# अपान (apāna)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/apana

अपान (apāna) is a Sanskrit word meaning the vital air that moves downward and out at the anus, name of a Saman, flatulence, expiration or breathing out, the vital air that moves downward and out through the anus, a fart or one of the five vital airs. Its 19 recorded definitions are grouped into 6 contexts, among them The downward-moving vital air (prāṇa) and related aspects, Name of a deity or divine being, Fart or flatulence.

- **Etymology:** E. अप below, अन to breathe, घञ् aff — E. apa below, ana to breathe, ghañ aff
- **SLP1:** `apAna`  **IAST:** apāna  **Devanagari:** अपान
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/apana/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### The downward-moving vital air (prāṇa) and related aspects (11 definitions)
- the vital air that moves downward and out at the anus  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 54,2] अपा (apā) न (na) m. (opposed to प्रा (prā) ण (ṇa) ), that of the five vital airs which goes downwards and out at the anus [ ID=10019 ]
- 1. Downward breath or vital air. 2. Anus.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अपान (apāna) [Printed book page 020-3 ] अपान (apāna) apa‿aná, m. downward breath ( one of the vital airs ); anus; -udgāra, m. fart. [ ID=1984 ]
- 1. The anus. 2. A fart or one of the five vital airs.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अप (apa) ान (apāna) [Printed book page 047 ] अप (apa) ान (apāna) n. ( - नं (-naṃ) ) 1 The anus. 2 A fart, one of the five vital airs. E. अप (apa) below, अन (ana) to breathe, घञ् (ghañ) aff. [ ID=2197 ]
- 1. The anus. 2. The vital air that moves downward and out of the body.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अपान (apāna) [Printed book page 040-35 ] अपान (apāna) m. 1. The anus; 2. that of the five vital airs which goes downwards and out at the anus (the other four being प्राण (prāṇa), उदान (udāna), समान (samāna) and व्यान (vyāna) ). [ ID=2246 ]
- 1. The anus. 2. A fart or one of the five vital airs.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अप (apa) ान (apāna) [Printed book page 039-a ] अप (apa) ान (apāna) n. ( - नं (-naṃ) ) 1. The anus. 2. A fart, one of the five vital airs. E. अप (apa) below, अन (ana) to breathe, घञ् (ghañ) aff. [ ID=2195 ]
- 1. One of the five vital airs that goes downwards. 2. The anus.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अपान (apāna) [Printed book page 0035-a ] अपान (apāna) apāna, i. e. apa-an + a, m. 1. One of the five vital airs, that which goes downwards, Vedāntas. in Chr. 207, 10. 2. The anus ( cf. an ). [ ID=697 ]
- 1. The downward-moving breath or wind in the body. 2. The anus.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अपान (apāna) [Printed book page 030 ] अपान (apāna) m. the wind that goes downward (in the body); the anus. [ ID=2028 ]
- 1. One of the five vital airs in the body, which goes downwards and is concerned with the evacuation of excrement, urine, and semen. 2. A fart. 3. The anus.  
  *Goldstücker Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अपान (apāna) [Printed book page 185-b ] अपान (apāna) Tatpur. m. ( - नः (-naḥ) ) 1 The air which goes downwards; in the Vedas, in the doctrine of the Upanishads as well as in the philosophical and medical systems, the air (comp. वात, (vāta,) वायु (vāyu) ) which is inhaled and descends the body, one of the Page186-a+ 56 five vital airs which are supposed to pervade the latter; (op- posed to प्राण, (prāṇa,) the air which is exhaled or proceeds from the body; comp. besides उदान, समान, व्यान (udāna, samāna, vyāna) and see अन (ana) ); in the legend of the Aitareya Upan. it is therefore this vital air which is able to seize food, (for it introduces it into the body), and to give support to life; comp. अन (ana) ् (an) नायु (annāyu). In the Śatapath. and Bṛhadār. Upan. it is called, from the same reason, the function of smelling (and the odour inhaled ): प्राणो वै ग्रहः (prāṇo vai grahaḥ) सोऽपानेनातिग्राहेण गृहीतोऽपानेन हि गन्धं जिघ्रति (so'pānenātigrāheṇa gṛhīto'pānena hi gandhaṃ jighrati). In the Vedānta-Sāra it is defined: अपान (apāna) ो नामावाग्गमनवान्पाय्वा - (apāno nāmāvāggamanavānpāyvā-) दिस्थानवर्ती (disthānavartī) (comm. अधो नाभेरधस्ताद्गमनवान्मलाद्यानयन - (adho nābheradhastādgamanavānmalādyānayana-) व्यापारेण । पायुर्गुदम् । तत्स्थानवर्तीत्यर्थः । आदिशब्दादुपस्थग्र - (vyāpāreṇa. pāyurgudam. tatsthānavartītyarthaḥ. ādiśabdādupasthagra-) हः । तत्रापि मूत्ररेतोविसर्गस्यापानकर्मत्वात् (haḥ. tatrāpi mūtraretovisargasyāpānakarmatvāt) ); in the Sāṅkhya it is like the other four vital airs the function which is common to बुद्धि, अहङ्कार (buddhi, ahaṅkāra) and मनस् (manas) qq. vv. ( Sāṅkhya prav. सामान्यक - (sāmānyaka-) रणवृत्तिः प्राणाद्या वायवः पञ्च (raṇavṛttiḥ prāṇādyā vāyavaḥ pañca) ) and explained by the comm. अपनयनादपानस्तत्र यत्स्यन्दनं तदपि सामान्यवृत्तिरिन्द्रियस्य (apanayanādapānastatra yatsyandanaṃ tadapi sāmānyavṛttirindriyasya). In the Kaṇāda-Sūtra प्राणापाननिमेषोन्मेष (prāṇāpānanimeṣonmeṣa) °° (°°) it is explained as having the property of अधोगमनं फुत्कारादौ वा तिर्यग्ग - (adhogamanaṃ phutkārādau vā tiryagga-) मनम् (manam). This theory is then more fully developed in Su- śruta's Nidānasthāna where the inhaled vital air ‘resides in the rectum and in time draws down the excrements, urine, semen, fœtus and menses’ ( पक्वाधानालयोऽपानः काले (pakvādhānālayo'pānaḥ kāle) कर्षति चाप्ययम् । समीरणः शकृन्मूत्रशुक्रगर्भार्तवान्यधः (karṣati cāpyayam. samīraṇaḥ śakṛnmūtraśukragarbhārtavānyadhaḥ) ), and ‘when obstructed by bile produces burning, heat and a little blood, when obstructed by phlegm, heaviness in the lower part of the body’ ( अपान (apāna) े पित्तसंयुक्ते दाहौष्ण्ये स्यादसृग्द - (apāne pittasaṃyukte dāhauṣṇye syādasṛgda-) रम् । अधःकाये गुरुत्वं च तस्मिन्नेव कफावृते (ram. adhaḥkāye gurutvaṃ ca tasminneva kaphāvṛte) ). Comp. also the following from the musical work Saṅgītadarpaṇa: प्राणापा - (prāṇāpā-) नौ तथा व्यानसमानोदानसंज्ञकाः । नागं कूर्मं च कृकलं देवदत्तं (nau tathā vyānasamānodānasaṃjñakāḥ. nāgaṃ kūrmaṃ ca kṛkalaṃ devadattaṃ) धनंजयम् (dhanaṃjayam) (sic, neuter; comp. these latter words in the Vedānta- Sāra p. 9) । तेषां मुख्यतमः प्राणो नाभिकन्धादधः स्थितः । (. teṣāṃ mukhyatamaḥ prāṇo nābhikandhādadhaḥ sthitaḥ.) शब्दोच्चारणनिःश्वासोच्छ्वासकासादिकारणम् । अपान (apāna) स्तु गुदे (śabdoccāraṇaniḥśvāsocchvāsakāsādikāraṇam. apānastu gude) मेढ्रे कटीजङ्घोदरे तथा । व्यानोऽक्षिश्रोत्रगुल्फेषु कट्यां घ्राणे च (meḍhre kaṭījaṅghodare tathā. vyāno'kṣiśrotragulpheṣu kaṭyāṃ ghrāṇe ca) तिष्ठति । समानो व्याप्य निखिलं शरीरं वह्निना सह । उदानः (tiṣṭhati. samāno vyāpya nikhilaṃ śarīraṃ vahninā saha. udānaḥ) पादयोरास्ते हस्तयोरङ्गसंधिषु । त्वगादिधातूनाश्रित्य पञ्च ना - (pādayorāste hastayoraṅgasaṃdhiṣu. tvagādidhātūnāśritya pañca nā-) गादयः स्थिताः (gādayaḥ sthitāḥ).--An improvement on Suśruta seems to have been intended by Hemachandra who makes the अपान (apāna) run down from the nape of the neck to the heels ( अपान (apāna) पवनो (apānapavano) मन्यापृष्ठपृष्ठान्तपार्ष्णिगः; (manyāpṛṣṭhapṛṣṭhāntapārṣṇigaḥ;) comm. पृष्ठान्तो गुदः । पार्ष्णी पादप - (pṛṣṭhānto gudaḥ. pārṣṇī pādapa-) श्चाद्भागौ (ścādbhāgau) ). 2 A fart. 3 The anus. E. अन (ana) ् (an) with अप, (apa,) kṛt aff. घञ् (ghañ). [ ID=5092 ]
- 1. Expiration or breathing out. 2. The vital air that moves downward and out through the anus. 3. The anus.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > अपान (apāna) [Printed book page 0054-c ] Apāna, as, m. expiration, breathing out (opposed to prāṇa ); that of the five vital airs which goes downwards and out at the anus; ( am ), n. the anus; ventris crepitus. —Apāna-dā, ās, m. Ved. giving the vital air Apāna. —Apana-dvāra, am, n. the anus. —Apāna-pavana, as, m. the vital air Apāna. —Apāna-pā, ās, m., Ved. protecting the Apāna. —Apāna-bhṛt, t, f. cherishing the vital air, a sacri- ficial brick. —apāna-vāyu, us, m. the air Apāna; ventris crepitus. [ ID=3635 ]
- 1. Inhalation. 2. The vital breath that moves in the lower abdomen to eliminate waste.  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > अपान (apāna) [Printed book page 063-1 ] *Apāna 1 (“inhalation”). § 660 e (Bhṛgu-Bharadv.-s.): XII, 185, 6871: Apāna, having recourse to the heat ( pāvakaṃ ) that is in the urethra and the abdominal intestines ( basti- mūlaṃ gudaṃ caiva ), moves, engaged in carrying out urine and fæces (cf. Prāṇa).—§ 714 (Śukakṛtya): XII, 329, 12397 (“the senses are dominated over by the Sādhyas, etc.; these gave birth to an invincible son named Samāna; from Samāna sprang a son called Udāna; from him Vyāna; from Vyāna arose Apāna; and lastly, from Apāna sprang the wind called Prāṇa”). [ ID=722 ]
- inspiration, or one of the vital breaths connected with the lower body  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > अपान (apāna) [Printed book page 1-025 ] Apāna. — The word appears repeatedly in the Atharvaveda, 1 and later as one of the vital breaths ( Prāṇa ), usually with Prāṇa, and often with one or more of the other three. Its original sense 2 appears to have been ‘inspiration.’ Its con- nection with the lower part of the body ( nābhi, ‘navel’), which is found already in the Aitareya Upaniṣad, 3 is not unnatural. [ Footnote: 1) Av. ii. 28, 3; v. 30, 12, etc.; Vāja- saneyi Saṃhitā, xiii. 19; 24, etc.] [ Footnote: 2) See Caland, Zeitschrift der Deut- schen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, lv. 261; 56, 556-558, correcting Ewing, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 22, 249 et seq. ] [ Footnote: 3) Aitareya Upaniṣad, i. 4, etc. Cf. Deussen, Philosophy of the Upani- shads, 263 et seq. ] [ ID=86 ]

