166 The Dictionary PRALAYA. Cosmic dissolution. The term is used to refer to the cataclysmic end of the world at the end of Kali Yuga. At the end of each set of four World Ages, when the creation can no longer be sustained, destruction takes place. Pralaya is usually regarded as the special time of Siva’s activity. The end of the world is often described in accounts in the Purana literature as destruction by fire, followed by flood, the world dissolving into the primeval chaos out of which creation takes place periodically. The period in which the universe in unmanifest is the night of Brahma, and when it again becomes manifest is the day of Brahma. (See also Creation; Siva; World Ages.) PRANA. Breath. In the Upanisads and all systems of Yoga, Prana is the energy of the body, related to the breath and the process of respiration. Prana is generally regarded as existing in the form of five specific life-breaths: (1) Prana, the ascending breath, which includes both inhalation and exhalation; (2) Apana, the descending breath, associated with the lower half of one’s body; (3) Vyana, the diffused breath, present and circulating throughout the entire body; (4) Udana, the upward breath, associated with belching, speech, and the turning of one’s energy to higher states of consciousness; and (5) Samana, the breath of the abdomen, associated with digestion. These energies or life-breaths circulate through channels in the human body, and their departure takes place at the moment of death. (See also Kundalini; Pranayama; Yoga.) PRANAYAMA. Control of life-breaths. Exercises that manipulate and control the breathing process are very important in all systems of Yoga. In Pataiijali’s exposition of Yoga, Pranayama is the fourth element of his system. Holding the breath, neither inhaling or exhaling, is one of the principal exercises of breath control. It is often asserted that complete quiescence, neither inhaling nor exhaling, is the moment at which enlightenment or union with Brahman occurs. Holding the breath is thought to lengthen one’s life. Yoga practitioners use breath control as a