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Udana

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

One of the five vital breaths (pranas), governing upward movement, speech, and spiritual ascent in yogic physiology.

Detailed Definition
Udana in poetry is the breath that lifts the soul—the whisper that becomes song, the cry that becomes prayer. Poets use it to depict awakening as rising: not through force, but through release. It becomes the poem’s ascent—the voice that carries the spirit from earth to sky, from word to wonder.
Example
Example in poetry:
Udana is the upward breath—A yogic poem: “Udana lifts the soul—like smoke from fire, rising to crown”; A modern lyric: “When I sang, Udana carried my voice—not from lungs, but from core”; A haiku: “Last breath—Udana: / soul’s ascent, not end”; Another: “Udana isn’t air—it’s the will to rise, the voice that speaks truth”; A devotional verse: “Chant ‘Om’—Udana carries it upward, beyond mind, to spirit”; A minimalist line: “Upward breath. Ascending energy. / Udana: the soul’s lift.”
Additional Notes
Udana governs upward movement, speech, and spiritual ascent; in yogic poetry, it is the breath that lifts the soul toward the crown; its activation is the moment of mantra rising, the word becoming light—making it essential for interpreting devotional verse as vocalized ascent, not mere recitation.
Also Known As
Upward Breath Ascending Prana Speech Breath Spiritual Ascent Breath
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