Ideas across traditions · body · Indian Hatha
kumbhaka
Works in 2 traditions beyond Indian Hatha attest this concept, on 290 cited pages. Translators have rendered it as “retention of breath”, “breath retention”; a link through a rendering is marked as such, because another translator chose differently.
Also under: kumbhak · kumbhakas · “retention of breath” · “breath retention”
32works in other traditions, with a cited page
0works in Indian Hatha, its home tradition on the maps
13further works where only a vocabulary list or keyword names it; not shown
1judged analogues in other traditions (a different word for a neighbouring idea)
Analogues, judged
A different word, in another tradition, that a reviewer judged to name a neighbouring idea. These are not attestations of kumbhaka; each carries the reviewer’s confidence and reason.
- prāṇāyāma Indian75%the retention phase alongside puraka and rechaka — a component of pranayama, not a synonym (judged from the other side)
In other traditions
Ordered by the earliest work in each tradition that attests the concept. Within a tradition, works run from earliest to latest by conventional composition date.
Indian
- 200 BCEBhagavad Gītāsame word
- 200 CEManusmṛti (Mānava Dharmaśāstra)same word
- 200 CEYājñavalkya Smṛtisame word
- 350 CEPatañjali, Yoga Sūtra (with Vyāsa bhāṣya)same word and a translator’s rendering
- kumbhaka — retentionis a restraint of the flow of inhalation and exhalation in expulsion ( recaka ), inhalation ( pūraka ), and retention (Yoga-Sūtra with Three Classical Commentaries (Sanskrit), 1904, p. 122 · flagged as a term by the translator
- kumbhaka — breath retentionis drawn in, it is the second, called puraka inhalation . And when it is suspended, all at once, it is the third, calledयोगसूत्र (Yoga Sūtra), 1890, p. 69 · flagged as a term by the translator
- kumbhakae refers to inhalation ( pūraka original: "pūraka" ) when he says "In case . . . inspiration." He refers to suspension (Yoga-System of Patanjali (Woods - Harvard), 1914, p. 240 · flagged as a term by the translator
- 350 CEPatañjali, Yoga Sūtra with Vyāsa's bhāṣyasame word and a translator’s rendering
- kumbhaka — retentionis a restraint of the flow of inhalation and exhalation in expulsion ( recaka ), inhalation ( pūraka ), and retention (Yoga-Sūtra with Three Classical Commentaries (Sanskrit), 1904, p. 122 · flagged as a term by the translator
- kumbhaka — breath retentionis drawn in, it is the second, called puraka inhalation . And when it is suspended, all at once, it is the third, calledयोगसूत्र (Yoga Sūtra), 1890, p. 69 · flagged as a term by the translator
- kumbhakae refers to inhalation ( pūraka original: "pūraka" ) when he says "In case . . . inspiration." He refers to suspension (Yoga-System of Patanjali (Woods - Harvard), 1914, p. 240 · flagged as a term by the translator
- 800 CEVijñānabhairavasame word
- 800 CEMālinīvijayottara Tantrasame word
- 850 CEVasugupta, Śivasūtra (with Kṣemarāja's Vimarśinī)same word
- 850 CEVasugupta, Śiva Sūtra with Kṣemarāja's Vimarśinīsame word
- 1000Abhinavagupta, Tantrāloka (with Tantrasāra)same word and a translator’s rendering
- 1000Abhinavagupta, Tantrāloka (with Jayaratha) and Tantrasārasame word and a translator’s rendering
- 1000Yoga Vāsiṣṭha / Mokṣopāyasame word
- 1000Yoga Vāsiṣṭha (the dream worlds of Līlā, Lavaṇa, the hundred Rudras)same word
- 1100Śāradātilaka & Prapañcasāra (mantra-sādhana manuals)same word
- 1200Gorakṣanātha, Siddhasiddhāntapaddhati & Gorakṣaśatakasame word and a translator’s rendering
- 1200Kulārṇava Tantrasame word
- 1200Yoga-vāsiṣṭhasame word
- 1300Śivasvarodaya (breath-divination and svara yoga)same word and a translator’s rendering
- breath retentionof the question, if the Lunar breath is active and there is no loss on the left or right, and if one performs *Kumbhaka*Discourse on the Rising of the Breath, 1800, p. 31 · flagged as a term by the translator
- Kumbhakaly purifying their bodies, Yogis should understand these three types of Pranayama (breath control): Puraka (Inhalation),The Science of Breath, 1898, p. 105 · flagged as a term by the translator
