Encyclopedia of Ancient and Modern India
Encyclopedia of Sanatan Dharma
Kuṇḍalinī, Ṣaṭcakra, Nāda, Samādhi and the Conquest of Kāla
How the Yogin Transcends Time and Death
हठयोग हठेन बलात्कारेण योगः ।
प्राणायामादि क्रियाभ्यासजे राजयोगं विनैव परमात्म साक्षात्काररूपे चित्तवृत्तिरोधात्मके योगे ।
योगश्च द्विविधः हठयोगः राजयोगश्च ।
Haṭhayoga, masculine noun: yoga through force or exertion (haṭhena balātkāreṇa yogaḥ).
Yoga produced through the practice of prāṇāyāma and other such disciplines, even without Rājayoga, in which the modifications of the mind are restrained, resulting in the direct realization of the Supreme Self (Paramātman).
Yoga is of two kinds: Haṭhayoga and Rājayoga.
तत्र हठयोगः
क्रियाविशेषसाध्यः हठदीपिकादावुक्तप्रकारः । राजयो-
गस्तु भावनाविशेषसाध्यः पातञ्जलादावुक्तः । हठयोगोऽत्र साङ्गाऽभिधीयते तत्साधनप्रशंसादिः उभवयोगयोरपि परपरसापेक्षतया
एककार्य्याकरत्वम् । “हठं विना सिव्यति राजयोगो नर्त्ते हठाच्चापि न राजयोगः । तदाभ्यसेत् पूर्वमतः सुनिष्पत्त्यन्तं हठं सद्गुरुतोऽभिलब्धम् । अभ्यासेन विना दृढ़ेन सुचिरं साङ्गस्य योगस्य वा योगी याति न राजयोगपदवीं मध्येऽन्तरालैर्युताम् । वृद्धो वा तरुणः सरुक् च शनकैर्योगेऽस्ततन्त्रः क्रियायुक्तः सिद्धिमुपैति शास्त्रपठनान्ना योगसिद्धिर्भवेत् ।
The method described in the Haṭhadīpikā and similar works is accomplished through physical practices. Rājayoga, on the other hand, is accomplished through a particular form of mental cultivation (bhāvanā), as described in the works of Patañjali and others. Here, Haṭhayoga is understood as consisting of its various limbs, and the praise of its practices and related matters indicates that both forms of yoga are mutually dependent upon one another and serve the same ultimate purpose.
“Rājayoga cannot be accomplished without Haṭhayoga, nor can Haṭhayoga be perfected without Rājayoga. Therefore, one should first practise Haṭhayoga, properly received from a true teacher, until its perfection is attained. Without long and firm practice of the complete discipline of yoga, a yogin cannot attain the state of Rājayoga, which is reached only after passing through the intervening stages. Whether old or young, afflicted by illness or otherwise, a person who gradually becomes established in yoga and engages in its prescribed practices attains perfection. Perfection in yoga does not arise merely from the study of scriptures.”
One who is without faith, devoid of practice, fierce and fond of violent or harsh pursuits, excessively talkative, accustomed to unsuitable food and conduct, an excessive eater, or extremely poor never attains perfection in yoga.
Practice itself is the supreme seed of yoga; practice itself bestows the fruit of yoga. Nothing else is required by one who has obtained the instructions of the yoga-guru through the proper signs and indications, and who is devoted to yoga with a disciplined and intelligent mind.
If, through the merit accumulated in previous births, one obtains association with those who have attained the sacred stages of perfection, and if the present attainment is supported by practice acquired in a previous existence, then through that means the fruit may sometimes be perceived quickly in this world. All of this is accomplished through the air (prāṇa) that has entered the central channel (nāḍī) and ascended into the head. Therefore, practice alone, obtained through a sacred lineage or accomplished teaching, is the means for producing rapid and subtle transformation.
For one whose mental activity has become stilled, effort directed toward the mind is undertaken in order to establish a peaceful and uninterrupted flow within the Self. Such practice, when cultivated for a long time with reverence and devotion, becomes firmly established.
Through this sustained practice, the vital air (prāṇa) becomes mastered; thereafter the inner fire becomes increasingly intensified through constant practice of kumbhaka (breath retention). When the internal fire has become active, the food that has been consumed is properly digested; the bodily tissues, beginning with the nutritive essence (rasa), are properly nourished, and the body progressively acquires strength.
Through the great and intense practice of the bandhas, the digestive fire is powerfully kindled, digestion becomes effective, and all the bodily disorders and defects are destroyed.
The disorders of the faeces, urine, and other bodily ailments, including diseases acquired over many births, are eliminated. Purification of the nāḍīs is a characteristic sign of success in Haṭhayoga; without it, the prolonged retention of the breath is fruitless. When the breath is properly restrained according to the instructions of the guru and by the appropriate technique, the Suṣumṇā nāḍī is activated and the inner fire is kindled. Before practising pratyāhāra, the yogin should first gain mastery over the movements of the senses and then awaken his own Kuṇḍalinī. When Kuṇḍalinī is awakened through the practice of the accomplished method of prāṇa, it swiftly rises upward and reaches the Brahmarandhra.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
The Proper Place for Yoga Practice
The same work describes the proper characteristics of the place of yoga practice:
“The yogin should establish his mind upon the practice of yoga in a good and virtuous country, ruled by a righteous king, where food is plentiful, where there is no fear, where the surroundings are pure, and where people are devoted to meritorious conduct and prosperity.
The place should be secluded, hidden from public view, free from mosquitoes, protected from excessive cold and heat, and free from barren ground, thorns, dry leaves, and other such obstacles. It should be free from the noise and disturbance of crowds, cattle, and gatherings. It should be free from anthills and crossroads, protected from fire, and free from all fear of harmful creatures. It should be protected from violent winds, attacks by hostile beings, and disturbances caused by spirits or other supernatural entities. Such a place should be selected for the construction of a maṭha, intended exclusively for the practice of yoga.
The hut should be of suitable size, situated in a secluded place, and furnished with the necessary arrangements. The Haṭhayogin should remain within such a solitary dwelling.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
The Haṭhapradīpikā gives a similar description:
“The dwelling of the yoga practitioner should have a small entrance, without cracks or openings, and should be neither excessively high nor excessively long. It should be properly plastered with a thick coating of cow-dung, should be clean and completely free from insects and other creatures. Outside it should have a pleasant maṇḍapa, a well, and a raised platform or altar, and should be surrounded by a protective enclosure. Such are the characteristics of a yogamaṭha, as described by accomplished practitioners of Haṭhayoga.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
The Haṭhamañjarī likewise states:
“The entrance of the yogamaṭha should be circular, while its interior should be square for the purposes of exercise. Its dimensions should be appropriate, its interior pleasant and comfortable, and its structure suitable for the practitioner. The dwelling should be situated in a windless place. It should be elevated sufficiently to protect against defects of the surrounding ground and should prevent disturbances caused by excessive air. After purifying the impurities of the nāḍīs and the internal bodily channels, the practitioner attains expansion and stability of the heart.”
Proper Time for Practice
Regarding the appropriate times for practice, the Haṭhamañjarī states:
“One may practise prāṇāyāma once, twice, or three times a day, and it may also be practised at midnight. It may be undertaken during the last watch of the night, in the early morning, at midday, or during the evening.”
Conditions in Which Practice Is Prohibited
The Haṭhamañjarī and related works prescribe numerous circumstances in which yoga practice should not be undertaken:
“One should not practise in extreme cold or excessive heat, nor when the body is weakened by physical exertion. One should not practise when suffering from hunger, excessive thirst, abdominal distension, or severe bodily weakness. Practice should not be undertaken when the mind is disturbed, when digestion is incomplete, when there are acidic or sour belchings, after vomiting, after excessive evacuation, or immediately after eating.
When the mind is overwhelmed by anxiety, when one has consumed unsuitable roots or fruits, or when one is excessively occupied with worldly duties, sexual activity, or other pursuits, one should not practise yoga. Nor should a person afflicted by numerous diseases undertake practice indiscriminately.
The practitioner should not practise in the middle of a public road, on the bank of a river or sea, or in an ancient and unsuitable building. The place should be carefully chosen, for practising yoga in an improper place may produce mental distress and other harmful consequences.
One who disregards the proper place and time and nevertheless undertakes yoga practice may cause disturbances within the body. Obstacles may arise in the form of stupidity, muteness, deafness, blindness, loss of memory, mental dullness, speechlessness, severe burning, fever, and other disorders.
These nine defects arise when yoga is practised in an unsuitable place or at an unsuitable time.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Things to Be Avoided
The Haṭhasaṃketa further states:
“Desire, fear, excessive sleep, excessive greed, and excessive anger, together with the other defects that obstruct yoga, should be abandoned. Having relinquished these, the practitioner should undertake yoga with a well-composed mind and a firmly concentrated consciousness.”
Methods for Overcoming the Defects of Yoga
The means of conquering these defects are described as follows:
“The wise practitioner should overcome sleep through cultivation of sattva; protect the organs of generation and the abdomen through restraint; protect the hands and feet through the eyes; protect the organs of sight and hearing through appropriate awareness; protect the mind through the mind itself; and protect speech through proper discipline.
He should restrain fear through discrimination, remove pain through intelligence, and conquer desire through mastery over mental intention and resolve. In this manner the wise practitioner conquers the defects that obstruct yoga.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Conduct That Destroys or Supports Yoga
The Haṭhasaṃketa states:
“Excessive eating, excessive exertion, excessive talk, rigid adherence to unnecessary rules, association with worldly crowds, and fickleness—these six destroy yoga.
By contrast, enthusiasm, determination, patience, knowledge of reality, steadfastness, and abandonment of excessive social association—these six cause yoga to succeed.”
The ten yamas are:
Non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy, forgiveness, steadfastness, compassion, straightforwardness, moderation in food, and purity.
The corresponding observances include contentment, faith, charity, worship of Īśvara, and related disciplines.
Additional Niyamas: “Study of the doctrines and teachings of the tradition (siddhānta-śravaṇa), modesty or humility (hrī), discernment and intelligence (mati), austerity (tapas), and sacrificial offering (huta) are also prescribed.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Diet
The Śruti teaches: “When food is pure, the mind becomes pure.” Since mitāhāra (moderate eating) is itself a limb of yoga, the food appropriate for a yogin is described as follows:
“Living beings cannot maintain life or sustain the body without food and drink, and without nourishment strength cannot exist. Therefore, for the purposes of yoga, one should consume in moderation food that removes impurities and provides strength, especially cooked grains, ghee, and milk.
One should avoid heavy roots and tubers, as well as drinks that are excessively hot or cold. Three qualities of food are especially beneficial in yoga: food that promotes sattva, longevity and strength, and food that produces satisfaction while remaining pure and wholesome.
The works beginning with the Haṭhapradīpikā describe the proper dietary regimen. After the nāḍīs have been purified, the practitioner should adopt this beneficial diet.”
— Haṭhamañjarī
The wholesome dietary group is described as:
“Wheat, rice, barley, ṣaṣṭika rice, wholesome grains, milk, ghee, sugar, butter, refined sugar, honey, dry ginger, pointed gourd, fruits, the five leafy vegetables, green gram and other light pulses are regarded by the foremost sages as wholesome food.
The five vegetables are Kṣīraparṇī, Jīvantī, Matsyākṣī, Punarnavā, and Meghanādī.
Food should be sweet, very mildly sweet and pleasant, unctuous, wholesome, nourishing to the bodily tissues, pleasing to the mind, and suitable to the practitioner. Such food should be consumed by the yogin.
Of these, ghee and milk are especially important. When the nāḍīs have been purified and Mūlabandha is practised, they greatly promote ojas, strength, and satisfaction. Thus, with purity of the internal nāḍīs, sattvic food produces these beneficial effects.”
— Haṭhamañjarī
Another instruction states:
“Leaving aside heavy roots and tubers, as well as excessively sour, astringent and bitter foods, the disciplined practitioner should eat ghee, curd, and milk, without filling the stomach excessively, and may make use of preparations of wheat.”
— Haṭhacakra
Another work states:
“Having drunk milk mixed with water, the yogin obtains strength. Milk accompanied by sugar and properly prepared is beneficial; milk alone is not necessarily so.
Having consumed cow’s ghee and haviṣya food, the practitioner should continue his practice. In this manner, on the eighth day, he should undertake the appropriate cleansing of the bodily impurities.”
Lighter or Inferior Food
A lighter dietary class is described as follows:
“Lightly unctuous preparations, thin broths, properly cooked foods, mild sour preparations, and foods prepared with cumin and similar herbs, with little or no salt, are considered suitable for the ascetic.
When necessary, some authorities permit a small quantity of rock salt together with fresh ginger.
Puffed grain flour (lāja-saktu) mixed with sugar, ghee and milk, or milk itself, may also be taken, including milk that has been heated by fire.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Prohibited Food
The following foods are described as unsuitable:
“One should avoid food that is excessively oily, or excessively dry, and should avoid taking an excessive quantity of milk-based food. Food prepared with curd or buttermilk when it causes bodily disorders should likewise be avoided.
Excessive eating is harmful and should be abandoned. Chickpeas are considered unsuitable and harmful to vitality; black gram (māṣa), although nourishing, aggravates kapha and pitta and is therefore unsuitable for the yogin.
Excessive consumption of sugar is undesirable, as it may produce intestinal disorders. Preparations made from jaggery and concentrated sugarcane syrup (phāṇita) are likewise discouraged.
Yoga cannot be successfully practised by a practitioner of weak constitution who eats too little. Food should therefore be taken neither excessively nor insufficiently, but in an amount appropriate to the requirements of yoga.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
The Haṭhapradīpikā gives a more extensive list of unsuitable foods:
“Excessively sour, pungent, salty and hot foods, bitter or strongly flavoured vegetables, fermented preparations, oils, sesame, mustard, fish and intoxicating drinks, the meat of goat and sheep, curd, buttermilk, horse gram (kulattha), jujube fruits (kola), oil-cake (piṇyāka), asafoetida, garlic and similar foods are declared unsuitable.
Food that is unwholesome, food that has been reheated, food that is excessively dry, food containing too much salt and similar substances, and excessively stimulating vegetable preparations should be avoided.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
The additional observances are study of doctrine (siddhānta-śravaṇa), modesty or humility (hrī), discernment/intelligence (mati), austerity (tapas), and ritual offering (huta).
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Diet
The Śruti declares, “From purity of food comes purity of mind.” Since moderate eating (mitāhāra) is itself regarded as a limb of yoga, the food appropriate to yoga is described as follows:
“Life and the maintenance of the body of embodied beings cannot exist without food and drink, nor can bodily strength exist without nourishment. Therefore, for the purposes of yoga, one should moderately consume pure foods that remove bodily impurities and provide strength, such as cooked grains, ghee, and milk.
One should avoid heavy roots and tubers, as well as excessively hot or cold drinks. Foods that promote sattva, longevity, strength, and satisfaction, and that are pure and wholesome, are beneficial in yoga.”
The Haṭhapradīpikā and similar works describe the wholesome dietary group, which should be adopted especially after nāḍī-śodhana, the purification of the subtle channels.
The recommended foods include:
wheat, rice, barley, ṣaṣṭika rice, wholesome grains, milk, ghee, sugar, butter, rock sugar, honey, dry ginger, pointed gourd, fruits, and five varieties of leafy vegetables, together with green gram and other light pulses.
The five vegetables specifically mentioned are:
Kṣīraparṇī, Jīvantī, Matsyākṣī, Punarnavā, and Meghanādī.
Food should be sweet, mild, unctuous, wholesome, nourishing to the bodily tissues, pleasing to the mind, and suitable to the practitioner.
Of all foods, ghee and milk are regarded as especially important. When the nāḍīs have been purified and Mūlabandha has been established, these promote vital essence (ojas), strength, and profound satisfaction, while supporting the purification of the internal nāḍīs.
— Haṭhamañjarī
The Haṭhacandrikā further advises:
“Having abandoned unsuitable roots and vegetables, sour, salty, and excessively bitter foods, the disciplined practitioner should fill the stomach with ghee, curd, and milk, and should make use of preparations of wheat.”
Another work states:
“After drinking milk mixed with water, the yogin obtains strength. Milk accompanied by sugar and properly cooked is beneficial; milk alone is not recommended in the same manner. Having eaten food prepared with cow’s ghee and suitable sacrificial grains, the practitioner should undertake practice. By following this discipline, the purification of bodily impurities is accomplished.”
Inferior or Less Suitable Food
The Haṭhasaṃketa describes a lighter class of food suitable for the practitioner:
“Food prepared with a little unctuousness, properly cooked pulses, well-prepared broth, mildly sour preparations, cumin and other digestive herbs, and little or no salt are suitable. Haviṣya food, the simple sacrificial diet, is appropriate for the ascetic.
When necessary, a small quantity of rock salt, sometimes taken with fresh ginger, may be used. Puffed grain flour, together with sugar, ghee, and milk, or milk alone, properly prepared by heat, is also suitable.”
Food to Be Avoided
The following dietary habits are regarded as unsuitable:
“One should avoid food that is excessively oily or excessively dry, as well as food consisting predominantly of milk preparations when improperly taken. Food prepared with curd or buttermilk that causes illness, and excessive quantities of food, are declared unwholesome.
Chickpeas are said to impair sexual vitality and are unsuitable; black gram, although strengthening, aggravates kapha and pitta. Excessive consumption of sugar is undesirable because it promotes worms and other disorders, while jaggery and sugarcane preparations may produce disorders when taken improperly.
