaiḥ śanaiḥ supports slowness. The fixed ratio and nostril technique are historical and do not belong to the Ten-Step method.
Source: SanskritDocuments text of the Triśikhi-Brāhmaṇa Upaniṣad
23. Tirumantiram
Verse 568 — Pūrak, Kumbhak and Rechak in measured alternation
ēṟutal pūrakam īr-eṭṭu vāmatāl |
āṟutal kumpam aṟupattu nālatil |
ūṟutal muppattu iraṇṭatu irēcakam |
māṟutal oṉṟiṉ-kaṇ vañcakam āmē || 568 ||
Translation:
“The verse describes inhalation through the left for sixteen measures, retention for sixty-four and exhalation for thirty-two, alternating from one side to the other.”
Ten-Step note: The terminology corresponds, but the 16:64:32 ratio and nostril alternation do not belong to the Ten-Step sequence.
Sources: Project Madurai Unicode text of the Tirumantiram · English rendering of verse 568 for comparison
24. Manusmṛti
Verses 6.70–72 — measured practice and purification imagery
prāṇāyāmā brāhmaṇasya trayo ’pi vidhivat kṛtāḥ |
vyāhṛtipraṇavair yuktā vijñeyaṃ paramaṃ tapaḥ || 6.70 ||dahyante dhmāyamānānāṃ dhātūnāṃ hi yathā malāḥ |
tathendriyāṇāṃ dahyante doṣāḥ prāṇasya nigrahāt || 6.71 ||prāṇāyamair dahed doṣān dhāraṇābhiś ca kilbiṣam |
pratyāhāreṇa saṃsargān dhyānenānīśvarān guṇān || 6.72 ||
Mind–body benefit passage expressed through traditional purification imagery
Translation:
“For a Brāhmaṇa, three Prāṇāyāmas performed according to rule and joined with sacred utterance and Oṃ are called a high discipline. As impurities are removed from metal in a carefully tended furnace, the text says that restraint of Prāṇa clears disturbances of the senses; Prāṇāyāma, concentration, sensory withdrawal and meditation each refine a different layer of experience.”
Textual note: These verses refer to Prāṇāyāma and restraint of Prāṇa but do not use the noun kumbhaka. They are included as an early parallel, not as an exact statement of the Ten-Step sequence.
Source: GRETIL text of the Manusmṛti
Verification decisions from the three supplied files
The additional files were treated as leads, not as primary editions. The following decisions were made before incorporating their material:
- The Yoga Cūḍāmaṇi Upaniṣad passages at 95–97, 100–101 and 116–119 were matched to the digital Sanskrit text and added.
- Bhagavad Gītā 4.29 and 5.27–28, Manusmṛti 6.70–72, Amṛtanāda Upaniṣad 12–13, the additional Gorakṣaśataka passages, and Darśanopaniṣad 6.16 were matched and added.
- The “inner Recaka–Pūraka–Kumbhak” passage attributed in one file to Yogatattva Upaniṣad belongs to Varāha Upaniṣad 5.57–58; it remains under the correct book.
- The supplied Śivasaṃhitā 3.22 and 3.54 formulations were not found in the cited digital text. The attested 3.24–26 passage remains instead.
- The supplied Gorakṣaśataka 48–49, Śāṇḍilya Upaniṣad 1.7, Dhyānabindu Upaniṣad 95–97 and Dattātreyayogaśāstra 62–65 formulations did not match the cited texts in that wording and numbering; they were not added.
- Amṛtabindu Upaniṣad 7 concerns restraint of mind, not breath retention, and was not used as a Kumbhak verse.
- The supplied Vasiṣṭhasaṃhitā 3.24 wording could not be confirmed. The commonly cited Sahita–Kevala passage remains clearly marked for edition-level checking.
- Ratios, long-duration retentions and high repetition counts were preserved only where needed to translate a verified historical passage; none has been converted into a Ten-Step instruction.
- The exact Kumbhakpaddhati quotation supplied earlier still requires verification against a page image of the printed Sanskrit-English edition, so it is not quoted here. Open Library bibliographic record
Reading and practice boundaries
- A scriptural health promise is reported as a traditional claim, not as proof of a modern therapeutic effect.
- A ratio found in a historical text is not automatically safe or appropriate for a present-day reader.
- The Ten-Step pauses remain completely easy and end with a clear comfort reserve. Longer is not treated as better.
- Stop immediately for breath hunger, dizziness, pressure, pain, panic, tingling, visual disturbance or uneasiness.
- Reading without practising is a complete and valid way to engage with the verses.
- People with relevant medical conditions should seek qualified clinical guidance before attempting breath retention.
Concluding thread
Across these texts, the recurring architecture is clear: Pūrak receives, Kumbhak pauses and Rechak releases. Sahita places the pause in relationship with inhalation and exhalation. The passages repeatedly return to the same qualities: slowly, within capacity, comfortably, appropriately, not forcefully, not excessively and without opposition.
The pause is therefore not a contest against the body. It is a brief interval in which urgency can soften and the next breath remains freely available.