Note 310 — Chapter XXI · THE PROCESS OF PRANAYAMA.

This chapter is purely allegorical. It deals with a process of Yoga called Pranayama i.e. the suppression of vital breath. The word in the text is Pitamaha which literally means Grand-father. Allegorically it means the father of the father of action i.e. father of the cause of action which is Pure Brahman. In this way every word has an allegorical meaning. As the whole chapter is allegorical we think it better to translate freely this and the subsequent chapters placing before our readers only the allegorical interpretation as some commentators have done. We need not say that a literal rendering will not make out the meaning intelligible. This whole Parva seems to be an interpolation as it bears no connection with the original plot of the book. It merely deals with Yoga and cosmogony.