Yoga will not succeed in a practitioner of weak constitution who eats too little. Therefore, food should be consumed according to what is compatible with yoga—neither excessively little nor excessively much.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
The Haṭhapradīpikā further lists as unsuitable:
very sour, excessively pungent, and excessively salty foods; hot peppers and similar vegetables; fermented preparations; oils and oilseeds; mustard; fish; intoxicating substances; goat and sheep meat; curd; buttermilk; horse gram; jujube; oil-cake; asafoetida; garlic; and similar foods.
Food that is reheated, excessively dry, excessively salty, or otherwise improperly prepared, as well as excessive consumption of unsuitable vegetables and other forms of bad eating, should be avoided.
Other Things to Be Avoided
The practitioner should avoid:
association with wicked or harmful people, excessive indulgence in fire, women, and public roads, early-morning bathing when it produces bodily strain, fasting, and other forms of unnecessary physical torment.
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Another work gives a broader list of sensory and worldly pleasures to be renounced:
“Intoxicating drinks, rich and luxurious foods, sexual indulgence, attachment to houses and gardens, pride in scholarship and knowledge of the Veda and śāstras, excessive attention to beautiful music, ornaments of gold and silver, fine clothing, dancing, association with political power and royal life, flowers and sandalwood, wealth, prosperity and fame, betel, and all forms of sensory pleasure should be abandoned.
Constant bathing and ritual worship, vows, excessive attachment to external purity, meditation on particular objects, mantra repetition, charity, and various constructions or imaginings concerning houses, gardens, and similar things are likewise declared to be obstacles to yoga when they become attachments.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Quantity of Food
The Haṭhasaṃketa gives a specific rule concerning the gradual reduction of food:
“Before the stomach is completely filled with the breath, two handfuls of food consisting of rice, green gram, or similar foods may be taken. Thereafter, the practitioner should gradually reduce the quantity as appropriate. In the absence of milk and similar nourishing substances, the reduction should proceed gradually along with the progressive increase of kumbhaka.”
The Sanātana-siddhānta similarly states:
“In the absence of rice, green gram, and similar foods, two handfuls may be consumed; thereafter the quantity should gradually be reduced, when the stomach becomes filled in accordance with the regulation of prāṇa.”
The meaning is that, when ghee and milk are unavailable, food should be reduced very gradually and in proportion to the development of kumbhaka. The practitioner should not immediately reduce food simply because the practice of breath retention has begun.
As kumbhaka progressively increases, the stomach becomes increasingly governed by the internal fire generated through the practice. As the movement of the vital air becomes controlled, the digestive fire becomes progressively mastered. Accordingly, food may gradually be reduced.
This reduction must be adapted to the individual practitioner and to the progress of yoga. Properly undertaken, it supports health, enthusiasm, vitality, strength, and the other conditions necessary for practice; it should never be imposed abruptly at the beginning.
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Another work states:
“The yogin should reduce his food during the dark fortnight according to the gradual diminution of the lunar digits; during the bright fortnight, the kumbhaka should increase just as the moon increases.”
— Yogasārasamuccaya
Another instruction states:
“By whatever means possible, the practitioner who is constantly engaged in practice should carefully preserve the body. For when the body is purified, the radiance of consciousness becomes clear; this is the auspicious manifestation of the fire of knowledge.
When the breath enters through the solar channel, food should be taken; when it enters through the lunar channel, one should sleep and take water. Other rules concerning what is wholesome for yoga practice should likewise be determined through one’s own discernment.”
Conditions in Which Yoga Should Not Be Practised
The Haṭhasaṃketa states:
“When the bodily impurities are liquid and foul-smelling, when there is some pain in the abdomen, when there is heaviness of the body, or when there is pronounced lethargy, then the practitioner should not perform breath restraint on that day.”
Beginning of Yoga Practice
The same work gives the condition under which the serious practice of prāṇa restraint should begin:
“When the internal impurities have been removed, the thickest impurities have been dried up, disturbances have disappeared, and the bodily waste has become properly matured and expelled, then the practitioner should undertake prāṇa-nirodha, the restraint of the vital breath.
At that stage, the practice becomes a means of producing auspicious success in yoga.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Daily Duties and Prohibitions
The practitioner should observe the following daily disciplines:
“One should neither caress or indulge the body excessively, nor forcefully compress or strain its organs. One should practise moderate eating and moderate sleep. Even a yogin who has become established in yoga should never favour bathing the head in the morning.
When bathing is necessary, it should be done with lukewarm water; cold water should not be used. Bathing early in the morning is considered undesirable. A bath limited to the neck and upper body is regarded by the knowledgeable as moderate and appropriate when required.
One should abandon everything that produces suffering: excessive exercise, extreme cold, excessively hot conditions, excessive drinking of water, excessive wandering, sleeping during the day, remaining awake at night, anxiety, and every other form of unnecessary physical or mental distress.
One should not engage, even slightly, in anything that causes suffering to oneself or another, whether through speech, mind, or body. One should not indulge in activities that are harmful to the body or mind, nor become excessively involved with women.
One should abandon violence, hatred, egoism, excessive eating, causing injury to living beings, separation and attachment, distorted notions of identity and difference, fasting, and association with wicked people.”
After practising prāṇāyāma, an advanced practitioner should perform massage of the limbs. Through such massage, the body becomes supple; mastery over the vital air is facilitated; and the accumulated heaviness or rigidity of the body is removed.
Eating, drinking, and ordinary activities may be undertaken insofar as they are comfortable and compatible with yoga practice. Whatever does not obstruct yoga may be followed; whatever causes mental disturbance or physical illness should be avoided.
The Lamp in the Yoga-maṭha
For a practitioner practising in an underground or enclosed chamber, a steady lamp should not be placed directly at eye level. When such a lamp burns before the practitioner, the breath, after becoming well controlled, may suddenly move along an improper course. Therefore this arrangement should be avoided.
For this reason, in the yoga-maṭha, a ghee lamp is recommended.
— Haṭhamañjarī
Daily Schedule of the Practitioner
The Haṭhasaṃketa prescribes a disciplined daily routine:
“After rising and attending to the morning duties, the practitioner should practise prāṇa-restraint in solitude. In the morning he should perform a limited number of measured rounds, followed by pīṭha, mudrā, and related practices.
He should then continue the breath exercises for approximately two and a half prahara. Afterwards he should take a small quantity of wholesome food, free from excessive sourness, pungency, heat, salt, and irritants, together with suitable ghee and milk.
The practitioner should again perform prāṇāyāma during the first watch of the night. He may then sleep for one watch and subsequently resume the practice of breath restraint.
Practices such as śauca, ghaṭa-śodhana, and related cleansing disciplines may be undertaken during another portion of the night. In the fourth watch, nāḍī-śodhana should be performed.
A particularly firm and sustained practice of nāḍī purification is prescribed for approximately six months.
At intervals, for the purpose of allowing the mind to rest, the practitioner should engage in suitable restorative practices. One who is knowledgeable in āsana should periodically give the mind and body appropriate relaxation.
At the end of practice, the practitioner should eat small quantities of pleasant and wholesome food, rather than consuming a large meal.
At intervals, practices such as cāraṇa and Meru-cālana should also be undertaken without hesitation. Through these practices, the defects accumulated throughout the bodily nāḍī system are gradually softened, and the movement of the vital air through the middle channels is facilitated.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Here, cāraṇa and Meru-cālana are said to remove impurities associated with improperly digested food and bodily waste.
Gajakarṇī
The practice called Gajakarṇī is described as a powerful cleansing discipline:
“Through firm practice of trāṭaka, mastery of the kūrma-vāyu, and Mūlabandha, one attains mastery over apāna. Through Jālandharabandha one gains mastery over udāna, and through the movement and regulation of samāna, mastery over the vital air is obtained.
This is Gajakarṇī, which produces mastery over samāna and udāna. It cleanses the entire digestive tract, including the stomach and intestines, and removes disorders arising from indigestion, abdominal distension, and similar conditions.
It removes disturbances of the digestive tract, heart, and throat; counteracts disorders associated with āma, pitta, and kapha; and supports respiration, strength, clarity of the heart, digestive fire, energy, and bodily lightness. It facilitates the comfortable movement of prāṇa.
Having purified the heart, throat, and digestive tract, Gajakarṇī removes disorders such as colic and indigestion. It eliminates impurities above and below the navel and expels both digested and undigested substances that may become causes of disease.
The practitioner who has thereby purified the digestive tract comes to perceive the subtle movement of prāṇa and apāna within the body. The wise practitioner perceives their subtle course through the body, comparable to the movement of a small creature, and develops knowledge of the circulation of the nāḍīs.
Thus, once purified, the practitioner acquires knowledge of the structure and functioning of the nāḍī system.”
The same principle is said to apply, with appropriate qualification, to Dhauti: the cleansing of the body above the navel is to be understood in this connection.
Great Chakra, Bandha, Mudrā, and the Attainment of Kāyasiddhi
The Haṭhasaṃketa further states:
“First, one should properly restrain the Mahācakra; thereafter one should practise bandha and mudrā, followed by Khecarī.
Then one should undertake the drinking of water and the appropriate intake of the nectar of the Moon, together with the practice of pluti at Prayāga.
Without piercing the granthis, without traversing the cakras, and without entering the Brahmarandhra, the practitioner does not attain the perfected state of the body through the nature of the inner sky; without this there is neither siddhi, nor the full attainment of yoga, nor the realization of śūnyatā.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
The Fruits of Āsana
The text explains the progressive development of yoga:
“Yoga first acquires the character of a seed through the yamas and niyamas. Through āsana and prāṇāyāma, that seed develops into a sprout in the practitioner.
Through āsana there arise steadiness, freedom from disease, and lightness of the body. Once the practitioner has conquered the pairs of opposites—pleasure and pain, heat and cold, and similar dualities—he is no longer overwhelmed by them.
Thus, mastery of āsana prepares the practitioner for the higher stages of yoga and ultimately for samāpatti.”
The text then identifies three principal means associated with the mastery of the vital air:
controlled diet, mastery of the vital wind, and the movement or activation of Śakti.
It also refers to further practices involving retention of the abdominal air and movement of the nāḍīs.
Through properly observed yamas and niyamas, diseases and harmful tendencies are destroyed. Diseases that would otherwise remain difficult to overcome for a long time can be conquered by one who has properly mastered āsana and disciplined conduct.
Kukkutāsana
“Kukkutāsana is performed after properly assuming Padmāsana. The hands are inserted firmly between the two thighs and knees and placed upon the ground, after which the body is raised and supported upon the arms. This is called Kukkutāsana, the Cock Pose.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Uttānakūrma
“One who has established himself in Kukkutāsana and firmly bound the shoulders with the arms assumes a posture resembling an upturned tortoise. This is called Uttānakūrma.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Dhanurāsana
“Grasping the great toes of the feet with both hands, the practitioner draws the feet toward the ears and repeatedly performs the movement of drawing a bow. This is called Dhanurāsana. It destroys laziness, removes bodily defects, and contributes to the purification of the nāḍīs.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Matsyendrāsana
“Place the right foot at the root of the left thigh, while encircling the knee with the left arm from the outside. Having firmly grasped the appropriate part of the body and turned the body into the prescribed position, remain established in the posture known as Matsyendrāsana.
Through the Matsyendra posture, the digestive fire is intensified, and the accumulated mass of severe disorders is destroyed. Through continued practice it awakens Kuṇḍalinī and gives the practitioner steadiness.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Paścimatānāsana (Seated Forward Stretch): “Having extended both legs straight upon the ground like rods, the practitioner grasps both feet with the hands and places the forehead upon the knees. This practice is called Paścimatāna. It causes the vital wind to move along the posterior pathway, kindles the abdominal fire, makes the abdomen lean, and promotes freedom from disease.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Mayūrāsana (Peacock Pose): “Supporting the body upon both hands, with the elbows placed beside the navel, the practitioner raises the body horizontally like a rod. This posture is called Mayūra. It quickly removes all diseases and overcomes disorders such as abdominal masses and other bodily defects. It can reduce to ashes the effects of having eaten excessive or unsuitable food, kindle the digestive fire, and enable the digestion even of deadly poison.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Śavāsana (Corpse Pose): “Lying upon the ground like a corpse, face upward, is called Śavāsana. Śavāsana removes fatigue and provides rest and tranquillity to the mind.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Siṃhāsana (Lion Pose): “Place the two ankles beneath the testicles, on either side of the perineal region, with the right ankle on the left side and the left ankle on the right. Place the hands upon the knees, extending the fingers. With the mouth widely opened, gaze toward the tip of the nose. This is Siṃhāsana, perpetually honoured by yogins. It is an excellent posture because it establishes and integrates the three bandhas.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Bhadrāsana (Auspicious Pose): Its effect is described as removing disorders caused by kapha and disturbances of the vital air.
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Kūrmasana (Tortoise Pose): “Press the anus with the two ankles and place both knees upon the ground. This is called Kūrmasana. The foremost yogins say that it removes disorders caused by excessive vāta.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Vallarīyāsana: “Standing evenly upon the lotus posture, position the thighs appropriately and place the elbows of both arms beneath the legs. Join and bind the palms and raise them toward the head, bringing the upper part of the body into the prescribed position. Remain upright, placing the chin upon the heart region, while maintaining one-pointed concentration and restraint of the breath.
When intense heat arises in the abdomen or the downward-moving wind begins to emerge, the posture should gradually be released. The wise should practise this posture gently, as it gradually destroys severe fever and related afflictions.
Because it kindles the digestive fire, Vallarīyāsana is regarded as a posture that promotes the digestion of food that has been consumed.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Vṛścikāsana (Scorpion Pose): “Supporting the body upon both hands, with the elbows positioned beside the chest, the practitioner places the heels of the feet so that they resemble the tail of a scorpion, while supporting the chin upon the head. The posture in which the practitioner remains in this position is called Vṛścikāsana and is said to counteract poison.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Mūlabandhāsana: “The practitioner presses the heel of the left foot firmly into the region between the anus and the genital organ. The other foot is placed in the prescribed reversed position, with the right foot positioned below and the left knee appropriately supported. Having established Jālandharabandha, the entire body is kept straight and steady.
Remaining motionless like a great stone, with the mind fixed upon one object, the practitioner gazes toward the space between the eyebrows, while supporting the thighs with both hands.
This is Mūlabandhāsana, which grants success in yoga and powerfully kindles the digestive fire. It awakens the vital Śakti and destroys disorders of the urinary and intestinal systems, including conditions such as arśas and grahaṇī.
It rapidly equalizes the movement of the vital air and directs it upward, thereby contributing to mastery and the attainment of siddhis.
When this posture is properly performed, a great flame of inner fire is said to arise in the region of the anus. Through the awakening of the serpent power (Kuṇḍalinī), the downward-moving apāna is directed upward.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Gomukhāsana (Cow-Face Pose): “Place the right ankle beside the left side of the body and then position the left ankle beside the right side, so that the legs assume the appearance of a cow’s face. This posture is called Gomukha.
It produces mastery over apāna, and through Mūlabandha it destroys disorders such as fistula and piles. It also supports the attainment of mastery through Dhauti and Naulī and is therefore regarded as an excellent posture for the advanced practitioner.”
— Haṭhamañjarī
Kubjikāsana: “Assume a slightly transverse and balanced position, raising the knees and turning the body appropriately. Place the foot at the root region and remain established in the posture. This is called Kubjikāsana, and it kindles the inner fire.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Pārśvopadhānāsana: “Lie upon an even surface with both arms extended upward between the two sides of the body. Bind the hands properly behind the back. This posture is called Pārśvopadhānāsana by the accomplished practitioners.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Utkatāsana: “In the posture in which the knees are raised upward and the body rests upon the soles of both feet, the buttocks are kept slightly above the ground without touching it. This posture is called Utkatāsana.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Padmāsana (Lotus Pose): “Place the right foot upon the left thigh and the left foot upon the right thigh according to the prescribed method, holding them firmly with the hands. Place the hands appropriately, lower the chin toward the chest, and gaze toward the tip of the nose. This is Padmāsana, described as a posture that destroys disease for practitioners disciplined by the yamas.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Padmāsana as a limb of Prāṇāyāma: “Extend the feet upward and position them appropriately upon the thighs. Place the hands upward, draw the legs together according to the prescribed method, direct the gaze toward the tip of the nose, lower the chin toward the chest, and properly establish the root region.
Having raised apāna through one’s own power, gradually draw prāṇa inward and practise kumbhaka. Retain the breath according to one’s capacity and then gradually exhale it. This Padmāsana is said to destroy disease.
It removes the various defects, fevers, burning sensations, and disorders associated with āma and pitta, and produces comfort. When the prāṇa becomes equalized in this posture, the practitioner experiences its effect within a short time.”
— Haṭhamañjarī
Karasaṃpuṭa-Padmāsana: “Having firmly joined the hands together in a closed formation, assume Padmāsana. Place the joined hands against the chest, lower the chin, and fix the mind in meditation. Again and again, raise the apāna upward, draw in and fill the prāṇa, and then release it. Through the power of Śakti, the practitioner thereby attains extraordinary breath retention (kumbhaka).”
— Haṭhayoga
Siddhāsana (Accomplished Pose): “Place one heel firmly against the region of the genital-perineal centre (yoni-sthāna) and position the other foot appropriately upon the genital region. Keep the body perfectly upright and steady. Remaining motionless, with the senses restrained and the gaze unwavering, look into the space between the eyebrows. This is called Siddhāsana, for it is said to open the door to liberation.”