### Name of a deity or divine being (4 definitions)
- an epithet of Shiva  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > Apāna 2 = Śiva (1000 names 1 ). [ ID=723 ]
- A Sadhya god.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > अपान (apāna) [Printed book page 1-074 ] Apāna (I) — a Sādhya god. Br. III. 3. 16. [ ID=590 ]
- a Tushita god  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Apāna (II) — a Tuṣita god. Br. III. 3. 19; Vā. 66. 18. [ ID=591 ]
- an Ajita deva  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Apāna (III) — an Ajita deva. Vā. 67. 34. [ ID=592 ]

### Fart or flatulence (1 definition)
- flatulence  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > ventris crepitus, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=10022 ]

### Name of a Sāman (1 definition)
- Name of a Saman  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a Sāman, PañcaviṃśaBrāhmaṇa [Cologne Addition] (Title) [ ID=10021 ]

### The anus (1 definition)
- the anus  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the anus, Mahābhārata (Title) (in this sense also ( अम् (am) ) n., Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) ) [ ID=10020 ]

### The anus or a fart (1 definition)
- 1. The anus. 2. A fart.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अपान (apāna) [Printed book page 037-a ] अपा _ न (apā_na) ( नं ) ((naṃ)) 1. n. The anus; a fart. [ ID=1822 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Goldstücker Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872); Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; The Purana Index; The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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