- Kumbhakaho, becoming steady, meditates upon the gods and performs the sacrifice of the soul-breath into the union of life-forcesThe Rising of the Breath of Shiva with Commentary, Unknown, p. 65 · original word kept by the translator
- 1350Mādhava, Sarva-darśana-saṃgrahasame word
- 1400Sāṃkhya-sūtra with Aniruddha and Vijñānabhikṣusame word
- 1450Svātmārāma, Haṭhapradīpikāsame word and a translator’s rendering
- kumbhakary starting from the hair of the head down to the boundary of the tips of the nails. One should perform breath retentionLight on the Yoga of Force with Commentaries, undated, p. 72 · flagged as a term by the translator
- kumbhaka — breath retentiondescribes its general results. Hatha Yoga consists of four limbs that will be spoken of: posture āsana , breath controlHathayogapradipika (Sanskrit, 1867), 1867, p. 35 · flagged as a term by the translator
- Kumbhakaarmadhyandine sāyamardharātre ca kumbhakān | śanairaśītiparyantaṃ caturvāraṃ samabhyaset || 11 ||" > One should practiceThe Hatha Yoga Pradipika, 1915, p. 22 · flagged as a term by the translator
- 1500Śiva Saṃhitāsame word and a translator’s rendering
- kumbhaka — breath retentiony no longer need to follow these strict dietary rules. However, the beginner should eat small amounts often and practiceThe Siva Samhita, 1914, p. 17 · flagged as a term by the translator
- kumbhakarictions are no longer necessary. The student should eat small quantities of food multiple times a day and must practiceThe Compendium of Shiva, Unknown, p. 36 · flagged as a term by the translator
- 1577Pūrṇānanda, Ṣaṭcakranirūpaṇa (The Serpent Power)same word and a translator’s rendering
- breath retentionr—becoming absorbed in Brahman with a joyful mind—sits in a yoga posture. By restraining the breath through **Kumbhaka**Description of the Six Chakras, Unknown, p. 50 · flagged as a term by the translator
- kumbhakaurned back into the nasal cavity to still the mind and breath , should fill the body with breath and perform a retentionDescription of the Six Chakras, undated, p. 73 · original word kept by the translator
- Kumbhakar respiration leads us to the technique of Prānāyāma , which is summarized in three Sanskrit words: Puraka (inhalation),The Mysterious Kundalini (1927), 1927, p. 33 · flagged as a term by the translator
- 1577Pūrṇānanda, Ṣaṭcakranirūpaṇasame word and a translator’s rendering
- breath retentionr—becoming absorbed in Brahman with a joyful mind—sits in a yoga posture. By restraining the breath through **Kumbhaka**Description of the Six Chakras, Unknown, p. 50 · flagged as a term by the translator
- kumbhakaurned back into the nasal cavity to still the mind and breath , should fill the body with breath and perform a retentionDescription of the Six Chakras, undated, p. 73 · original word kept by the translator
- 1775Mahānirvāṇa Tantrasame word
- 1851N.C. Paul, A Treatise on the Yoga Philosophy (1851); T.C. Rajan Iyengar (1908)same word
- 1896Raja Yoga (Vivekananda)same word
- 1896Vivekananda, Rāja Yogasame word
- 1896Vivekananda, Raja Yogasame word
Tibetan
- 1100Machig Labdrön, Gcodsame word
- 1310Mkha' 'gro snying thig (Dākinī Heart-Essence instruction cycle)same word
- 1400Dzogchen khrid yig (direct-introduction and guidance manuals; Sems sde, Kun byed rgyal po)same word
How it is done — 2 instruction pages
Pages a blind judge read as giving the steps of the practice — order, positions, counts, timing — not merely naming it. Found by describing the act to the page embeddings and among the evidence above; each line says what a leader would still have to invent.
- 1450Light on the Yoga of Force with Commentaries
- 1921The Swacchanda Tantra with the Uddyota Commentary
At home in Indian Hatha
No work labelled Indian Hatha on the four maps attests it behind the gate; the concept’s own tradition may be under-mapped, or its home works are held only in vocabulary lists.
Evidence gate. A work is listed only where a translator marked the word as a term with a gloss, or kept the original word beside the English, on at least one page of a held edition. Vocabulary lists and keywords alone do not count: in a Greek vocabulary list ἡσυχία is the ordinary word for quiet. Up to 3 pages are shown per work, preferring those with a gloss. The vocabulary was built 2026-09-11; the graph on 2026-09-13.