— Pavanayogasaṃhitā
Vīrāsana, Bhadrāsana, and Svastikāsana: These postures are described elsewhere under the entry on Āsana.
Sukhāsana (Easy and Comfortable Pose): “Whatever posture produces comfort and stability, by whatever method it may be assumed, is called Sukhāsana. One who is unable to perform the more demanding postures should adopt this posture.”
— Sūta-saṃhitā
This corresponds to Patañjali’s definition of āsana as “sthira-sukham āsanam”—a posture that is steady and comfortable.
Beginning of the Ṣaṭkarma
The preliminary discipline of the six cleansing practices begins only after the practitioner has established a firm foundation in āsana:
“Having become firmly established in āsana, the yogin should be disciplined in the senses and should eat wholesome food in moderate quantities. Following the path taught by the guru, he should diligently practise prāṇāyāma.
As long as the vital air remains established in the body, life is said to continue. Its departure is called death. Therefore, one should restrain the vital air.
When the breath moves, the mind moves; when the breath becomes motionless, the mind likewise becomes motionless. Therefore, the yogin should restrain the breath and thereby attain the condition of stillness.
When the nāḍīs are filled with impurities, the vital air cannot enter the central channel. How then can the state of unmanī—the transcendence of ordinary mental activity—arise? How can perfection in the practices be achieved?
When the entire network of nāḍīs becomes purified and free from obstruction, the yogin becomes capable of properly gathering and controlling the prāṇa.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Signs of Nāḍī-śuddhi
“When nāḍī-śuddhi, the purification of the channels, has occurred, its signs become externally perceptible. The body becomes slender and radiant, and the practitioner gains mastery over the retention of the breath according to his capacity.
The digestive fire becomes kindled, and the vitality of the body becomes manifest through the purified nāḍīs. Health arises as a consequence of nāḍī purification.
For the destruction of fat, phlegm, and similar bodily impurities, the six cleansing practices should be performed. They should not, however, be undertaken unnecessarily when the bodily humours are already in a state of equilibrium.
The six cleansing practices are:
- Dhauti — internal cleansing
- Vasti — cleansing of the lower digestive and excretory tract
- Neti — purification of the nasal passages
- Trāṭaka — steady gazing
- Naulī — abdominal manipulation
- Kapālabhāti — cleansing practice involving forceful respiratory activity
These six practices are to be kept guarded and taught appropriately. They purify and cleanse the bodily vessel (ghaṭa), produce diverse beneficial effects, and are therefore honoured by the foremost practitioners of yoga.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Dhauti
“Dhauti consists in taking a strip of cloth four fingers in width and fifteen hand-lengths in length. Having moistened it, the practitioner should slowly swallow it according to the method instructed by the guru. One who has learned the proper procedure of this practice should then gradually withdraw the cloth.
Through the practice of Dhauti, there is no doubt that disorders such as cough, asthma, enlargement of the spleen, skin diseases, and twenty varieties of disorders arising from kapha are purified and eliminated.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Another description gives the dimensions more precisely:
“The cloth should measure twenty-four finger-lengths in length and four fingers in width. It should be extremely soft, finely woven, clean, thin, and properly moistened. The practitioner, seated in Gomukha posture, should slowly swallow it and then gradually withdraw it.
Dhauti is beneficial in disorders arising from kapha, respiratory difficulties, and related ailments.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Vasti
“Standing or remaining in Utkatāsana in water reaching up to the navel, the practitioner places a tube at the anus. One who knows the practice of Vasti should contract the anal region from its base and draw the apāna upward.
Through the power of Vasti, abdominal masses, disorders of the spleen and abdomen, and diseases arising from vāta, pitta and kapha are destroyed.
When Jala-vasti is practised regularly, it produces clarity of the bodily tissues, senses and inner faculty, gives radiance to the body, kindles the digestive fire, and destroys the accumulation of bodily impurities.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
The process is further described:
“Through a tube inserted into the anus, water is drawn upward from water reaching to the level of the navel. While seated in Utkatāsana, the water is drawn upward from the region of the apāna and enters the abdomen. This practice of drawing water into the abdomen is called Vasti.
Here, the tube is a thin, smooth tube, such as one made from bamboo or a similar material.
At the beginning, the practitioner sits in Utkatāsana, inserts the tube properly, and draws the air upward by repeatedly opening and contracting the anal passage. The abdomen is then filled, as though with a water-filled vessel. Through Naulī, the internal movement of the abdomen is activated; the air is moved, and the accumulated waste in the lower digestive tract is expelled.
For Vasti, the Gomukha posture is regarded as especially appropriate according to the traditional instruction.
The purpose of this practice is to facilitate the liquefaction and external removal of the accumulated impurities throughout the digestive tract after the intestinal passages have been cleansed.
According to the prescribed method, the practitioner first assumes Gomukha/Utkatāsana and draws a small quantity of water inward through the anal passage. He then assumes Svastikāsana and draws the water upward, bringing it from the navel region toward the region of the heart.
Again he assumes Utkatāsana, draws in water as before, and brings it to the navel region; he then remains established in Svastikāsana.
In this manner, by alternately employing Vasti and Svastikāsana, the entire abdominal tract is gradually filled with water. The water is then moved throughout the abdomen, causing accumulated material lodged within the intestinal junctions to become liquefied—including remnants of digested and undigested food and other dense or fluid waste.
The water should subsequently be expelled gradually; the practitioner should not act hastily.
Through this procedure, the digestive tract becomes thoroughly washed and cleansed, like a vessel that has been rinsed, with its accumulated impurities removed.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Neti
“Introduce a thread, approximately one hand-span in length, well-smoothed and properly lubricated, through the nasal passage, and bring it out through the mouth. This practice is called Neti by the accomplished practitioners.
Neti should be performed for the purification of the head, and it is said to bestow divine or extraordinary vision. It quickly destroys the multitude of diseases arising in the region above the clavicles.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Another description states:
“A perfectly clean, smooth and non-rough thread, approximately six hand-spans in length, resembling the tail of a mouse, should be gently introduced through the opening of the nostril and brought out through the mouth.
This practice is called Neti by the noble teachers. It removes all diseases originating above the clavicles, purifies the head, and should be performed twice. It is also said to bestow extraordinary or divine vision.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Trāṭaka
“One should gaze with unmoving eyes, with the mind fully concentrated, upon a subtle object or minute point, continuing until tears begin to flow from the eyes. This practice is known by the teachers as Trāṭaka.
It breaks open or removes the obstructions associated with eye disorders, and serves as a means of overcoming drowsiness and similar conditions.
Trāṭaka should be carefully guarded and practised with diligence, like a treasure kept within a casket of gold.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
The Haṭhasaṃketa gives additional effects of Trāṭaka.
Further Effects and Methods of Trāṭaka
One description of the further effects of Trāṭaka states:
“Once this practice has been perfected, the practitioner, whose bodily discomfort and affliction of the eyes and nose have been overcome, gradually directs his attention toward the space between the eyebrows through constant practice, and eventually attains Khecarī.
He acquires extraordinary vision and develops the yogin’s perfection and accomplishment in yoga. Through the progressive alignment of the vital air, the heart, and the upward central axis, he attains mastery over the yogic process.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Another method is described as follows:
“Having risen in the morning, the practitioner should sit comfortably in Sukhāsana and practise Trāṭaka alone. Extending the gaze, he should look upon a brilliant object while remaining in a secluded place and keeping the mind free from other thoughts.
Through continued practice, the eyes and the movement of the vital air acquire steadiness. This is the preliminary establishment of the object of concentration.
After practising for some time, the practitioner should close the eyes for a moment and then suddenly open them. With a one-pointed and motionless mind, he should gaze into the space before him, continuing until the image of the sun-disc appears before the inner or outer vision.
If this practice is continued in the prescribed manner, the practitioner acquires exceptionally clear and purified vision.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Naulī
Naulī-kriyā is described as being of two kinds: external (bāhya) and internal (ābhyantara).
The external method is described thus:
“Having established the body appropriately, the practitioner turns the abdomen from left to right and from right to left, using rapid movements. With the two arms properly positioned, he assumes a posture such as Svastikāsana, bends the upper body forward, and produces the characteristic movement and elevation of the abdominal muscles.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
The Haṭhapradīpikā gives the following description:
“With a controlled but vigorous movement, the practitioner rotates the abdomen repeatedly from left to right and from right to left, even hundreds of times. This is known as the Naulī-yoga.
It continually kindles the weak digestive fire, strengthens the power of digestion, produces a sense of vitality and pleasure, and destroys the accumulation of bodily impurities and disorders. Among the Haṭhayoga practices, this Naulī is regarded as supreme.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
The internal form is described in the Haṭharatnāvalī:
“Having rotated the abdominal region vigorously toward the Iḍā side and then toward the Piṅgalā side, the practitioner subsequently rotates it through both channels. This is called internal Naulī.”
— Haṭharatnāvalī
Kapālabhāti
“Like the bellows of a blacksmith, the practitioner should perform rapid respiratory movements alternately through the two nostrils. This practice is called Kapālabhāti, and it purifies disorders arising from kapha.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Another description compares it directly with the action of a blacksmith’s bellows:
“Just as a blacksmith’s bellows are repeatedly filled and emptied, the yogin should forcefully fill one nostril and then expel the breath completely. The same should then be done through the other nostril. This alternate movement should be performed continuously, like the operation of a bellows.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Cakrī-karman
Cakrī-karman is described as a cleansing procedure involving the anal passage:
“Having properly lubricated the middle two fingers with a smooth and suitable substance, the practitioner should moisten them, trim the nails, extend the fingers gently, and introduce them into the anal passage. The vital air should then be directed toward the region of the heart.
Within the passage, the practitioner should move the fingers upward and around the internal channel and related structures, continuing until the opening of the anus becomes sufficiently relaxed and expanded. This procedure is called Cakrī-karman by the learned.
After performing the Cakrī procedure carefully, the practitioner should thoroughly cleanse the region. The process is continued until the impurities associated with āma and other bodily defects have been removed and the anal passage becomes sufficiently loosened.
The fingers are then rotated three or four times, continuing until the desired opening of the anal passage has been produced. In this manner, the deeply accumulated impurities and obstructions within the intestinal tract are removed, and the root region of the lower bodily centre is purified and opened.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
The Haṭharatnāvalī gives a shorter description:
“By expanding the anal opening and repeatedly rotating the fingers internally until the passage is properly opened, the practice is called Cakrī-karman.
There is no doubt that through this practice colic, abdominal masses and related disorders are destroyed. It also produces cleansing of the bodily waste and stimulation of the digestive fire.”
— Haṭharatnāvalī
Gilī-karman
“The structure that closes the passage between the uvula and the upper region of the throat, known as the upajihvā or ‘secondary tongue’, is to be approached by the practitioner. The knowledgeable practitioner repeatedly manipulates its tip with the index and middle fingers, carefully working upon it.
This practice is called Gilī-karman by the foremost teachers. It is said to remove accumulations of kapha lodged within the joints or passages of the body.”
— Haṭhamañjarī
Gajakarṇī-karman
“Through the passage of the vital air into the throat and through its movement along the respiratory channel, the practitioner repeatedly brings up and expels the contents of the abdomen. By gradual familiarity and mastery of the procedure, the pathway of the air becomes fully responsive. The accomplished teachers of Haṭhayoga call this Gajakarṇī.
Through the upward movement of apāna, or through the forceful upward movement of the vital air, whatever has been eaten can be brought upward and expelled through the throat. The expression ‘entry into the throat channel’ refers to the introduction of a tube into the throat, traditionally described as an eranda-stem tube. Through repeated practice, the practitioner gradually becomes familiar with the procedure and with the movement of the material through the passage.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
A further method is described:
“First, standing in Utkatāsana with the body straight, the practitioner awakens the abdominal movement through Naulī. He then directs the apāna upward through the appropriate pathway and causes the contents of the stomach to be expelled.
Whatever food or drink was previously consumed and remains within the throat or digestive passage is subsequently brought upward and expelled. This procedure is described by the experts in Haṭhayoga.
Alternatively, while seated in Gomukhāsana, place the hands firmly upon the ground. Bending the body forward, draw the vital air upward through the tube and perform the practice.
When performed through the mouth in this manner, the impurities and undigested material together with the consumed food are expelled. This is called Gajakarṇī, the practice of bringing up and expelling consumed material.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
The accompanying explanation defines vāyukṛṣṭi as the forceful upward drawing of prāṇa together with apāna. This upward drawing should be performed simultaneously with the raising of the tube.
The procedure is further explained:
“Having assumed Utkatāsana, the practitioner places both arms with closed fists upon the knees and bends the body forward, lowering the head and drawing the abdomen inward. After producing the movement of the tube, he directs the air upward and then, through the force of the abdomen, brings up and expels the food that has been consumed.
If on any occasion the consumed material does not rise upward, the practitioner should rise, bend forward with the waist and back lowered, remain with both knees supported, grasp the knees with both hands, and repeat the previous procedure to bring it upward.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Śaṅkhaprakṣālana
“A wise practitioner should drink water through the nostrils and then cause it to emerge through the mouth. Alternatively, having drunk water through one nostril, he may slowly expel it through the other nostril.
This practice is called Śaṅkhaprakṣālana and is regarded as highly effective in removing kapha and pitta.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Vāyusādhana
“Now, for the removal of bodily affliction, one should undertake the practice of vāyu-sādhana, the discipline of the vital air. Through this practice, one becomes, with certainty, free from disease while moving within the cycle of worldly existence.”
— Śivasaṃhitā
Śītalī and Kākacañcu Prāṇāyāma
The Śivasaṃhitā describes a method of drawing in air through the mouth:
“Without touching the pair of upper teeth, place the tongue near them and draw in the air through the mouth in the form of a crow’s beak. This is regarded as an excellent method of prāṇa-restraint.”
— Śivasaṃhitā
The Tripurāsārasaṃuccaya gives another description:
“Without disturbance, place the tongue at the root of the palate and press the teeth firmly against one another. Then gradually draw in the fragrant vital air, together with the internal flow of the inhaled breath.”
The practice is further described:
“Form the mouth into a shape resembling a tube or crow’s beak, draw the breath inward through it, retain it, and then exhale through the nasal passages. This is the prescribed method.”
— Kumbhakapaddhati
Another instruction states:
“Having filled the body with air through the mouth formed like a crow’s beak, retain the breath. Keep the tongue firmly placed above, and the practitioner who drinks the stream of amṛta in this manner becomes joyful.
He should then exhale through both nasal passages. This practice is called Śītalī, also known as the Kākacañcu method.
One who becomes proficient in the union and mastery of the two movements of vital air, through the accomplishment of this practice, is said to become swiftly entitled to liberation.”
— Kumbhakapaddhati
Prāṇāyāma After Stabilizing the Posture
“When the āsana has become stable, one should undertake prāṇāyāma. Its general procedure has already been described under the section on Prāṇāyāma; additional instructions are given here.
This prāṇāyāma should be practised according to the prescribed measure of mātrā, together with the syllable Oṃ. With deliberate effort, the practitioner should restrain prāṇa and apāna, directing one upward and the other downward.
In the Padmāsana posture, the practitioner should first close the Iḍā nāḍī with the right thumb. He should slowly and without excessive force draw the air inward and fill the abdomen.
Holding the breath for a short period according to his capacity, he should then exhale through the Piṅgalā nāḍī.
He should practise in this manner with a steady heart and without interruption in the process of retention. Having completed the retention, he should slowly exhale through the opposite channel.
Through repeated practice of this procedure, the movements of the mind become progressively established in their chosen object.
The practitioner should draw the breath inward according to his capacity and slowly fill the abdomen. After retaining it according to his capacity, he should exhale without strain or obstruction.”
— Haṭhayoga tradition
Another instruction states:
“Draw in the prāṇa through Iḍā, in a regulated manner, and then exhale through the other channel. Having drawn in the vital air through Piṅgalā, retain it and then release it through the left channel.
By practising this procedure according to the prescribed method of the Sun and Moon channels, the entire network of nāḍīs becomes purified in practitioners after approximately three months of sustained practice.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Bhūtaśuddhi and Nāḍī-śuddhi
Another instruction prescribes a more extensive programme:
“First perform Bhūtaśuddhi-prāṇāyāma. Thereafter, for the purpose of practice, undertake the prescribed number of kumbhakas, accompanied by japa of the Praṇava (Oṃ) and meditation according to one’s capacity.
For approximately three months, this practice is to be performed for the removal of the ‘person of sin’—the symbolic embodiment of accumulated pāpa, including residual minor and major transgressions situated within the abdominal region.
Through this process, the impurities of the mental nāḍīs, including mental desire, anger and similar disturbances, are to be purified.
The practitioner should undertake this together with the previously prescribed wholesome diet and secluded practice.
Thereafter, the purification of the entire network of the physical nāḍīs should be undertaken for approximately six months.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
In the Sanātana Siddhānta
“In a state of non-dependence upon external support, one should practise prāṇāyāma. Gradually, the practice should be increased until it reaches one hundred repetitions, and it should be performed four times a day—in the morning, evening, at midday, and especially at midnight.
When, through continued practice, one is able to complete a full yāma of practice, the foremost yogin should perform the practice once in that manner.
One should undertake one hundred and thirty-six prāṇāyāmas daily.
Within six months, the entire network of nāḍīs becomes purified. Thereafter, the wise practitioner should increase the practice gradually, together with the repetition of the Praṇava (Oṃ).
For the purpose of the prescribed practice, a beautiful earthen vessel or container should be prepared. Through this discipline the network of nāḍīs becomes purified, and the attainment of this condition is regarded as an excellent sign.
‘Let the practitioner drink the Moon through the Sun, and drink the Sun through the Moon. Through this process, he lives beyond the ordinary reckoning of time, sustained by the lunar and solar principles.’”
— Sanātana Siddhānta
Āsana in the Sanātana Siddhānta
“The āsana should be square, measuring two hastas, raised approximately four finger-widths. It should be properly covered with cloth, wool and animal skin. Such an āsana bestows complete comfort and well-being.”
— Sanātana Siddhānta
Nāḍī-śuddhi as a Limb of Yoga
“When the nāḍīs have become thoroughly purified and the impurities within the channels have been removed, the practitioner becomes capable of retaining the vital air for a prolonged period.
When the accumulated impurities and dense waste within the abdominal cavity have been eliminated, the digestive fire becomes powerfully kindled. How then could disease arise within such a body?
When, through the perfected apāna, the inner knot is broken and the vital power rises upward, carried by the fire, an anāhata sound arises in the heart of the sage united with prāṇa.
When the impurities within the central channel have been removed, the practitioner sleeps little; urination and defecation decrease, bodily strength becomes stable, and disease diminishes. There are no intestinal worms, excessive mucus or profuse perspiration.
The disorders of kapha, vāta and pitta become pacified. The body becomes purified, radiant and beautiful.
For as long as this condition persists, the practitioner should observe the discipline of kumbhaka, live in a suitable place for yoga, and take food only in moderation.
Nāḍī-śuddhi is described as the first and foundational limb of the beginning of yoga practice, just as the head is the primary limb of the body. Until this purification has been accomplished, the principal Haṭhayoga practices cannot properly become established; without it, the practitioner’s yoga remains defective.
Through nāḍī purification, mastery over the vital air is obtained. When the air has been mastered, the mind itself gradually moves toward dissolution.
When the mind becomes quiet and the objects of worldly existence lose their hold upon it, the light of knowledge manifests naturally within the purified consciousness.
When the three principal nāḍīs have been purified, this becomes a characteristic sign of the beginning of Haṭhayoga accomplishment.
As practice proceeds, the practitioner gains mastery over movements such as trembling and other disturbances of the vital air. Correspondingly, further internal manifestations of heat arise.
When the sage is able to perform prāṇāyāma with retention (sagarbha-kumbhaka) without the breath escaping, the true beginning of accomplishment in yoga arises.
This is the culmination of nāḍī purification. Such attainment, however, cannot be properly realized without the guidance and instruction of a true Sadguru.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Characteristics of Prāṇāyāma — Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa
“Listen, O King, to the characteristics of Prāṇāyāma. The yogin who constantly practises yoga should first assume a prescribed Āsana, such as Padmāsana, Siddhāsana, or Svastikāsana.
Having established the posture, the yogin should practise while placing the Praṇava (Oṃ) within the heart. Sitting in an even and steady posture, he should draw both feet inward, close the mouth, properly restrain and position the thighs, and fix his gaze upon the tip of the nose, without looking toward the surrounding directions.
Thus, the yogin, practising moderate and regulated food intake (Yatāhāra) and devoted to Prāṇāyāma, should undertake the discipline.”
— Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa
The Gradual Mastery of Prāṇa — Yoga Candraikā
“Just as those who desire water gradually drink water through a tube, channel, or mechanical conduit, so should the yogin, having overcome fatigue, gradually ‘drink’ the air (Prāṇa).
Just as lions, tigers, and elephants, when continuously attended to and trained, gradually become gentle and manageable, so Prāṇa becomes subject to the control of the yogin through sustained practice.
Just as an elephant-trainer, having gained the confidence of an elephant, can lead it wherever he wishes, so likewise the yogin, after Prāṇa has been purified, can direct it freely according to his will.
For just as a properly trained lion, when released, attacks animals rather than human beings, so likewise restrained and properly mastered vital air does not destroy the body of human beings.
Therefore, the yogin should always remain properly disciplined and devoted to Prāṇāyāma.”
— Yoga Candraikā
Prāṇāyāma: Regulation, Kumbhaka, Nāda, and the Awakening of Kuṇḍalinī — Yoga Sārāvalī and Haṭhasaṃketa
“During the first part of the day, a person should perform sixty-four Prāṇāyāmas. At midday there should be forty, at the evening junction (Sandhyā) twenty, and at midnight twenty. Thus is Prāṇa restrained and regulated.”
— Yoga Sārāvalī
“Drawing the vital air through Iḍā, the yogin should bring it into the interior and gradually meditate upon the A-kāra with sixteen mātrās. Having thus filled himself, he should retain the breath for sixty-four mātrās, while remembering the U-kāra and repeating the Praṇava (Oṃ).
Holding the breath for as long as he is capable, remaining established in the repetition of the mantra, the wise practitioner should then exhale the filled breath through the M-kāra, gradually through Piṅgalā, over thirty-two mātrās. This constitutes one Prāṇāyāma, and it should then be practised repeatedly.
The Prāṇāyāma that produces perspiration is known as inferior; that which produces trembling is considered intermediate; and that which produces rising or elevation of the body is the superior form. One should first practise the earlier stages and proceed gradually until the superior stage is attained.
When the highest form of Prāṇāyāma has arisen, the sage becomes joyful. Through it Prāṇa dissolves within the body, and consequently the body itself rises upward, the yogin having firmly established himself in the prescribed Āsana.”
— Yoga Sārāvalī
“When, through Pūraka (inhalation), Recaka (exhalation), and Kumbhaka (retention), all the Nāḍīs have been thoroughly purified, then within the body there continually arises the Anāhata Nāda, the unstruck inner sound, manifesting in many forms.”
Anāhata Nāda and the Stabilization of the Mind
“Having fixed the mind upon this Anāhata Prāṇa-Nāda, the practitioner should become steady and fearless and undertake the practice of increasing Kumbhaka.
He should meditate upon the Lord in the form of Kuṇḍalinī, situated within the pericarp of the lotus at the Mūlādhāra. Gradually he should practise the peaceful movement of consciousness toward the Nāda, while meditating upon Śiva.
As the yogin becomes filled with the bliss of meditation upon the divine form, he becomes absorbed in the bliss of Nāda. As the mind becomes progressively purified and dissolves into meditation and Nāda, the Kumbhaka increases and becomes the means for attaining mastery over Vāyu.
The sage whose mind is absorbed in Nāda, contemplating it continuously day and night, and whose practice has become firm, quickly attains Yoga-siddhi.
As long as the Nāda is not heard, the mind remains restless. Once the Nāda is heard, the mind becomes absorbed in it and is naturally united with meditation without the need for forceful effort.
In the practitioner, sweating, sleep, bodily contractions and similar disturbances gradually diminish. After approximately one and a quarter ghaṭikās, trembling and involuntary speech may arise. At the beginning of the practice, bliss arises through the fire generated by Kumbhaka.
When the impurities of the Nāḍīs have dried up and been burned by the fire of practice, and the inner region of the heart has been conquered by this fire, the yogin reaches the stage in which the feet established at the root are separated from their ordinary condition and the elements of earth and water begin to dissolve.
When Apāna is gradually drawn upward by Prāṇa, and the earth-principle at the root is penetrated, the downward heaviness of Apāna is overcome. When Apāna is suddenly drawn upward, its lower portion is raised; then the practitioner rises as though supported by a mountain, with the body becoming light like cotton.
This rising from the Āsana is a sign of the mastery of Vāyu.”
Apāna, Suṣumṇā, and the Beginning of Higher Practice
“One who has attained the signs of accomplishment through falling or rising should, for the penetration of the stationary centres, direct the Apāna-vāyu according to the methods that will be described.
Having caused it to rise upward and become directed along the straight path, he should lead it toward the Suṣumṇā, situated within the spinal channel. Below it lies the triangular region of the fire, and this is its lower foundation.
Through practice, once Apāna has been conquered and turned upward by Prāṇa, the yogin should abandon the ordinary forward-moving path and adopt the excellent inward or western path. Through the balanced movement of the vital air, the intelligent practitioner should guide it toward the inner opening of the stationary centre.
The practice of penetrating the stationary centres should be undertaken according to the instructions given by the Sadguru. Through the penetration of the lotus in the prescribed manner, all the accomplishments belonging to the beginning stage arise.
For that period, the practitioner must maintain the rules prescribed for Yoga.
Kuṇḍalinī and the Awakening of the Inner Fire
Having penetrated the Svādhiṣṭhāna, Apāna itself proceeds upward. Through the transverse movement of Prāṇa it rises unobstructed.
Below, within the triangular region, lies the fire-maṇḍala. When it is fanned by the practice, the fire burns like a bellows-fed flame. Through the firm practice of the sage it gradually becomes radiant and burns away the impurity situated in the Suṣumṇā.
This fire then heats Kuṇḍalinī, causing her to move through the action of the Prāṇa-vāyu. Through intensified Prāṇāyāma and the practice of Śakti-cālana, she is made to move upward.
From this arises the Paricaya-avasthā, the stage in which the Śakti becomes awakened and begins to reveal herself.
The awakened fire burns the remaining inertia and defects associated with Apāna. When the inertia that veils illumination is burned away and the impurities within the body are destroyed, there arises the Fire of Knowledge (Jñānāgni). It manifests the light of Sattva and destroys the limiting conditions (Upādhi) of consciousness.
Thus, through the fire of Yoga, the impurities of the yogin’s body are burned. The body of the supreme yogin becomes imperceptible even to the gods, despite their great powers.
At this stage the yogin’s body becomes of the nature of his will, and is described as becoming free from old age and death.
Kevala-Kumbhaka and the Dissolution of Prāṇa and Apāna
“When Prāṇa and Apāna, abiding within the Suṣumṇā and its cakra, consume or absorb one another, then Kevala-Kumbhaka arises. For the sage, this becomes the means of attaining accomplishment extending throughout the three worlds.
Just as a leech forcibly draws blood, so the Brahmanāḍī continually draws the bodily constituents through sustained practice of Yoga.
Then the channels such as the Nāḍīs and their reservoirs, beginning with the Puṣkara and others, become dried up within the individual body. What impurities can then remain?
Through the yogin, all conditions such as hunger and thirst disappear.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Measurement of the Duration of Prāṇāyāma
“Now the measure of time for these practices, including the secret measure, is explained. The three stages are progressively measured by four, eight, and twelve palas. Thereafter comes the measure of fifteen palas, followed by one of eighteen palas. Beyond this is the measure of twenty-four palas, which is described here as having an intense effect. Thereafter, Pratyāhāra is twelve times the natural measure.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Natural Duration of Prāṇāyāma — Kumbhakapaddhati
“The period consisting of five guru-akṣaras is measured as one pala. Naturally, this is the measure of Kumbhaka; Recaka is said to be half of it, and Pūraka is likewise said to be half.
According to the authorities on mātrā-based Kumbhaka, twenty-five such units are prescribed, while the twelve-mātrā measure is also stated.”
This constitutes the Prāṇāyāma for Nāḍī-śodhana, the purification of the Nāḍīs.
“The second stage is measured at fifty units; the third is declared to be two and a quarter times the preceding measure. Thus is the teaching according to the view of Dattātreya.”
Summary of the Time Measures
In summary:
- In Kaniṣṭha Prāṇāyāma (the lowest or initial level), the duration of one Prāṇāyāma is four palas. Therefore, twelve Prāṇāyāmas have a total duration of 48 palas. This is the first stage, or Svādaśa? / initial measure.
- In the Madhyama stage, one Prāṇāyāma has a duration of eight palas. Twelve Prāṇāyāmas therefore amount to 96 palas. This corresponds to approximately 1 ghaṭikā and 26 in the stated traditional reckoning.
- In the Tīvra stage, the duration is twelve palas per Prāṇāyāma. Twelve such Prāṇāyāmas amount to 144 palas, corresponding to approximately 2 ghaṭikās and 24 in the stated reckoning.
Thus the duration of practice for the highest mastery of Vāyu is to be understood progressively according to these measures.
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Signs of Progress in Prāṇāyāma
“In the practitioner of the lower stage, apart from perspiration there is no manifestation of trembling and similar signs.
In the practitioner of the higher stage, when the qualities beginning with Yama have been attained and desires, mental projections, and similar disturbances have disappeared, signs such as trembling and rising upward may arise as accomplishments of practice.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
“Then, when the accumulated sins have been destroyed, the beginning of accomplishment arises. Through Nāḍī-śuddhi, signs of Yoga become visible in the body of the yogin.”
Perspiration, Trembling, and Levitation
“In the first exertion, when abundant perspiration arises over the body, the practitioner should have the body massaged. The perspiration produced by exertion may be used for this purpose, mixed with appropriate sacred ash.
Through such massage, the air within the body is not dissipated. The limbs become firm yet light, while the fatigue-produced moisture is absorbed through the massage.
In the second stage, trembling arises. In the middle stage, a movement resembling that of a frog appears.”
The term Dārdurī refers to movement like that of a frog—jumping or leaping upward.
“Through still greater practice, the practitioner reaches the sky. Even while seated in Padmāsana, the yogin may leave the ground and remain elevated above it.
At that point, mastery of Vāyu should be understood to have arisen—a mastery capable of destroying the darkness of worldly existence.”
— Kumbhakapaddhati
Nāḍī-śuddhi through Kumbhaka
“By discerning the Nāḍīs and practising twenty Kumbhakas in each of the four periods of the day, the practitioner should undertake the Kumbhaka known as Nāḍī-śuddhi.
Meditating upon the solar orb, resembling the sun at midday during the height of summer, and performing Kumbhaka through the upper Nāḍī, the Nāḍīs become purified.
Through the Moon, the disorders arising from Pitta are removed; through the other method, the remaining disorders are removed.
There is no doubt that through this process the practitioner becomes established in Nāḍī-śuddhi within three months.
The signs are:
- hearing of Nāda,
- leanness or refinement of the body,
- freedom from disease,
- intensification of the digestive fire,
- purity,
- clarity and brightness of the eyes,
- pleasantness of the face,
- generation of Bindu,
- purification of the impurities of the 72,000 Nāḍīs, and
- proper retention and control of Vāyu, together with the absence of its disorders.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Mātrā-Kumbhaka
“Sixteen mātrās are prescribed for Pūraka, sixty-four for Kumbhaka, and thirty-two for Recaka. This is called Mātrā-Kumbhaka.
When Mātrā-Kumbhaka is performed in the heart, it is known as Śoṣaka, the drying or absorbing form.
When it follows Svādhiṣṭhāna, it is called Plāvana, the flooding or bathing form, and is associated with the emission of Amṛta, the nectar.
When performed at the navel, it is called Dāhana, the burning form.
When performed at the Mūlādhāra, it is called Kaṭhinīkaraṇa, the hardening or strengthening form.
When it follows the throat, it is called Vyūhana, the arranging or distributing form.
When directed to the Brahma-sthāna, it is declared to bestow liberation.”
The Meaning of Mātrā-Kumbhaka
“The meaning is this: through preliminary practice involving observation and contemplation of the respective bodily locations, the practitioner establishes an identification of the mind with those locations.
Under the instruction of the Guru, the practitioner should learn to bring the retained Vāyu from one bodily region to another and establish it there, and thereafter, having restrained it, to move it onward to another region.
Thus the fourfold movement of Prāṇa is to be performed through Guru-instruction; this is called Mātrā-Kumbhaka.
When Kumbhaka is performed with the Sun at the heart, the Nāḍīs above it that carry bodily fluids undergo drying or absorption.
When it is performed at the navel, the root of all the bodily channels and the seat of the Solar Maṇḍala, its fiery heat burns the impurities within the Nāḍīs.
When it is established at Svādhiṣṭhāna, which is associated with the lunar principle and Apāna, the Amṛta-rasa is released, producing a flooding or bathing effect through the removal of the darkness associated with the corresponding earthly constituents.
Kaṭhinīkaraṇa means making the body and the sense-organs firm, removing their excessive softness.”
— Haṭhamañjarī
Measurement of a Mātrā
“A Mātrā is produced by moving around the knee in the clockwise direction, neither too rapidly nor too slowly, together with the snapping of the fingers three times.”
Another traditional explanation states:
“The knowers of reality among the yogins have described nine kinds of Mātrā.
A Mātrā may be measured by the duration of the opening and closing of the eyelids, or by the time required for the pronunciation of a short syllable.
Other measures are described through such natural actions as the time taken for a cow to drink, a calf to drink, the throwing of sugarcane, or the sound of a bell.
Four of these are called Ati-mātrās, or extended measures, and they are to be employed gradually.
The ancient Yoga masters taught that these measures should be understood according to place and time.
The time naturally arising in Pūraka, Kumbhaka, and Recaka is called Mātrā. These various measures are applied progressively.
The eighth is described as a Mahāmātrā, a great measure.
By moving around the knee three times in the clockwise direction and snapping the fingers, the short Mātrā is produced. The middle Mātrā is said to consist of six such units.
When the clockwise circumambulation of the knees is performed nine times, the resulting measure is considered the superior one.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Prāṇāyāma for the Householder
“Having extended the breath and reciting the Gāyatrī, together with its Vyāhṛtis, the Praṇava (Oṃ), and the Śiras, one should repeat it three times. This is called Prāṇāyāma.”
— Gītā
“This practice should be performed by householders for the purification of sins and by yogins for the attainment of Yoga-siddhi. For such a threefold recitation, the duration amounts to two palas; this should be understood as indicating the measure of the period of Kumbhaka.”
— Yogadīpikā, cited in Haṭhasaṃketa
Nature of Prāṇa
“The total activity or functioning of all the senses is called Prāṇa, the vital air. When Prāṇa is conquered, the senses themselves become conquered.
