# उदान (udāna)

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

उदान (udāna) is a Sanskrit word meaning breathing upwards, the navel, an eyelash, a kind of snake, heart joy, one of the nine divisions of sacred scriptures in Buddhism. Its 24 recorded definitions are grouped into 8 contexts, among them Vital Air / Upward Breath, Etymological / Cross-reference, Proper Name / Mythological Entity.

- **Root:** अन् (an)
- **Etymology:** E. उद् above, आङ् prefixed to अण् to breathe, to be, affix घञ् — E. ud above, āṅ prefixed to aṇ to breathe, to be, affix ghañ
- **SLP1:** `udAna`  **IAST:** udāna  **Devanagari:** उदान
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/udana/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### Vital Air / Upward Breath (13 definitions)
- breathing upwards  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 184,2] उद् - आन (ud-āna) a m. breathing upwards [ ID=32328 ]
- one of the five vital airs of the body, located in the throat and rising upwards  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > one of the five vital airs of the human body (that which is in the throat and rises upwards), Vedāntasāra (Title) 97; Atharva-veda (Title) xi, 8, 4; VS.; ChUp.; ŚBr.; MBh.; Suśr. &c. [ ID=32329 ]
- rising air, one of the five vital airs in the body  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उदान (udāna) [Printed book page 050-3 ] उदान (udāna) ud-āna, m. rising air ( one of the five airs in the body ). [ ID=4507 ]
- 1. One of the five vital airs, rising up the throat into the head. 2. The navel. 3. A snake. 4. An eyelash.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उदान (udāna) [Printed book page 147 ] उदान (udāna) m. ( - नः (-naḥ) ) 1 One of the five vital airs, that which rises up the throat and passes into the head. 2 The navel. 3 A snake. 4 An eye-lash. E. उद् (ud) above, आङ् (āṅ) prefixed to अण् (aṇ) to breathe, to be, affix घञ् (ghañ). [ ID=7022 ]
- 1. One of the five vital airs. 2. The navel. 3. A snake.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उदान (udāna) [Printed book page 120-b ] उदा _ न (udā_na) ( नः ) ((naḥ)) 1. m. One of the five vital airs; the navel; a snake. [ ID=6425 ]
- 1. Breathing upwards. 2. One of the five vital airs. 3. The navel.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उदान (udāna) [Printed book page 130-12 ] उदान (udāna) m. 1. Breathing upwards; 2. one of the five vital airs (the other four being प्राण (prāṇa), अपान (apāna), व्यान (vyāna) and समान (samāna) ); it goes up and out at the throat; 3. the navel. [ ID=6419 ]
- 1. One of the five vital airs that rises up the throat and passes into the head. 2. The navel. 3. A snake. 4. An eyelash.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उदान (udāna) [Printed book page 120-b ] उदान (udāna) m. ( - नः (-naḥ) ) 1. One of the five vital airs, that which rises us the throat and passes into the head. 2. The navel. 3. A snake. 4. An eye-lash. E. उद् (ud) above, आङ (āṅa) prefixed to अण (aṇa) to breathe, to be, affix घञ् (ghañ). [ ID=7019 ]
- One of the five vital airs, located in the throat and passing upward and outward.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उदान (udāna) [Printed book page 0116-b ] उदान (udāna) udāna, i. e. ud-an + a, m. One of the five vital airs, that which has its place in the throat and passes upward and outward, Vedāntas. in Chr. 207, 11. [ ID=2110 ]
- the wind that goes upward in the body  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उदान (udāna) [Printed book page 084 ] उदान (udāna) m. the wind that goes upward (in the body). [ ID=5499 ]
- 1. Breathing upwards or breath. 2. A vital air that rises up the throat and passes into the head. 3. An expression of joy or praise among Buddhists. 4. The navel. 5. An eyelash. 6. A kind of snake.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > उदान (udāna) [Printed book page 0153-c ] Ud-āna, as, m. breathing upwards, breathing, breath; one of the three or five vital airs, that which rises up the throat and passes into the head; (with Buddhists) an expression of joy or praise; the navel; an eyelash; a kind of snake. [ ID=10696 ]
- 1. One of the vital breaths. 2. An epithet of Shiva.  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > उदान (udāna) [Printed book page 686-1 ] *Udāna, one of the vital breaths. § 485 (Brāhmaṇavyādha- saṃv., v. Pativratop.): III, 213, 13966 (description), 13970 ( Samāno°yor madhye ).—§ 660 b (Bhṛgu-Bharadvājasaṃv.): XII, 184, 6845; 185, 6872 ( f : That single breath that operates in these three (i.e. Prāṇa, Samāna, and Apāna) is called Udāna).—§ 662 b (Jāpakop.): XII, 200 ε, 7346.— § 667 (Mokṣadh.): XII, 213, 7759 ( Vyāno°au ).—§ 704 (do.): XII, 302, 11124.—§ 714 g (Samāna): XII, 329, 12397 (son of Samāna and father of Vyāna).—§ 714 j (Udvaha): XII, 329, 12402.—§ 782 b (Brāhmaṇagītā): XIV, 20, 612, 614; 21, 653; 23, 685, 688, 692, 696, 699, 705, 706 (the contention of the vital breaths about superiority); 24, 712, 717, 723, 724, 725, 727.—§ 782 g (Guruśiṣyasaṃv.): XIV, 42, 1109.—Do. 2 = Śiva (1000 names 1 ). [ ID=11059 ]
- a vital air  
  *The Purana Index*
  > उदान (udāna) [Printed book page 1-223 ] Udāna (I) — a vital air. Bhā. II. 2. 20; IV. 4. 25. [ ID=1770 ]
- 1. The fifth vital breath. 2. The breath that consumes food. 3. The wind that rises through the throat and leads the spirit forth at death.  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > उदान (udāna) [Printed book page 1-086 ] Udāna is usually the fifth of the vital breaths ( Prāṇa ) when five are enumerated. 1 Sometimes 2 it appears as the second, coming after Prāṇa, and followed by Vyāna or Samāna. Again, 3 it is found simply opposed to Prāṇa, or it simply follows Prāṇa and Apāna. 4 In the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 5 it is treated as the breath that consumes food, a notion traceable in the later Upaniṣads, 6 while it is also regarded as the wind that rises up by the throat, 7 and leads the spirit forth at death. 8 [ Footnote: 1) E.g., Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, iii. 12, 9; Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā, v. 4; 10; Śata- patha Brāhmaṇa, ix. 2, 2, 5; xi. 8, 3, 6 (in the order Prāṇa, Vyāna, Apāna, Udāna, Samāna); Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, i. 5, 3; iii. 4, 1 (Samāna is omitted); iii. 9, 26; Chāndogya Upani- ṣad, iii. 13, 5; v. 23, 1. 2; Aitareya Āraṇyaka, ii. 3, 3, etc.] [ Footnote: 2) Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, i. 20; vii. 27; Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, ix. 4, 2, 10, etc. (with Vyāna); Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, i. 7, 2 (with Samāna).] [ Footnote: 3) Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, vi. 20; Śata- patha Brāhmaṇa, iv. 1, 2, 2; ix. 2, 4, 5, etc.] [ Footnote: 4) Śāṅkhāyana Āraṇyaka, viii. 8; xi. 1.] [ Footnote: 5) xi. 2, 4, 5.] [ Footnote: 6) Maitrāyaṇī Upaniṣad, ii. 6.] [ Footnote: 7) Amṛtabindu Upaniṣad, 34.] [ Footnote: 8) Praśna Upaniṣad, iii. 7. Cf. Deus- sen, Philosophy of the Upaniṣads, 280.] [ ID=348 ]

