Chapter 4: Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga, verse 29
अपाने जुह्वति प्राण प्राणेऽपानं तथाऽपरे।
प्राणापानगती रुद्ध्वा प्राणायामपरायणाः ॥
Say itapāne juhvati prāṇaṁ prāṇe ’pānaṁ tathāpare
prāṇāpāna-gatī ruddhvā prāṇāyāma-parāyaṇāḥ
apare niyatāhārāḥ prāṇān prāṇeṣhu juhvati
sarve ’pyete yajña-vido yajña-kṣhapita-kalmaṣhāḥ
Translation
Others offer as sacrifice the outgoing breath into the incoming, and the incoming into the outgoing, restraining the flow of the outgoing and the incoming breaths, solely absorbed in the restraint of the breath.
Swami Sivananda
Constantly practicing control of the vital forces by stopping the movements of the outgoing and incoming breaths, some offer as a sacrifice the outgoing breath into the incoming breath; while still others, the incoming breath into the outgoing breath.
Swami Gambirananda
Follows the commentary of Shankara (Advaita).
Others, with restricted diets, are devoted to the control of breath. Some sacrifice the inward breath in the outward breath; similarly, others sacrifice the outward breath in the inward breath. Some others, stopping the flow of both the inward and outward breaths, sacrifice the inward and outward breaths.
Swami Adidevananda
Follows the commentary of Ramanuja (Vishishtadvaita).
Some sages offer the prana into the apana; likewise, others offer the apana into the prana. Having controlled both the courses of the prana and apana, the same sages, with their desires fulfilled by the above activities, and with their food restricted, offer the pranas into pranas. All these persons know what sacrifices are and have their sins destroyed by them.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan
Follows the commentary of Abhinavagupta (Kashmir Shaivism).
There are some who practice controlling the vital energy and governing the subtle forces of prana and apana, thereby sacrificing their prana to apana, or their apana to prana.
Shri Purohit Swami
दूसरे कितने ही प्राणायामके परायण हुए योगीलोग अपानमें प्राणका पूरक करके, प्राण और अपानकी गति रोककर फिर प्राणमें अपानका हवन करते हैं; तथा अन्य कितने ही नियमित आहार करनेवाले प्राणोंका प्राणोंमें हवन किया करते हैं। ये सभी साधक यज्ञोंद्वारा पापोंका नाश करनेवाले और यज्ञोंको जाननेवाले हैं।
Swami Ramsukhdas
अन्य (योगीजन) अपानवायु में प्राणवायु को हवन करते हैं, तथा प्राण में अपान की आहुति देते हैं, प्राण और अपान की गति को रोककर, वे प्राणायाम के ही समलक्ष्य समझने वाले होते हैं।
Swami Tejomayananda
Classical commentariesFor deeper study. Most are in the original Sanskrit.
Advaita
Non-dual: the self and the absolute are one.
Vishishtadvaita
Qualified non-dual: souls are real parts of the divine.
Dvaita
Dual: the soul and God are eternally distinct.
Shuddhadvaita
Pure non-dual, centred on grace and devotion.
Kashmir Shaivism
The Gita read through Trika Shaiva philosophy.
Modern teachers
20th-century teachers writing for today's readers.