Therefore, because Prāṇa and the movement of the mind coexist and move together, when Prāṇa is restrained, the mind is also restrained.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Prāṇa and the Movement of the Mind
The Yogavāsiṣṭha explains:
“The external and internal movements may arise from Citta or from Vāta (Prāṇa). For one in whom such movement no longer exists, the defects arising from distance and separation are destroyed.”
The intended meaning is that through the methods associated with Prāṇāyāma, ordinary inhalation and exhalation become greatly diminished. Just as the breath of a person who is climbing a mountain, running rapidly, or engaged in strenuous activity is much faster than that of one who is standing or sitting quietly, so the ordinary movement of the mind is intensified by activity.
The text gives the analogy of an animal being led away by force and then brought back and firmly held by a rope. In the same manner, the mind, which is constantly being carried outward by the senses and their objects, is brought back and established in the truth of the Self when the rope of Prāṇa is firmly held.
Thus, in this context, the cessation of mental modifications and the reduction of the movements of Prāṇa are intended.
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Gradual Method of Practice
“On the first day, four Kumbhakas should be performed, each consisting of ten repetitions.
On the second day, five additional repetitions should be made.
On the third day, the number should be increased to twenty.
Thereafter, the practice should be increased by five repetitions each day.”
— Yogadīpikā
Fruit of Prāṇāyāma in Haṭhayoga — Gorakṣanātha
“Having closed the nine gates of the body, the yogin draws in the vital air and drinks and retains the Amṛta. Together with Apāna and the inner fire, he causes the Śakti to rise upward.
Through this method, united with meditation upon the Self, he establishes the vital force firmly in the head.
For as long as he remains established in this state, for that very duration he becomes united with the great condition of non-attachment (Asaṅga).”
— Gorakṣanātha
Method of Prāṇāyāma
“Therefore one should practise Prāṇāyāma daily, with a mind established in Sattva, so that the impurities situated within the Suṣumṇā may be dried up and destroyed.
The yogin, firmly established in Baddha-Padmāsana, should fill the Prāṇa through the Moon, that is, through Iḍā. Having retained it according to his capacity, he should then exhale through the Sun, that is, through Piṅgalā.
He should next draw the Prāṇa through the Sun, gradually filling the abdomen. Having performed Kumbhaka according to the prescribed method, he should again exhale through the Moon.
Through whichever channel the breath is released, that channel should subsequently be filled, and after restraint it should again be exhaled through the other channel, gradually and without violence.
Thus, having inhaled through Iḍā, he should exhale through the other channel; having inhaled through Piṅgalā, he should retain the breath and release it through the left channel.
By meditating in this manner upon the two solar and lunar orbs, the entire collection of Nāḍīs becomes purified after three months of disciplined practice.
Kumbhakas should be practised gradually four times a day—in the morning, at midday, in the evening, and at midnight—until the practice reaches eighty repetitions.
He should inhale through Iḍā for sixteen mātrās, retain the breath internally for sixty-four mātrās, and slowly exhale through Piṅgalā in thirty-two mātrās, according to the prescribed sequence.
In the inferior stage, perspiration arises.
In the middle stage, trembling arises.
In the higher stage, Prāṇa rises upward even while the yogin remains established in the bound Padmāsana.
Through still greater practice, both perspiration and trembling arise; through yet further practice, the Dārdurī movement appears.
Just as a frog moves across the ground by repeatedly leaping, so the yogin established in Padmāsana moves across the ground.
The yogin should massage the body with the water produced by exertion. Through this, the body acquires firmness and lightness.
During the initial period of practice, a diet consisting of milk and ghee is recommended. Once practice has become firmly established, such strict insistence upon this dietary rule is no longer necessary.
Just as a lion, elephant, or tiger can gradually be brought under control through patient training, so Prāṇa, when properly practised, becomes controlled. Otherwise, it destroys the practitioner.
When Prāṇāyāma is performed properly and in accordance with the prescribed method, all diseases are destroyed. When it is practised improperly, it becomes the cause of many diseases.
Hiccups, cough, difficulty in breathing, pains in the head, ears and eyes, and various other disorders arise from the disturbance of the vital air.
Therefore one should release the breath gradually and properly, and fill it gradually and properly.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Fruit of the Practice of Prāṇāyāma
“Thus established in Āsana and Bandha, the foremost yogin, free from fatigue, should practise Nāḍī-śuddhi, together with Mudrās and the various practices for controlling and directing the vital air.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
“Accomplishment belongs to one who is engaged in practice; how could accomplishment arise in one who does not practise?
Practice itself is the cause of accomplishment—this is true, without doubt.
Yoga-siddhi does not arise merely through the reading of Śāstra.
Through Prāṇāyāma, all the repositories of impurity are dried up and destroyed.
Some Ācāryas do not approve of other practices, whereas the practitioner devoted to the mastery of vital air attains the discipline of the Ṣaṭkarma.
Those who feared death in earlier times therefore practised the vital air.
Even the gods, beginning with Brahmā, became devoted to the practice of Prāṇa and attained every form of accomplishment. Therefore one should practise the vital air.
As long as the Marut (Prāṇa) is restrained within the body, the mind remains free from agitation.
As long as the gaze remains fixed between the eyebrows, where is the fear of time or death?
When, through properly performed Prāṇāyāma, the network of Nāḍīs has been purified, the Vāyu enters the Suṣumṇā, breaking through its opening.
When the vital air moves within the Suṣumṇā, stability of the mind arises.
This state in which the mind becomes completely steady is called Manonmanī.
For attaining this state, those who know the proper methods perform various forms of Kumbhaka. Through the practice of these diverse Kumbhakas, diverse forms of Siddhi are attained.
The eight Kumbhakas are:
- Sūryabhedana
- Ujjāyī
- Śītkārī
- Śītalī
- Bhastrikā
- Bhrāmarī
- Mūrcchā
- Kevalī
At the end of Pūraka, one should perform the piercing or restraint known as Jālandharabandha.
At the end of Kumbhaka and at the beginning of Recaka, one should perform Uḍḍiyānabandha.
By contracting the lower region and constricting the throat, together with the Madhya-paścimatāna or central backward extension, Prāṇa is directed into the central channel.
The yogin should raise Apāna upward and bring Prāṇa downward from the throat.
Through this mastery, the yogin becomes free from old age and attains the condition symbolically described as becoming sixteen years of age.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Sūryabhedana
“Having comfortably established the Āsana and firmly applied the Mudrās, the yogin should slowly draw in the external vital air through the right nostril. He should perform Kumbhaka, retaining the breath from the toes to the tips of the hair and up to the head. Thereafter he should slowly exhale the vital air through the left nostril.
This practice purifies the skull, destroys disorders of Vāta, and destroys worms. It should again and again be performed in this manner. This is the excellent Sūryabhedana Kumbhaka.”
— Haṭhasaṃketa
Ujjāyī
“Keeping the mouth closed, the practitioner should slowly draw the vital air through both nostrils, producing a sound as the air passes through the throat, thereby increasing the digestive fire of the body.
Having performed Kumbhaka as before, he should then exhale through Iḍā.
This removes disorders arising in the throat, increases the internal fire like a forest fire, and destroys disorders affecting the Nāḍīs, bodily fluids, abdominal region, and bodily tissues.
The Kumbhaka known as Ujjāyī may be practised while walking or standing.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Śītkārī Kumbhaka
“Having performed Kumbhaka through the mouth, one should release the breath through the nose. Through continued practice of this Yoga, the practitioner becomes like a second Kāma-deva.
He becomes capable of bringing about the ordinary processes of creation and dissolution of the Yoginī-cakra.
Hunger, thirst, sleep, and laziness do not arise. The body becomes free and independent, and is freed from all disturbances.
By this method, the foremost yogin truly becomes, upon the earth, a recipient of all Siddhis; there is no doubt about this.
He who continually draws in Prāṇa through the opening at the root of the nose becomes a recipient of all Siddhis, without doubt.
He who continually drinks Prāṇa through the root of the tongue at the palate attains, within a year and a half, the complete destruction of all diseases.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Śītalī Kumbhaka
“The wise practitioner should draw in the air through the tongue, and perform Kumbhaka as before. He should then slowly exhale the vital air through both nasal passages.
This Śītalī Kumbhaka destroys Gulma, enlargement of the spleen, abdominal disorders, fever, disorders of Pitta, hunger, and thirst.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Bhastrikā Kumbhaka
“Placing both feet upon the thighs, one should establish the proper Padmāsana, which destroys all sins.
Having firmly assumed Padmāsana, keeping the neck, abdomen, and body straight, the intelligent practitioner should close the mouth and forcefully exhale the Prāṇa through the nostrils.
He should then fill the body from the heart and throat up to the skull. With force, he should properly fill the vital air up to the lotus of the heart, and then exhale it in the same manner.
Having filled and expelled it, he should repeat the process again and again.
Just as the bellows of a blacksmith are moved rapidly, so the vital air within the body is forcibly moved.
When fatigue arises in the body, he should stimulate it through the Sun. When the abdomen becomes completely filled with air and becomes light, he should firmly restrain the breath at the nasal region with the fingers.
Having performed Kumbhaka as before, he should exhale the air through Iḍā.
This removes disorders of Vāta, Pitta, and Śleṣman (Kapha), increases the body’s digestive fire, awakens Kuṇḍalinī, destroys diseases, and produces well-being.
It removes the obstruction at the entrance of the Brahma-nāḍī and destroys the barriers that close it.
Properly performed Bhastrikā breaks through the three Granthis.
Therefore this Kumbhaka, known as Bhastrikā, should especially be practised.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Bhrāmarī Kumbhaka
“The yogin should perform Pūraka with a resonant sound, like the rapid humming of a bee, and perform Recaka slowly with the sound of a bee.
Through continual practice, a particular form of blissful experience arises within the mind of the foremost yogins.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Mūrcchā Kumbhaka
“At the completion of Pūraka, the practitioner should gradually establish a firm Jālandharabandha. He should then perform Recaka.
This is called Mūrcchā Kumbhaka, which produces a pleasurable state of mental absorption or ‘fainting’ of the mind.
With the abdominal region filled by the vital air that has entered internally and established itself at the foundation, the practitioner becomes as though he were floating upon a vast expanse of water, like a lotus leaf.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Saṃhita Kumbhaka
“Prāṇāyāma is said to be threefold, consisting of Recaka, Pūraka, and Kumbhaka.
Kumbhaka is regarded as being of two kinds: Saṃhita and Kevala.
When one performs both Recaka and Pūraka together with Kumbhaka, this is called Saṃhita Kumbhaka.
Until Kevala-siddhi is attained, Saṃhita Kumbhaka should be practised.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Kevala Kumbhaka
“Abandoning both Recaka and Pūraka, the practitioner restrains the vital air without dependence upon either inhalation or exhalation. This Prāṇāyāma is called Kevala Kumbhaka.
When perfection in Kevala Kumbhaka has been attained, with Recaka and Pūraka transcended, nothing in the three worlds remains difficult to attain.
When pure Kevala Kumbhaka has been mastered, the yogin can retain the vital air according to his own will. There is no doubt that he attains the state of Rājayoga.
Through Yoga, food gradually diminishes, just as the Moon wanes during the dark fortnight. During the bright fortnight, the breath becomes like nectar, increasing like the waxing Moon.
Without Haṭhayoga, Rājayoga does not succeed; without Rājayoga, Haṭhayoga does not succeed. Therefore the two should be practised together for the attainment of their combined accomplishment.
At the end of Kumbhaka and after the cessation of Prāṇa, the yogin should make the mind unsupported by external objects. Through this practice, he proceeds toward the state of Rājayoga.
From Kumbhaka arises the awakening of Kuṇḍalinī; from the awakening of Kuṇḍalinī comes the unobstructed opening of the Suṣumṇā, and from this arises Haṭhayoga-siddhi.
The signs of accomplishment in Haṭhayoga are:
- leanness of the body,
- brightness and serenity of the face,
- clarity of the Nāda,
- exceptionally clear eyes,
- freedom from disease,
- mastery over Bindu,
- intensification of the digestive fire, and
- purification of the Nāḍīs.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
Instruction Concerning Kuṇḍalinī
“Just as the Lord of Serpents is the foundation of the earth together with its mountains, forests, and continents, so Kuṇḍalinī is the foundation of all the systems of Yoga and Tantra.
When she is awakened through the grace of the Guru, she becomes a source of happiness. Then all the lotuses (Cakras) are penetrated, and the Granthis are likewise pierced.
The pathway of Prāṇa becomes the path of Śūnya, the empty or transcendent space; it becomes the royal path (Rājapatha). The mind likewise becomes free from external support, and the yogin transcends Time.
Suṣumṇā is the pathway of Śūnya; the Brahmarandhra is the Great Path. Śmaśānī, Śāmbhavī, and Madhyamārga are different names for the same central pathway.
Therefore, with every possible effort, one should awaken the Goddess Kuṇḍalinī, who lies asleep at the entrance of the Brahma-dvāra, through the practice of Mudrās.”
— Haṭhapradīpikā
The Ten Mudrās
“The ten Mudrās are:
- Mahāmudrā
- Mahābandha
- Mahāvedha
- Khecarī
- Uḍḍiyāna
- Mūlabandha
- Jālandharabandha
- Viparītakaraṇī
- Vajrolī
- Śakticālana
This group of ten Mudrās is said to destroy old age and death.
They were taught by Ādinātha and bestow the eight great Aiśvaryas, or extraordinary powers. They are beloved of all Siddhas, yet difficult to attain even for great practitioners.
They should be carefully kept secret, like a precious jewel kept within a treasure casket. They should not be disclosed indiscriminately, just as an intimate secret of a household is not publicly revealed.
Vajrolī, Amarolī, and Sahajolī are regarded as three forms.
Their characteristics and the particular methods by which they are to be practised will now be explained.”
Mahāmudrā
1. Mahāmudrā — “Press the yoni firmly with the heel of the left foot; extend the right leg and hold it firmly with both hands. Having established the bandha at the throat, raise and retain the vital air upward. Just as a serpent struck by a staff becomes straight and assumes a staff-like form, so the Kuṇḍalinī-Śakti, becoming straight, suddenly rises. Then, taking refuge in the two channels, she removes the condition of death. Thereafter one should exhale gradually and slowly, never with force.
This indeed is Mahāmudrā, praised by the great Siddhas. Through it, disorders such as the great afflictions are diminished, as are conditions connected with death; therefore the wise and eminent call it Mahāmudrā. It should be practised first on the lunar side and then again on the solar side. When the number of practices on both sides has become equal, the Mudrā should be released.
There is no distinction here between what is wholesome and unwholesome; all tastes become tasteless. Even terrible poison, if consumed, is digested as though it were nectar. In one who practises Mahāmudrā, all disorders—such as kṣavathu (sneezing), kuṣṭha (skin disease), gudāvarta (disorder of the rectum), gulma, and ajīrṇa (indigestion)—are destroyed.
This Mahāmudrā has been declared to bestow great Siddhi upon human beings. It must be carefully kept secret and should not be given indiscriminately to anyone.” — Haṭhapradīpikā
Mahābandha
2. Mahābandha — “Place the heel of the left foot at the region of the yoni, and place the right foot upon the left thigh. Fill the mouth with air and firmly press the chin against the heart region. Contract the yoni and draw it inward, directing the mind into the middle. Having retained the breath according to one’s capacity, exhale the air slowly.
Practise it first on the left side and then again on the right side. According to another tradition, some omit the throat-bandha. Others state that a bandha involving the tongue at the root of the upper teeth is prescribed.
This indeed is Mahābandha, which bestows great Siddhi. It is skilful in releasing one from the great bondage of the noose of Time (Kāla). It also prevents the upward movement of all the Nāḍīs. It establishes the conjunction of the three streams (Triveṇī-saṅgama) and causes the mind to reach Kedāra.
Just as a woman endowed with form and beauty is incomplete without a man, so Mahāmudrā and Mahābandha are fruitless when separated from Mahāvedha.”
Mahāvedha
3. Mahāvedha — “The Yogin, established in Mahāvedha, performs Pūraka with a concentrated mind. Drawing the movement of the air inward and making the throat motionless through the throat-Mudrā, he places both hands upon the ground and gently strikes the buttocks against the ground.
Having repeatedly lifted and struck them in this manner, the Vāyu moving through the middle channel begins to pulsate. From the union of Soma, Sūrya, and Agni arises the state of conquest over death. When the state resembling death has arisen, where is the fear of death?
This Mahāvedha, through practice, bestows great Siddhi. The highest practitioners, freed from wrinkles and grey hair, practise it.
These three—Mahāmudrā, Mahābandha, and Mahāvedha—are destroyers of old age and death. They increase the digestive fire and bestow powers such as Aṇimā and the other Siddhis.
They are to be performed eight times in each Yāma, day after day. They accumulate merit and continually destroy the mass of sins. They should be properly practised only by those who possess the requisite desire for knowledge and discipline. At the beginning, one should avoid the practice of Vahni, Strī, and Tripatha-sevana.” — Haṭhapradīpikā
4. Khecarī Mudrā — “By cutting, moving, and milking the tongue, one should gradually lengthen it until it reaches the space between the eyebrows; then Khecarī-siddhi is attained. Taking a very sharp, smooth, clean instrument resembling a Snuhi leaf, one should cut away a portion no larger than the breadth of a hair. The cut should then be rubbed with a powder consisting of rock salt, Pathyā, and other substances. After seven days, another hair’s breadth should be cut away. Thus, practising continuously and gradually for six months, the practitioner destroys the bandha of the nāḍī at the root of the tongue.