### Etymological / Cross-reference (3 definitions)
- See 2 ud-an  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 185,2] उद् - (ud-) आन (ud-āna) b See 2. उद् - (ud-) √ अन् (√an). [ ID=32479 ]
- See under udan  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उदान (udāna) [Printed book page 0303-b ] उदान (udāna) See under 1 उदन् (udan). [ ID=8054 ]
- See under 2 ud-an  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > [Printed book page 0154-b ] उदान (udāna) ud-āna. See under 2. ud-an, p. 153. [ ID=10738 ]

### Proper Name / Mythological Entity (3 definitions)
- a Tushita god  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Udāna (II) — a Tuṣita god. Br. III. 3. 19; Vā. 66. 18. [ ID=1771 ]
- the name of the thirteenth kalpa  
  *The Purana Index*
  > [Printed book page 1-224 ] Udāna (III) — the name of the 13th kalpa. M. 290. 6. [ ID=1772 ]
- a mindborn son of Brahma in the twenty-first kalpa  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Udāna (IV) — a mindborn son of Brahmā in the 21st kalpa. Vā. 21. 47. [ ID=1773 ]

### A Kind of Snake (1 definition)
- a kind of snake  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a kind of snake, L. [ ID=32332 ]

### An Eyelash (1 definition)
- an eyelash  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > an eyelash, L. [ ID=32331 ]

### Division of Buddhist Scriptures (1 definition)
- one of the nine divisions of sacred scriptures in Buddhism  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > [Printed book page 1321,3] (with Buddhists) one of the 9 divisions of sacred scriptures, Dharmasaṃgraha (Title) 62 ( Monier-Williams’ Buddhism in its connexion with Brāhmaṇism and Hindūism: and in its contrast with Christianity (Title) 63 ) [ ID=32333.1 sup ]

### Joy / Expression of Joy (1 definition)
- heart joy  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > joy, heart's joy ( Buddh. ) [ ID=32333 ]

### The Navel (1 definition)
- the navel  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the navel, L. [ ID=32330 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller 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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