Thereafter, the practitioner should wrap the Vāgīśvarī-dhāma with a piece of cloth and, knowing the proper divisions of time, gradually draw it upward. Its length is described as one vitasti, its breadth four aṅgulas, soft, white, and covered with cloth. By further drawing it upward over another six months, it gradually extends as far as the space between the eyebrows, later reaching transversely toward the ear-openings. Below, its root proceeds toward the chin, according to the successive stages of practice. Above the head it extends transversely toward the region of the temples.
Again, O Goddess, after another year, the tongue reaches the second stage with ease. It covers the Brahmarandhra and remains there, O Goddess revered by the immortals.
Rubbing the root of the palate with the tongue for seven days, one should purify all impurities according to the method taught by one’s Guru. Then, rubbing it with the tip of the finger, one should introduce the tongue there. Gradually, from the head, it becomes the great Vajra, closing the aperture.
This teaching, endowed with the power of the primordial Vīrya, is exceedingly difficult to obtain. One should perform its sixfold practice, by which the six Cakras are penetrated. Having cast away all ordinary sequences of activity in the sky, it moves through the eternal interior of consciousness. It produces union with Śiva and becomes Khecarī, the destroyer of the suffering of worldly existence.
O beautifully formed one, it must be performed gradually through sustained practice. If one attempts everything simultaneously, the body would undergo dissolution. Therefore, O beloved, the practice should be undertaken slowly and progressively. Having performed it in this manner for three years, one surely enters the Brahma-dvāra.
Penetrating the six Cakras, awakening the serpent-like Śakti Kuṇḍalinī dwelling at the root, and breaking through the knot-like enclosure, the practitioner carries Prāṇa through the great structure of the western channel. Having churned and purified the impurities of the channel, he meditatively reaches that Liṅga and drinks the essence flowing from the lunar sphere. He who drinks that essence is liberated and becomes Śiva himself.
Sharpness destroys disease; bitterness destroys Kuṣṭha. That which resembles the taste of ghee surely bestows immortality. That which resembles the taste of honey, together with abundant foods such as Śāli rice and Mudga, laddus, sweet preparations, and various cooked foods, becomes available. He who continually enjoys the divine mode of existence becomes exalted. He attains identification with it, like an insect becoming one with the cocoon.
When the tongue enters the cranial cavity and is turned upward, while the gaze is directed into the space between the eyebrows, the Mudrā becomes Khecarī. In the manner of a crow’s beak, one should drink cool water. Through the practice of Prāṇa and Apāna, the Yogin becomes free from ageing.
Turning the tongue backward and directing it into the threefold path, it becomes Khecarī Mudrā; this is called the Vyoma-cakra. If the tongue is turned upward and held there even for half a moment, the Yogin is freed from disease, death, old age, and related afflictions.
For one who knows Khecarī Mudrā, there is neither disease nor death, neither sleep nor hunger or thirst, nor unconsciousness. He is not oppressed by passion, nor bound by karma, nor fettered by Time.
Because the mind moves in the sky, and the tongue likewise moves into the sky, this is called Khecarī Mudrā, revered by all the Siddhas. When the tongue seals the cavity above the Lambikā, the Bindu does not fall, even when the practitioner is embraced by a woman. Even if the Bindu has moved and reached the fire, it is carried upward by the power of Haṭha, being restrained through Yoni-mudrā.
With the tongue entering the cranial cavity and possessing the power of joining with Time, one should therefore perform this practice constantly and with concentration.
The body of the Yogin who is perpetually filled with Soma becomes such that even poison from the bite of a Takṣaka does not penetrate it. He who remains steady with the tongue turned upward and drinks Soma certainly becomes a conqueror of death within half a month.
Just as fire consumes fuel and a lamp consumes oil and wick, so the body possessing the complete sixteen lunar digits does not abandon the body.
One should insert the tongue upward and drink the liquid that drips there. One should constantly consume ‘cow-flesh’ and drink the wine of immortality. I consider him truly noble; others are destroyers of their lineage.
By the word go is meant the tongue, and its entrance into the palate is the eating of go-māṃsa. This ‘eating of cow-flesh’ destroys the greatest sins. The fire produced by the entrance of the tongue generates the essence that flows from the Moon; that essence is called the wine of immortality (Amaravāruṇī).
In the navel region is the Sun, possessing the nature of burning fire; in the middle of the palate is the Moon, eternally stable and of the nature of nectar. The downward-facing Moon rains its essence, while the upward-facing Sun consumes it. One should understand the means by which this Pīyūṣa (nectar) is obtained.
The essence dripping from the sixteen-petalled lotus of the head is obtained through Prāṇa. Turning the face upward, restraining the tongue and placing it in the cavity, the practitioner directs his mind toward the supreme Śakti. He who drinks the pure stream of immortal nectar, rising in waves, becomes a Yogin with a body soft as the stalk of a lotus and lives for a very long time.
When the tongue constantly rests at the tip of the Lambikā and nectar continuously flows from it, its taste is described as salty, pungent, sour, milk-like, honey-like, and ghee-like. It destroys diseases, brings about the transformation of the inner being, restores the knowledge contained in Śāstra and Āgama, and grants immortality. It is said to possess eightfold Siddhi, attract Siddha women, produce happiness, and be endowed with the five streams that generate knowledge.
Thus Khecarī Mudrā remains in that void, stainless and unsupported space. Whatever has reached dissolution at the summit of Meru, in that very place the wise one speaks of the supreme principle. From the Moon, the essence flows downward as nectar, and through that nectar human beings are subject to death. This process should therefore be restrained by the proper method; otherwise the desired perfection of the body (Kāya-siddhi) is not attained.
This is Khecarī, unknown to the ordinary world but known among the assemblies of Yogins. There is one creation, one Bīja, one Khecarī Mudrā, one unsupported Deva, and one state—Manonmanī.” — Haṭhamañjarī, in various places.
Uḍḍīyāna Bandha
5. Uḍḍīyāna — “Having first assumed Vajrāsana, hold the body firmly with both hands near the region of the ankles. Press the Kanda situated there. Perform the Paścimatāna and place the chin upon the heart. Gradually, gradually, the Prāṇa proceeds toward the junction of the Kanda.”
“Through the Bandha called Uḍḍīyāna, the Vāyu flies upward and enters the Brahma-nāḍī; therefore this Bandha is called Uḍḍīyāna. It is revered by the ancient masters and therefore should be practised by Yogins and by those who have attained Siddhi.
Because the Prāṇa-vāyu, without interruption, is continually caused to fly upward, one should firmly establish Uḍḍīyāna Bandha. Thus the steadfast practitioner should constantly perform this Bandha.” — Haṭhasaṃketa
Mūlabandha
6. Mūlabandha — “Press the anus firmly with the heel and contract it forcefully. Again and again, draw it upward so that the Vāyu rises. Through Mūlabandha, Prāṇa and Apāna, as well as Nāda and Bindu, become united. They thereby bring about the perfection of Yoga; of this there is no doubt. Through the union of Prāṇa and Apāna, the excretion of urine and faeces is diminished. Even an old man becomes youthful through constant practice of Mūlabandha.” — Haṭhapradīpikā
“Pressing the anal passage with the root of the foot and controlling it properly, forcibly draw Apāna upward and gradually cause it to move upward. This is called Mūlabandha, the destroyer of old age and death.
When Prāṇa and Apāna are united, the functions of urine and faeces are diminished, and even one who is advanced in age becomes youthful through the root-practice. When Apāna, having broken through its lower gateway, moves upward, it reaches the fire situated in the heart; the flame of that fire, strengthened by Vāyu, becomes intensely powerful.
Then Agni and Apāna unite with Prāṇa in the heart. When the fire within the body becomes fully kindled, the sleeping Śakti, heated on every side, gradually awakens. When the movement of Vāyu becomes familiar and the mind becomes steady, the serpent-like Kuṇḍalinī, as though struck by a staff, suddenly abandons her sleep.
Hungry and enraged, she consumes the Apāna-vāyu moving upward. When Vāyu enters her cavity, she becomes straight and follows the Vāyu moving within Suṣumṇā. Therefore Yogins should constantly practise the venerable Mūlabandha with reverence.” — Haṭhasaṃketa
Jālandharabandha
7. Jālandharabandha — “Khecarī restrains the flow of the nectar of consciousness; Jālandhara obstructs the flow of nectar and vital air. Contracting the throat and placing the chin slightly upon the heart, this is called Jālandharabandha.
It makes the body immortal by restraining the nectar falling toward the mouth of the Sun. Because it binds the collection of vessels of the throat, the fluid descending from above does not proceed downward. When Jālandhara is performed by those who have perfected the practice, it becomes the means of destroying the entire multitude of throat disorders.
By constricting the throat in human beings, it restrains the two Nāḍīs and thereby arrests the central Cakra. This is known as the sixteen-petalled [centre]. When the movement of Vāyu has been arrested there, the practitioner becomes absorbed in drinking the nectar.
Through the greatness of Amṛta, the fire situated in the navel burns continuously, consuming it. The nectar that has fallen from all the lotuses is not consumed by that fire; rather, the Bandha itself protects it.”
Viparītakaraṇī
8. Viparītakaraṇī — “Whatever divine nectar continually flows from the Moon, the Sun consumes entirely; through this the body is destroyed. There is a divine means for preventing this: the mouth of the Sun must be closed. This should be understood through the instruction of the Guru, and not merely through the interpretation of countless scriptures.
Place the feet upward and the head downward and remain in that position for a moment on the first day. Gradually increase the practice. By continued practice, remain in it for one Yāma; thus one conquers death, and after six months one conquers old age.
He who places his head upon the ground and remains with the feet upward for three Yāmas, restraining the movement of the vital air according to the prescribed method, becomes endowed with the desired result after three months.
The pure essence of the lunar digits (Soma-kalā) should be directed upward from the throat toward the nasal passage and through the cavity to the gateway of the sky. When the upward-moving Vāyu meets the earth and the practitioner remains with the feet raised upward, he drinks it. For one who performs this while possessing mastery over the senses, there is no decay.
Through constant practice, the digestive fire increases. Therefore abundant food should be provided for the practitioner. He who has conquered the senses, with the fluctuations of mind restrained, and who has accomplished the desired meditation through the restraint of Prāṇa, becomes steady; sitting quietly and practising Yoga, he becomes immortal.
Wrinkles and grey hair do not appear for six months. Through practice for one Yāma, he gradually becomes a conqueror of Time.” — Haṭhacandrikā
Lāmbikā and the Practice of Khecarī
In connection with Lāmbikā, Haṭhasaṃketa gives the following procedure.
First, for establishing the tongue:
“With effort, press the bell-like structure at the root of the palate with the tongue. When the Vāyu has entered the upper aperture, the pulsation of Prāṇa becomes restrained.”
Regarding the method of preparing the palate:
“Rub the root of the palate vigorously, together with the root of the Rasajñā-nāḍī, for seven days, using sharp cleansing substances and butter-like preparations, so that all impurities arising there may be completely removed.” — Haṭhasaṃketa
Chhedana — Cutting and Lengthening of the Tongue
The procedure of Chhedana, or cutting, is described in detail:
“One should use a well-made, extremely sharp instrument, resembling a small, rounded, leaf-like blade with a serrated edge. It should be approximately half the breadth of a thumb-joint, crescent-shaped, clean, and not rough. Its handle should be six aṅgulas long.
With it, only a portion the breadth of a hair should be cut. The purpose is to remove the obstructing membrane situated below the upper region. The structure appears like a network of fibres, reddish in colour, extending above and below.
The wise practitioner should cut it at the appropriate place, little by little, approximately half a barley-grain at a time. Before cutting, the wound beneath the tongue should be rubbed with the previously prescribed powder.
After the cutting, this should be done three times, each time for approximately two ghaṭikās. Following the cutting operation, without becoming careless or lethargic, one should undertake moving and milking the tongue.
With the mind continuously directed toward it, the practice should be performed day and night. The tongue should be wrapped in a strip of cloth approximately one vitasti long and four aṅgulas wide, soft and white, described in the Purāṇas as the cloth appropriate for moving the tongue.
Having moistened this cloth, carefully wrap it around the tongue and, with the thumb and forefinger, repeatedly draw and move it outward with both hands, gradually increasing the practice.
Through firm and sustained practice, the tongue becomes long, soft, and slender. By repeated traction alone, the accomplished practitioner gradually extends it, remaining steady and single-minded.” — Haṭhasaṃketa
Khecarī: Progressive Development
“Having anointed the tongue with a preparation possessing the fragrance of honey, the practitioner should constantly perform its movement and milking according to the prescribed method. Thus the tongue of the foremost practitioner of Khecarī quickly becomes fit for the practice.
After six months of continuous practice of Chhedana, Cālana, and Dohana, the great obstruction at the root of the tongue is destroyed, and the tongue reaches approximately the height of half the nose.
When the entire impurity at the root of the Kalā has been cut away, it should thereafter be removed gradually and slowly. When the two reddish structures have become dissolved, the wise practitioner should continue the cutting according to the proper method.
When, through the practice of Lāmbikā, the tongue reaches approximately the level of half the nose, further Lāmbikā practice becomes unnecessary; the Kalā, whose root has been cut, is thereafter lengthened through continued daily practice.
By progressively increasing the Kalā through cutting, moving, and milking, it eventually enters the space between the eyebrows; at that point Khecarī-siddhi is attained.
Having accomplished this, the tongue proceeds into the cavity situated beneath the creeper-like region of the eyebrows. It then extends transversely toward the ears and downward toward the chin.
When this practice has been performed for three years, the practitioner should understand the Rasajñā [tongue] to have become fully developed. Having risen above the space between the eyebrows and broken through it, the tongue finally enters the Brahma-dvāra.” — Haṭhasaṃketa
Below is the continuation in the same faithful, encyclopaedic translation style, preserving the technical Sanskrit terminology and the traditional framework of the text. The source passage itself is sometimes corrupt, so I have retained the intended technical vocabulary rather than silently modernising it.
Vajrolī
9. Vajrolī — “The beautiful practice of contracting upward the channels of Apāna and Prāṇa should be practised by the man; through this he attains Vajrolī-siddhi, the supreme source of Kāya-siddhi, just as through it one attains Bindu-siddhi.
With a slender instrument arising from another metallic substance, one should gradually practise entering the opening of the genital passage, so that the movement of Vāyu becomes capable of proceeding through it.”
The procedure is then explained: first the passage is cleansed and purified; thereafter a thin, straight, purified lead probe, approximately twelve aṅgulas long and comparable in size to the tip of a small reed, is gradually and carefully introduced into the opening. By repeated practice the passage is made capable of the movement of air, in the manner of the anal passage. Initially, the practitioner gradually practises drawing upward a small quantity of milk placed in a vessel, using the upward-moving air.
“Through the gradual increase of this practice, the drawing upward of milk becomes accomplished. When it has become firm, one should practise drawing upward the yoni-fluid of the woman. One should practise drawing upward the Bindu that has moved from its proper place, until stability is attained.
Using a reed-tube, controlled within the Vajra-cavity, one should gently produce a blowing action, gradually, for the purpose of establishing the movement of Vāyu.”
The method is further described through the use of a slender reed-tube of sixteen aṅgulas. Its narrow end is placed at the opening, and repeated blowing gradually enlarges the passage. Water is then drawn through the opening by means of the tube, gradually increasing the practice. Once the passage has been sufficiently opened, the practitioner practises the upward drawing of milk.
“Contracting Apāna and, with force, drawing the milk upward according to the prescribed method, one should practise gradually and steadily. Likewise, the Bindu that falls into the yoni should be drawn upward little by little.”
Sahajolī
A distinction from Vajrolī is then given under the name Sahajolī.
“When the flower has blossomed, one should gradually raise it upward toward one’s own head through the contracted genital passage. One should restrain the Bindu that has entered one’s own body and, absorbed in sexual activity, practise the corresponding movements.
The white Bindu is the Moon; the red Ārtava is the Sun. The Śukra belonging to the Sun’s sphere and the lunar principle are brought into union. When these two are properly united within one’s own body, death does not arise.
Through the skill acquired by practice, the woman likewise draws the excellent Bindu upward. If the Yoginī preserves her own Ārtava, she attains the state of Vajrolī, the abode of all Siddhis.
Śakti is the Ārtava; Bindu is Mahādeva. From the union of the two, everything arises. The union of one’s own Śukra and Ārtava within the two bodies is called Vajrolī, which bestows great Siddhi.”
Sahajolī and Amarolī are described as distinctions or related forms of Vajrolī. The essential objective is the preservation of Bindu within the body. The passage describes a practice following sexual union in which the practitioner seeks to retain and draw upward the vital essence rather than allowing it to be lost.
According to Haṭhasaṃketa, continuous practice for six months, following the method taught by the Guru, is said to establish mastery of Bindu. Once the practitioner has attained composure, the loss of Bindu through sexual activity is said to cease.
Śakticālana
10. Śakticālana — “Kuṭilāṅgī, Kuṇḍalinī, Bhujangī, Śakti, Īśvarī, Kuṭilā, Arundhatī, and Devī are synonymous designations.
Above the Kanda dwells the Śakti called Kuṇḍalinī, coiled eightfold in form. With her mouth she constantly covers the entrance of the Brahma-dvāra. Through this gateway one must proceed toward the pure Brahma-sthāna. The Supreme Goddess lies asleep, covering that gateway with her mouth.
Just as a door is opened forcibly with a key, so the Yogin should break open the door of liberation through Kuṇḍalinī.
The Kuṇḍalinī-Śakti lies above the Kanda, asleep for ordinary beings but known as the means of liberation for Yogins. Whoever understands her properly is a knower of the Yoni.”
“Just as the coiled Śeṣa is the support of oceans, islands, and mountains, so Kuṇḍalinī is the foundation of the unfailing systems of Yoga and Tantra. Because she possesses a curved form, she is described as being like a serpent.
He by whom this Śakti is moved becomes liberated—of this there is no doubt.
Between the Gaṅgā and Yamunā dwells the ascetic Bālarāṇḍā. She should be seized forcibly; through her one reaches the supreme state of Viṣṇu.
Iḍā is the divine Gaṅgā; Piṅgalā is the river Yamunā; between Iḍā and Piṅgalā is Bālarāṇḍā, Sarasvatī.
Taking hold of the sleeping serpent by her tail, one should awaken her. Abandoning sleep, she becomes straight and suddenly rises upward.
The serpent, possessing a raised hood, is to be practised upon morning and evening for half a Prahara. The practitioner should fill himself through the solar process and, having properly wrapped and grasped her, cause her to move vigorously.
The wrapping cloth is described as approximately one vitasti long and four aṅgulas wide, soft and white.” The Yogin, seated in Vajrāsana, then performs the movement of Kuṇḍalinī.
Sūryabhedana and Bhastrikā in Śakticālana
As an associated practice, Sūryabhedana is prescribed:
“After Sūryabhedana, one should perform Bhastrikā and quickly awaken Kuṇḍalinī. One should contract the solar principle and thereafter move Kuṇḍalinī. Even one who has entered the mouth of death has no fear of death.
Through the breath moving along the right nasal passage, Prāṇa is greatly extended; the body is filled with the nectar of the Moon. Penetrating the regions of the bell-like structure, the great fire of Time, and the network of channels around the eyebrows, it renews the body like an old tree whose trunk has become new.
After moving Kuṇḍalinī, Bhastrikā should especially be performed. Through constant practice the disciplined practitioner has no fear of Yama. One should constantly practise Sūryabhedana, Ujjāyī, and Śītalī. For one established in such practice, what need is there to fear Yama?
For two Muhūrtas, the [inner sound/air] is experienced fully; Kuṇḍalinī situated in Suṣumṇā is drawn somewhat upward. This practice is particularly beneficial to one devoted to Brahmacarya and taking moderate food.” — Haṭhapradīpikā
Samādhi
“Now I shall explain the characteristics and method of Samādhi, which destroys death, provides an easy means [of attainment], and produces the supreme bliss of Brahman.
Just as salt becomes completely dissolved in water, so through Yoga there arises complete identity between Ātman and mind; this is called Samādhi.
Who truly knows the greatness of Rājayoga? The attainment of liberation through knowledge is established through the word of the Guru. Abandonment of sense-objects is difficult; direct perception of Reality is difficult; the natural state (Sahajāvasthā) is difficult without the compassion of the Sadguru.
Even through various Āsanas, Kumbhakas, and extraordinary practices, when the Ādi-Śakti has been awakened, Prāṇa dissolves into the Śūnya. The awakened Śakti, having abandoned all remaining Karma, makes the Yogin’s natural state manifest by itself.
When Prāṇa enters the Suṣumṇā and the Vāyu enters the Śūnya, the knower of Karma uproots all Karma. The stainless one sees this entire moving and unmoving universe as Śūnya.
When the mind attains equality, Vāyu enters the middle channel. This is also described through the traditions of Amarolī, Vajrolī, and Sahajolī.
As long as Prāṇa lives, mind also lives; when Prāṇa and mind together dissolve, the human being attains liberation—there is no other way.”
“The natural condition of both Rasa and mind is instability. When Rasa is bound, mind is bound; what therefore cannot be accomplished on earth? When Rasa is stupefied, it removes disease; when it is ‘dead’, it itself restores life. When Rasa and Vāyu are bound, they assume freedom of movement within their proper domain.
Mind is lord of the senses; Vāyu is lord of mind; dissolution is lord of Vāyu; and that dissolution rests upon Nāda.
This indeed is called the state of liberation, according to another tradition. The dissolution of mind and Prāṇa proceeds through their unification with Nāda. When inhalation and exhalation have ceased and the grasping of sense-objects has been destroyed, the Yogins become motionless and free from modification.
When all Saṅkalpas have been cut off and every activity has ceased, a certain dissolution arises which can be known only through one’s own experience and lies beyond mind and speech.
Where the gaze dissolves, there the eternal relation of the elements and senses dissolves. The innate Śakti of all beings has its gaze fixed upon the Lakṣya, without attachment.”
Śāmbhavī Mudrā
“The Vedas, Śāstras, Purāṇas and similar texts are like ordinary courtesans; among all Tantras, there is only one Śāmbhavī Mudrā that is proclaimed.
The inner object is the Lakṣya, while the external gaze remains open without ordinary blinking. This Śāmbhavī Mudrā is nevertheless kept secret in all Tantras.
When the mind has dissolved into the inner Lakṣya and the Prāṇa is absorbed there, the Yogin, while apparently seeing externally with an unmoving gaze, in reality does not see [the external world].
Through the grace of the Sadguru, Śāmbhava arises. In the state free from both Śūnya and Aśūnya, the principle called the Śāmbhava-pada manifests.
With the eyes half-open, the mind steady, and the gaze fixed upon the tip of the nose, one brings the Moon and Sun into union. The supreme Reality, appearing as light without an external or internal distinction, is the supreme state. What more need be said?”
Śāmbhavī and Khecarī are described as states having distinct modes of practice. The practitioner joins the inner light to the region between the eyebrows; this is described as the path of earlier Yoga and as the means of producing the Unmanī state.
Khecarī within Samādhi
“Khecarī is so called because the mind moves in Kha (space) and the tongue likewise moves in Kha. Therefore this Mudrā is revered by the Siddhas.
At the union of Iḍā and Piṅgalā, the Vāyu is absorbed into the Śūnya. There Khecarī Mudrā remains. Again and again it is established between the Sun and Moon, in the unsupported space, within the Vyoma-cakra.
Having entered the supreme Śakti and filled the rear opening of Suṣumṇā with the divine Vāyu, the practitioner becomes a Khecara. Through practice of Khecarī, the state of Unmanī arises.
One should practise Khecarī until Yoganidrā is attained. Once Yoganidrā has been attained, there is no longer any dominion of Time.
The seat of Śiva is between the eyebrows; there the mind dissolves. That state should be known as the Turīya state, where Time does not exist.”
“Establish Khecarī Mudrā between the Moon and Sun, in the unsupported Great Śūnya, situated within the Vyoma-cakra. Making the mind unsupported, think of nothing whatsoever. In the space within and without, it remains steady like a pot [within space].
Just as external air dissolves into the space, without doubt, so Prāṇa proceeds toward its own state. Through constant practice, the Vāyu becomes exhausted and the mind dissolves precisely there.
Amṛta floods the body from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head. The great Yoga is accomplished, together with immense strength and heroic power.
Place the mind within Śakti, and Śakti within the mind. Through the mind, behold consciousness and hold the supreme state.
Place the Ātman in Kha, and Kha within the Ātman. Having made the Ātman consist of Kha, think of nothing whatsoever. No external thought is to be entertained, nor any internal thought. Abandon every thought and think of nothing.”
“Through the mere formation of Saṅkalpa, the entire world comes into being; through the mere cessation of Saṅkalpa, the mind dissolves. Abandon this Saṅkalpa alone, take refuge in the Nirvikalpa state, and attain immovable inner peace.
Just as camphor dissolves in water and salt dissolves in water, so the mind, becoming united with Reality, dissolves into it.
Everything that is to be known is called Jñeya, and knowledge is called mind. Knowledge, the object of knowledge, and mind—there is no second path apart from these.
Whatever exists, moving or unmoving, is mind. When the mind reaches the state of Unmanī, duality disappears. Through abandoning the object of knowledge, the mind dissolves; when mind has dissolved, Kaivalya becomes possible.
What is the characteristic of dissolution? It is the disappearance of objects, together with the cessation of the re-arising of latent tendencies.”
Thus the earlier masters describe various methods of Samādhi, all accompanied by direct experience. The text concludes this section by saluting Suṣumṇā, Kuṇḍalinī, Sudhā, the Moon, Manonmanī, and the great Śakti of Consciousness. It then states that Nāda-upāsanā, the worship or contemplative practice of inner sound, was taught by Gorakṣanātha.
Praise of Nāda-anusandhāna
“Śrī Ādinātha is said to have taught innumerable methods; nevertheless, we consider Nāda-anusandhāna alone to be the principal means among the various methods of dissolution.
The Yogin, seated in Muktāsana and establishing Śāmbhavī Mudrā, should listen attentively to the Nāda in the right ear.
Just as a fire kindled in wood becomes extinguished together with the wood, so the mind set into motion through Nāda dissolves together with Nāda.
This should be performed by restraining the ears, mouth, eyes, and nose. Through the path of Suṣumṇā, the clearly manifested Nāda is heard.” — Haṭhapradīpikā
Four Stages of Nāda
“The four stages in Yoga are Ārambha, Ghaṭa, Paricaya, and Niṣpatti.
Forgetting everything external and becoming absorbed in Nāda like milk mixed with water, the practitioner suddenly becomes one with it and dissolves into the Cidākāśa.
Becoming indifferent to external objects and practising constantly with restraint, one should listen to Nāda; through Nāda the state of Unmanī is immediately produced.
Whether living in a hut, at the waist-region, upon a proper road, or wherever one may be; whether eating food or living upon alms and forest roots; with the hand or a simple vessel as one’s food-container—having abandoned every thought, at every time and always, one should investigate Nāda alone, and the mind dissolves into Nāda.” — Haṭhapradīpikā
Ārambhāvasthā
“When the Brahma-granthi has been pierced, bliss arises from Śūnya. A strange, momentary sound is heard within the body—the Anāhata Nāda. When the heart becomes completely filled with Śūnya, the Yogin enters the Ārambha stage.” — Haṭhapradīpikā
Ghaṭāvasthā
“In the second stage, called Ghaṭāvasthā, Yoga becomes firmly established. The practitioner becomes steady in Yoga and knowledgeable, comparable to the gods.
When the Viṣṇu-granthi has been pierced, a sound indicating supreme bliss arises; the penetration of the great Śūnya occurs, together with the sound of Meru.” — Haṭhapradīpikā
Paricayāvasthā
“When the successive granthis have been pierced, the sound of the Mardala arises. The practitioner enters the Mahāśūnya, the abode associated with all Siddhis.
Having conquered the bliss of the mind, Sahajānanda arises. The practitioner becomes free from defects, suffering, hunger, sleep, old age, and death.
Then, having pierced the Rudra-granthi, the Vāyu proceeds throughout all the Pīṭhas.” — Haṭhapradīpikā
Niṣpatti / Niṣṭhāvasthā
“In the final stage, the Vaiṇava sound arises, resembling the sound of a resonating Vīṇā. The mind becomes completely unified; this is called Rājayoga.
The Yogin becomes comparable to the Lord of Yoga and becomes capable of the functions of creation and dissolution.
Whether liberation is present or not, this great undivided state is attained. The nectar of dissolution, this supreme happiness, is obtained through Rājayoga.
Having reached the state of Rājayoga, the mind attains an easy means [to its goal]. Without Haṭha there is no Rājayoga, and without Rājayoga there is no Haṭha.
The dissolution arising from Nāda produces immediate conviction [through direct experience].” — Haṭhapradīpikā
Nāda-anusandhāna and its Fruit
“For the Yogeśvaras who have attained Samādhi through Nāda-anusandhāna, a single bliss has become established in the heart—a bliss beyond the reach of speech. Its Reality is known by the Guru Nātha.
The Muni should close his ears with both hands and listen to the sound arising within. He should make the mind steady there until it reaches the stable state.
One who desires the sovereignty of Yoga should abandon every thought and, with attentive consciousness, investigate Nāda alone.
Just as a bee drinking nectar has no interest in fragrance, so the mind absorbed in Nāda has no desire for sense-objects.
Through hearing Nāda, the inner serpent-like mind forgets everything and becomes one-pointed; it no longer runs elsewhere.
For the mind, which is like a maddened elephant wandering through the garden of sense-objects, Nāda is like a sharp elephant-goad, capable of restraining it.
Nāda acts as a snare for the inner deer; it restrains the inner horse and serves as a barrier to its rapid movement. Therefore the Yogin should constantly devote himself to Nāda-upāsanā.”
“Through continued practice, the inner sound turns the mind away from external objects. Having conquered all distractions, the Yogin becomes blissful.
At the beginning of practice, many great forms of Nāda are heard. As practice increases, progressively subtler and subtler sounds are heard.
At first there are sounds resembling the ocean, thunderclouds, kettledrum, and waterfall. In the middle stage, sounds resembling the Mardala, conch, bell, and tumultuous resonance arise. At the end, sounds resembling small bells, the Vīṇā, and the humming of a bee are heard.
Thus various Nādas are heard within the body.
Even when a great sound such as thunder or a kettledrum is heard, one should attend to the subtler sound within it. Wherever the mind first becomes attached to Nāda, it should become steady precisely there and dissolve together with that Nāda.”
“Of the sound to which the inner consciousness has become attached, the sound beyond the sound of the bell, the vibration of the Anāhata Nāda, and the inner light contained within sound should be understood. The mind lies within that which is to be known; when that mind dissolves, one reaches the supreme state of Viṣṇu.
As long as the conception of Ākāśa continues, sound continues. The soundless is the supreme Brahman, called the Paramātman.
Whatever is heard in the form of name and form is Śakti itself. The hearer of that is formless; he alone is the Parameśvara.
Nāda is to be understood as Śakti; knowledge of Nāda is Sadāśiva. When the object known and knowledge themselves dissolve, what remains is beyond conceptual agitation.
As far as Nāda extends, so far extends mind; but at the end of Nāda is Manonmanī.
That which possesses sound is called Vyoma; that which is soundless is called Brahman.
Through constant investigation of Nāda, all Vāsanās gradually diminish and, in the stainless state, dissolve completely.
Thousands of crores of Nādas and hundreds of crores of Bindus—all of them dissolve in that place where the stainless Goddess abides.” — Haṭhapradīpikā
The Fruit of Haṭhayoga (Haṭhayogaphalam) is described in the Īśvara–Mīna dialogue as follows:
“When, in the Paricaya stage, the Śakti, having been set in motion, rises upward and enters the sky, then, after successively piercing the six Cakras, the Aṇimā and other Siddhis arise. First, after piercing the three Granthis, the upward-moving Marut (Prāṇa-Vāyu) proceeds upward. At that time, the knots of the spinal bones of the Yogin become loosened or burst open.
Then the Vāyu, having been gathered, becomes distributed throughout the entire body. By the steadfast, this is called Kevala-Kumbhaka, and it bestows all Siddhis.
When Apāna, after piercing the Mūlādhāra, swiftly moves upward, the Yogin becomes one who knows the past, present, and future, possessing purified Sattva.
When the Ādhāra is pierced and Apāna, moving upward, agitates the serpent-like power, then the Nāda arises in the heart of the Yogin.
When the Maṇipūra Cakra is pierced, the sound of the Mṛdaṅga arises. Through the piercing of Anāhata, the sound of a bell arises. Through the piercing of the Viśuddha Cakra, the sound of an instrument arises.
When the Ājñā Cakra is pierced, the mind dissolves.
When the Śakti, carried by Vāyu, reaches the lotus of the thousand petals (Sahasrāra), then the Muni remains for an age in the Sahaja, the imperishable state.”
Pavanayogasaṅgraha
The Pavanayogasaṅgraha gives the sequence of practice:
“Having practiced Mahāmudrā, thereafter one should practice Mahābandha, and then regularly perform Mahāvedha, followed by Śakticālana.
Having firmly established the Āsana, one should perform Mūlabandha, then Uḍḍīyānabandha, and thereafter the bandha called Jālandhara.”
The statement “abhyased iti sambandhaḥ” indicates that the expression “should practice” is to be understood in connection with these successive practices.
Nāda and the attainment of Samādhi
“When Prāṇa enters Suṣumṇā, an inner Nāda is heard in eight forms—like the sound of a bell, Dundubhi, conch, Vīṇā, flute, and other musical instruments; also resembling the sounds of thunder, lightning, the stars, and the Sun.
When Prāṇa enters the Brahma-nāḍī, the form of the Bindu becomes manifest and luminous.”
Thus, the movement of Prāṇa into the central channel is associated with the manifestation of inner sound (Nāda) and ultimately with the revelation of the Bindu.
The teaching attributed to Viśvarūpācārya states:
“When Prāṇa becomes diminished and the mind dissolves, that state of equipoise (Samarasatva) is called Samādhi.
Through the steadiness of the mind, Vāyu becomes steady; from the steadiness of Vāyu, Bindu becomes steady; and from the arising of Bindu’s steadiness, steadiness of the bodily form (Piṇḍa) comes into being.”
This is described as the Niṣpatti stage, and as the beginning of Rājayoga for the practitioner.
The Haṭhapradīpikā further describes the condition of the Yogin:
“The exhalation and inhalation have disappeared; the fever of sense-objects has been destroyed; the mind is motionless and free from modification. Laya prevails for the Yogin.”
The text therefore presents the culmination of Haṭhayoga not merely as breath-control, but as the progressive cessation of Prāṇa-movement, sensory disturbance, mental modification, and finally the dissolution of mind.
Kuṇḍalinī, Suṣumṇā and the piercing of the Granthis
Another text describes the internal ascent of Prāṇa and Kuṇḍalinī:
“When the impurities have been dried, the movement of Vāyu becomes unobstructed. Abandoning its downward course, it soon becomes upward-moving.
Apāna, having become upward-moving, proceeds together with Agni. Then Agni reaches the seat of Prāṇa, and Prāṇa and Apāna quickly unite.
Having united, they lead the Kuṇḍalinī, causing the awakened Kuṇḍalinī to rise again. By force she penetrates the twentyfold region and enters the many-fragrant Suṣumṇā.
She then pierces the Brahma-granthi, arising from Rajas, and quickly proceeds upward through the mouth of Suṣumṇā.
She reaches the Viṣṇu-granthi, situated in the heart and associated with Sattva. With great force she pierces the Viṣṇu-granthi and ascends to the place where the Rudra-granthi, arising from Tamas, is situated.
From there Suṣumṇā rises toward the sphere of the Moon (Śītāṃśu-maṇḍala). There is the Cakra called Ākula, surrounded by sixteen petals.
There, the fluid produced by the Moon is continually dried up by the moving force of Prāṇa, in the domain of the blood, Pitta, and Sun.”
The passage is attributed to the Haṭhamañjarī. It presents the ascent as a progressive passage through the three Granthis—Brahma, Viṣṇu and Rudra, followed by movement toward the lunar sphere and the higher Cakric structure.
The Yogin’s means of deceiving Kāla
The text then explains the method by which the Yogin deceives Kāla (Time/Death):
“Knowing his own Kāla, the Yogin takes refuge in the place of dissolution and practices Yoga successively for the purpose of deceiving Kāla.
Having established the body in Siddhāsana, he fills the body with Prāṇa-vāyu. Making the body firm like a staff, and with concentrated intelligence, he closes the ten gates.
Having performed Khecarī Mudrā and Jālandhara at the neck, he performs Mūlabandha with Apāna and Uḍḍīyāna in the abdomen.
Having raised the serpent-like Śakti, situated in the lotus of the Mūlādhāra, and established her within Suṣumṇā, the Śiva-like power that pierces the five Cakras, he brings the Jīva, residing in the heart and accompanied by Buddhi and Manas, upward.
He contemplates it as becoming absorbed in Śiva situated in the centre of the thousand-petalled lotus (Sahasrāra).
From there, he contemplates the Amṛta, produced by the Moon, descending from the root, sprinkling the entire body and flooding it with nectar.
Thereafter the Yogin becomes one with Śiva. Becoming filled with Supreme Bliss (Parānanda), he even abandons the mental activity of consciousness.”
The culmination is described as a condition beyond ordinary conceptualization:
“Then there is that which is unmarked (Alakṣya), without appearance, devoid of differentiated existence, without the imagination of the limbs of the body. How can Kāla destroy that?
That alone is Kāla, that is Śiva, that is all; there is nothing beyond it. Who is there to be destroyed by whom? No one dies there.”
Thus Kāla-vijaya is not presented merely as physical longevity. The passage identifies the transcendence of Kāla with the dissolution of the distinctions through which ordinary existence is experienced.
The final image is that of the accomplished Yogin returning from this realization:
“Thereafter, having passed beyond the delusion that is Kāla, the Yogin, awakened in knowledge as one awakened from sleep, becomes Siddha.
Thus, having properly deceived Kāla through the extraordinary power of his accomplished existence, the Yogin moves throughout the three worlds, alone, beholding the manifoldness of Saṃsāra according to his own will and without egoism.”
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Sarvarthapedia Conceptual Network: Haṭhayogaphalam
The central conceptual architecture of Haṭhayogaphalam can be organized as a network rather than a linear article. The key movement is:
Prāṇa → Suṣumṇā → Kuṇḍalinī → Ṣaṭcakra → Granthi-bheda → Nāda → Manolaya → Samādhi → Rājayoga → Śivaikātmatā → Kāla-vijaya
The nāḍī–cakra–prāṇa framework functions as the underlying subtle-body architecture of Haṭhayoga, with Iḍā, Piṅgalā and Suṣumṇā occupying a particularly important position.
Core Node: Haṭhayogaphalam
Haṭhayogaphalam
→ Fruits of Haṭhayoga
→ Siddhi
→ Kevala-Kumbhaka
→ Kuṇḍalinī-prabodha
→ Ṣaṭcakra-bheda
→ Granthi-bheda
→ Nāda
→ Manolaya
→ Samādhi
→ Rājayoga
→ Śivaikātmatā
→ Kāla-vañcana / Kāla-vijaya
Cluster: Haṭhayoga as the Transformative System
Haṭhayoga
Haṭhayoga
↔ Āsana
↔ Prāṇāyāma
↔ Bandha
↔ Mudrā
↔ Śakticālana
↔ Kumbhaka
↔ Nāḍī-śuddhi
↔ Kuṇḍalinī
↔ Samādhi
The conceptual progression is not simply physical exercise. The practices operate as mechanisms for transforming the movement of Prāṇa, eventually directing it toward Suṣumṇā. The broader Haṭhayoga tradition explicitly links the purification and control of nāḍīs with the movement of prāṇa and the transformation of consciousness.
Cluster: Prāṇa–Apāna Architecture
Prāṇa
Prāṇa
→ Vāyu
→ Kumbhaka
→ Prāṇa-nirodha
→ Suṣumṇā-praveśa
→ Nāda
→ Manolaya
→ Samādhi
Apāna
Apāna
→ Mūlabandha
→ Urdhva-gamana
→ Agni-saṃyoga
→ Prāṇa–Apāna-saṃyoga
→ Kuṇḍalinī-prabodha
Prāṇa–Apāna Saṃyoga
Prāṇa + Apāna
→ Agni
→ Kuṇḍalinī
→ Suṣumṇā
→ Cakra-bheda
→ Samādhi
Cluster: Nāḍī
Nāḍī Network
Nāḍī
→ Kanda
→ Iḍā
→ Piṅgalā
→ Suṣumṇā
→ Vajrā
→ Citrinī
→ Brahma-nāḍī
→ Brahmarandhra
The nāḍī system should therefore be treated as a major Sarvarthapedia knowledge node connecting subtle physiology, Prāṇa, Kuṇḍalinī, Cakra theory and liberation-oriented Yoga. Comparative scholarship notes that traditions differ in their detailed descriptions of the internal structure of Suṣumṇā, making this an important cross-reference cluster rather than a single uniform doctrine. (KCI)
Cluster: Iḍā–Piṅgalā–Suṣumṇā
Iḍā
Iḍā
→ Candra
→ Lunar principle
→ Left channel
→ Nāḍī network
Piṅgalā
Piṅgalā
→ Sūrya
→ Solar principle
→ Right channel
→ Nāḍī network
Suṣumṇā
Suṣumṇā
→ Madhyamārga
→ Central channel
→ Brahma-nāḍī
→ Kuṇḍalinī ascent
→ Brahmarandhra
→ Samādhi
Iḍā + Piṅgalā → Suṣumṇā
This is one of the fundamental conceptual junctions of the entire knowledge web. The three channels are repeatedly treated as the principal channels of the Haṭhayogic subtle body. (KCI)
Cluster: Kuṇḍalinī
Kuṇḍalinī-śakti
Kuṇḍalinī
→ Mūlādhāra
→ Suṣumṇā
→ Ṣaṭcakra
→ Granthi-bheda
→ Sahasrāra
→ Śiva
→ Amṛta
→ Parānanda
→ Samādhi
The Mūlādhāra–Sahasrāra axis therefore forms the principal vertical architecture of the Kuṇḍalinī network. Traditional accounts describe Kuṇḍalinī as dormant at the base and progressively ascending through the Cakras toward the crown.
Cluster: Ṣaṭcakra
Ṣaṭcakra Network
Mūlādhāra
→ Kuṇḍalinī
→ Brahma-granthi
Svādhiṣṭhāna
→ Śakti
→ Cakra progression
Maṇipūra
→ Agni
→ Mṛdaṅga-nāda
Anāhata
→ Hṛdaya
→ Anāhata-nāda
→ Ghaṇṭā-nāda
Viśuddha
→ Śabda
→ Yantra-nāda
Ājñā
→ Manas
→ Manolaya
Sahasrāra
→ Śiva
→ Amṛta
→ Parānanda
→ Śivaikātmatā
Cakra descriptions vary in their precise attributes across Haṭhayogic and Tantric sources, so Sarvarthapedia can treat Ṣaṭcakra as a comparative conceptual network rather than assuming every tradition employs an identical schema.
Cluster: Tri-Granthi
Brahma-granthi
Brahma-granthi
→ Mūlādhāra region
→ Rajas
→ First obstruction
→ Kuṇḍalinī ascent
Viṣṇu-granthi
Viṣṇu-granthi
→ Hṛdaya
→ Sattva
→ Intermediate obstruction
→ Higher ascent
Rudra-granthi
Rudra-granthi
→ Higher Cakra region
→ Tamas
→ Final obstruction
→ Transcendence
Kuṇḍalinī → Brahma-granthi-bheda → Viṣṇu-granthi-bheda → Rudra-granthi-bheda → Sahasrāra
Cluster: Mudrā–Bandha–Śakticālana
Mudrā
Mahāmudrā
→ Kuṇḍalinī
→ Prāṇa control
Mahābandha
→ Bandha-traya
→ Prāṇa containment
Mahāvedha
→ Vāyu movement
→ Cakra activation
Khecarī Mudrā
→ Śūnya
→ Amṛta
→ Manonmanī
Bandha
Mūlabandha
→ Apāna
→ Urdhva-gati
Uḍḍīyānabandha
→ Vāyu
→ Urdhva-gamana
→ Suṣumṇā
Jālandharabandha
→ Prāṇa containment
→ Kumbhaka
Mūlabandha + Uḍḍīyāna + Jālandhara
→ Prāṇa–Apāna integration
→ Suṣumṇā-praveśa
Cluster: Kumbhaka
Kumbhaka
Pūraka
→ Kumbhaka
→ Recaka
and ultimately:
Pūraka–Recaka transcendence → Kevala-Kumbhaka
Kevala-Kumbhaka
Kevala-Kumbhaka
→ Prāṇa-nirodha
→ Nāḍī control
→ Suṣumṇā
→ Siddhi
→ Manolaya
→ Samādhi
This creates a direct conceptual bridge:
Prāṇāyāma → Kumbhaka → Kevala-Kumbhaka → Laya → Samādhi
Cluster: Nāda
Nāda
Nāda
→ Antaḥśravaṇa
→ Inner sound
→ Nādanusandhāna
→ Manas absorption
→ Manonmanī
The Nāda tradition provides a particularly strong conceptual bridge between Prāṇa and Samādhi: when Prāṇa enters Suṣumṇā, inner sound becomes an object of yogic attention, and the mind is progressively absorbed in it. (hatha.es)
Nāda Progression
Mṛdaṅga
→ Ghaṇṭā
→ Śaṅkha
→ Vīṇā
→ Veṇu
→ subtle Nāda
→ Nāda-laya
→ Manolaya
Cluster: Manas
Manas
Manas
→ Indriya-niyantraṇa
→ Prāṇa relationship
→ Nāda-anusandhāna
→ Manolaya
→ Unmanī
→ Samādhi
A key Sarvarthapedia conceptual equation is:
Vāyu-sthairya → Bindu-sthairya → Piṇḍa-sthairya
and:
Prāṇa-laya → Manas-laya → Samarasatva → Samādhi
Cluster: Laya–Samādhi
Laya
Laya
→ Manas dissolution
→ Prāṇa dissolution
→ Viṣaya-kṣaya
→ Nirvikalpa orientation
→ Samādhi
Samādhi
Samādhi
→ Samarasatva
→ Manolaya
→ Prāṇa-laya
→ Bindu-sthairya
→ Rājayoga
This establishes the important Sarvarthapedia bridge:
Haṭhayoga → Samādhi → Rājayoga
rather than treating Haṭhayoga and Rājayoga as isolated systems.
Cluster: Rājayoga
Rājayoga
Haṭhayoga
→ Śarīra
→ Prāṇa
→ Nāḍī
→ Kuṇḍalinī
→ Manas
→ Laya
→ Rājayoga
The conceptual architecture therefore becomes:
Haṭha = transformation of the Prāṇic–bodily system
Rāja = culmination in the transformation/dissolution of Manas
Samādhi = convergence
Cluster: Śakti–Śiva
Śakti
Śakti
→ Kuṇḍalinī
→ Mūlādhāra
→ Suṣumṇā
→ Ṣaṭcakra
→ Sahasrāra
Śiva
Śiva
→ Sahasrāra
→ Parānanda
→ Śivaikātmatā
→ Advaitic realization
Śiva–Śakti
Kuṇḍalinī-Śakti → Sahasrāra → Śiva-saṃyoga → Śivaikātmatā
This is a major cross-link to Tantra, Śākta metaphysics, Śaiva philosophy and Mokṣa. The Śakti–Śiva model is also interpreted in scholarship as an embodied soteriological architecture connecting the subtle body with liberation.
Cluster: Amṛta
Amṛta
Sahasrāra
→ Soma
→ Amṛta
→ Deha-plāvana
→ Parānanda
→ Amaratva
Amṛta therefore connects:
Kuṇḍalinī ↔ Sahasrāra ↔ Soma ↔ Khecarī ↔ Śiva ↔ Amaratva
Cluster: Siddhi
Aṇimā and Other Siddhis
Kuṇḍalinī-prabodha
→ Ṣaṭcakra-bheda
→ Prāṇa-siddhi
→ Kevala-Kumbhaka
→ Aṇimā
→ other Siddhis
This creates a distinction between two parallel outcomes:
Siddhi-path:
Prāṇa → Kuṇḍalinī → Cakra-bheda → Aṇimādi-siddhi
Liberation-path:
Prāṇa → Suṣumṇā → Manolaya → Samādhi → Śivaikātmatā
Cluster: Kāla-vijaya
Kāla
Kāla
→ Mṛtyu
→ Saṃsāra
→ Deha
→ Time-bound existence
Kāla-vañcana
Kāla-vañcana
→ Siddhāsana
→ Daśadvāra-nirodha
→ Khecarī
→ Jālandhara
→ Mūlabandha
→ Uḍḍīyāna
→ Kuṇḍalinī
→ Suṣumṇā
→ Sahasrāra
→ Amṛta
→ Śivaikātmatā
→ Kāla-transcendence
The conceptual proposition is:
When the Yogin transcends the distinctions upon which ordinary Kāla operates, Kāla itself loses its destructive sovereignty.
Cluster: Saṃsāra and Transcendence
Saṃsāra
Saṃsāra
→ Kāla
→ Janma
→ Mṛtyu
→ Deha
→ Vāsanā
→ Manas
→ Ahaṃkāra
Transcendence
Vāsanā-kṣaya
→ Manolaya
→ Ahaṃkāra-kṣaya
→ Śivaikātmatā
→ Kāla-vijaya
→ Saṃsāra-darśana without bondage
The final state is therefore not necessarily described as disappearance from the world, but as freedom from identification with the structures of Saṃsāra.
Core Cross-Reference Web
Primary Nodes
Haṭhayogaphalam
↔ Haṭhayoga
↔ Prāṇa
↔ Nāḍī
↔ Suṣumṇā
↔ Kuṇḍalinī
↔ Ṣaṭcakra
↔ Granthi
↔ Kumbhaka
↔ Mudrā
↔ Bandha
↔ Nāda
↔ Manas
↔ Laya
↔ Samādhi
↔ Rājayoga
↔ Śakti
↔ Śiva
↔ Amṛta
↔ Siddhi
↔ Kāla
↔ Mokṣa
See Also: Sarvarthapedia Knowledge Web
Practice Network
Āsana
→ Prāṇāyāma
→ Kumbhaka
→ Mudrā
→ Bandha
→ Śakticālana
→ Kuṇḍalinī
Subtle-Body Network
Sūkṣma Śarīra
→ Nāḍī
→ Kanda
→ Iḍā
→ Piṅgalā
→ Suṣumṇā
→ Cakra
→ Granthi
→ Sahasrāra
Consciousness Network
Prāṇa
→ Manas
→ Nāda
→ Laya
→ Unmanī
→ Samādhi
→ Rājayoga
Śakti Network
Śakti
→ Kuṇḍalinī
→ Mūlādhāra
→ Ṣaṭcakra
→ Tri-granthi
→ Sahasrāra
→ Śiva
Liberation Network
Śiva–Śakti-saṃyoga
→ Parānanda
→ Śivaikātmatā
→ Amṛta
→ Kāla-vijaya
→ Mokṣa
Sarvarthapedia Master Graph
The Complete Conceptual Chain
Haṭhayoga
↓
Āsana–Prāṇāyāma–Mudrā–Bandha
↓
Prāṇa-niyantraṇa
↓
Apāna-uddharaṇa
↓
Prāṇa–Apāna-saṃyoga
↓
Kuṇḍalinī-prabodha
↓
Suṣumṇā-praveśa
↓
Ṣaṭcakra-bheda
↓
Brahma–Viṣṇu–Rudra Granthi-bheda
↓
Nāda-utpatti
↓
Nāda-anusandhāna
↓
Manolaya
↓
Laya
↓
Samādhi
↓
Rājayoga
↓
Sahasrāra
↓
Śiva–Śakti-aikya
↓
Parānanda
↓
Kāla-vijaya
↓
Śivaikātmatā / Mokṣa
