हठयोग प्रदीपिका (योगी स्वात्माराम - ज्योत्स्ना टीका सहित सटीक)

42 HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
29. This is Mahāvedha which, with practice,
confers great siddhi-s. This staves off wrinkles, grey
hair and trembling [consequent on old age], and the
best of practitioners devote themselves [to it].
30. These three, that ward off old age and death,
increase the [gastric] fire and confer siddhi-s such as
aṇiman, should be most carefully kept secret.
31. These are performed in eight different ways,
every day at every yāma (three-hour period). They
confer at all times the fullness of virtue and destroy the
accumulation of sin (pāpa). Those who are well guided
[by the teacher] in these should practise them gradually.
32. The KHECARĪ [is described]: When the tongue
is turned back and enters the cavity leading to the
skull, and the eyes are fixed between the eyebrows,
this is Khecarī-mudrā.
33. By cutting, shaking and stretching, the tongue
should be gradually elongated, till it touches the middle
of the eyebrows. Then the Khecarī is successfully
accomplished.
The procedure for cutting is described in the following verses.
Shaking means taking hold of the tongue with the fingers and
moving it to left and right. Stretching means taking hold of the
tongue and drawing it as one does the udders of a cow in
milking it.
34. Taking a smooth, clean knife, very sharp like
the leaf of the milkhedge plant, cut to a hair's breadth
[the fraenum or tender membrane that connects the
tongue with the lower part of the mouth].

HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ 43:
35. Then rub [the part] with [a compound of]
powdered rock salt and Harītakī (yellow myrobalan).
Then after seven days, cut [again] to the extent of a
hair's breadth.
The compound should be rubbed on both morning and
evening. As salt is prohibited in the case of Yogin-s, they sub-
stitute the burnt powder of Khadira or the woody cassia. In the
text, salt is mentioned on the assumption that the Khecarī-mudrā
should be practised before the beginning of the Haṭha-yoga
practice. The cutting and medication should be done twice daily
for seven days. On the eighth day, the cut should be a little
deeper. And so on.
36. He should thus practise, gradually and skil-
fully every day for six months. In six months the mem-
brane which binds at the root of the tongue is severed.
37. Then turning back the tongue, it should be
made to enter the junction of the three [Nāḍī-s, i.e.
the cavity in the roof of the palate]. This is the Khecarī-
mudrā. It is [also] called VYOMACAKRA.
38. The Yogin who remains even for half a
kṣaṇa [i.e. for 24 minutes] with his tongue turned up-
wards is saved from poisons, disease, death and old age.
39. For him who knows the Khecarī-mudrā there
is no disease, death, [intellectual] torpor, sleep, hunger,
thirst, or clouding of the intellect.
40. He who knows the Khecarī-mudrā is not
afflicted by disease; not tainted by karman, and not
affected by Time.
The repetition of the results of Khecarī-mudrā is to impress
upon the reader its importance.

44 HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
41. This Mudrā is named Khecarī by the Siddha-s,
because the mind moves in space [Ākāśa; in the centre
of the eyebrows] and the tongue [also] moves in the
Ākāśa [in the cavity above the palate].
Kha means Ākāśa and carī means ‘ to move ’, hence the word
Khecarī.
42. When one has sealed the cavity in the upper
part of the palate with the Khecarī-mudrā, his seminal
fluid is not emitted even when embraced by a young
and passionate woman.
43. Even though the fluid flows and comes down
to the genital organ, still arrested by the Yoni-mudrā,
it is taken by force upwards.
Yoni-mudrā is another name for Vajrolī-mudrā (III. 83 ff.).
As many of these Mudrā-s occur in the latter part of the book,
it is necessary to give here a word of caution lest people take
them literally. Though these descriptions of the Mudrā-s state
that these processes involve intercourse with women still the
thing carries on its face its contradiction. We cannot for a
moment suppose that the terms women, sexual intercourse and
seminal fluid are to be understood literally in the case of Yogin-s
who have perfected themselves in Yama and Niyama. Moreover,
in the same book it is stated that only after a certain stage in Samā-
dhi is attained, Vajrolī-mudrā, etc. should be practised (IV. 14).
So it seems that these refer to some internal mystical processes
connected with the development of the mind.
44. The knower of Yoga, who being steady, has
the tongue turned upwards and drinks the Soma juice
doubtless conquers death in fifteen days.
Above the palate, the Moon is said to be situated and the
nectar that flows from it falls down and is consumed by the Sun

HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ 45
that is near the navel; but if the flow of the nectar is stopped by
closing the aperture in the palate it prevents the decay of the body.
Soma means the Moon.
45. In the body of the Yogin which is imbued
daily with the nectar from the Moon, even though
bitten by [the serpent] Takṣaka, poison does not spread.
Takṣaka, possessing most virulent poison is one of the eight
serpent-kings in Pātāla, the greatest of whom is Śeṣa or Ananta.
46. As fire does not go out so long as there
is fuel, as a light does not die out so long as there is oil
and wick [in the lamp], so also the dweller in the body
does not quit the body as long as it is filled by the
nectar of the Moon.
47. He may eat daily gomāṃsa [lit. the flesh of a
cow] and he may drink amaravāruṇī [lit. strong liquor].
I consider him to be well born. Others ruin the family.
The words in the text, gomāṃsa and amaravāruṇī, are explained
in the next two verses.
48. By the word go is meant the tongue. Its
entry [into the cavity] in the palate is gomāṃsabhakṣaṇa
(eating the flesh of the cow). This destroys the five
great sins.
The five great sins are said to be: killing a brāhmaṇa, drinking
intoxicating liquor, theft, adultery with the wife of a teacher,
and associating with anyone guilty of these sins.
49. The nectar which flows from the Moon
because of the heat produced by the entry of the tongue,
that is amaravāruṇī.

46 HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
The term vāruṇī means wine. In the above two stanzas
is given an excellent instance of the way in which the Hindu occult
writers veil their real meaning under apparently absurd symbols.
The principle seems to be this. They thought that the very absur-
dity of the symbol and its irrelevance to the subject in hand would
force the reader to surmise that there was something behind it
and so he should look deeper for an explanation of this absurdity.
A misconception of this rule seems to have given rise to many
absurd interpretations of really occult symbols, and many pernicious
practices that propitiate animal tendencies and passions. Ex-
amples of this may be multiplied, such as the relations between
Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā and the sixteen thousand gopī-s or cowherdesses;
the five Pāṇḍu brothers marrying one woman, Draupadī; the
stories of ṛṣi-s marrying wives and begetting children of mature
understanding within an inconceivably short time; and the whole
mystic terminology of the Tantra-s that has given rise to so many
disgusting practices.
50. If the tongue constantly touches the cavity
in the palate, making flow the nectar [of the Moon]
that tastes salty, pungent and sour, comparable also
to milk, honey, and ghee [in taste], all diseases are
destroyed, old age is overcome, weapons are warded off,
immortality and the eight siddhi-s are obtained and the
damsels of the demi-gods (siddha-s) are attracted.
51. He who, with upturned face and tongue
closing the cavity of the palate, contemplates the
supreme Power (Kuṇḍalinī), and drinks the clear stream
of nectar flowing in waves from the Moon from the head
into the sixteen-petalled lotus [in the throat] through
the control over Prāṇa, during the Haṭhayoga practice,
that Yogin, freed from diseases, lives long with a
body soft and beautiful as the lotus stem [at its root].

HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ 47
52. Within the upper part of Meru [i.e. Suṣumnā]
in the cavity, which is the fountain-head of the Nāḍi-s,
is secreted the nectar. He of pure intellect [Sāttvic
in nature, unclouded by Rajas and Tamas] sees therein
the Truth [his own Ātman]. From the Moon there
flows out the nectar, the essence of the body, and hence
death comes to man. Therefore one should practise
the beneficial Khecarī-mudrā [to stop its downward
flow]. If not, there can be no bodily perfection
[endowing the body with beauty, grace, strength and
self-control].
53. The cavity is the conjunction of the five
streams and confers divine knowledge. In the void
of that cavity, untainted [by the effects of avidyā or
nescience, grief and delusion] the Khecarī-mudrā is
firmly lodged.
The streams referred to in the above stanzas are the many
Nāḍi-s, Iḍā, Piṅgalā, Suṣumnā, Gāndhārī, etc. which stand
for the rivers Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, Narmadā, etc.
54. There is only one germ of evolution [i.e. Oṃ];
there is only one Mudrā, Khecarī; only one deity, not
dependent on anything; and only one [spiritual] state,
Manonmanī.
As the other things mentioned are the most important of their
class, so is Khecarī the best of Mudrā-s.
55. Then the UḌḌĪYĀNA-BANDHA [is described]:
Uḍḍīyāna-bandha is so called by the Yogin-s, for when
it is practised the Prāṇa is arrested and flies through
the Suṣumnā.

48 HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
56. Because through this, the great bird [Prāṇa]
flies up incessantly [through the Suṣumnā] it is the
Uḍḍīyāna. This Bandha is now explained.
Uḍḍīyāna comes from ut and ḍī meaning to ‘fly up’.
57. The drawing back of the abdomen above
[and below] the navel [so that it is drawn against the
back of the body and up towards the thorax] is called
Uḍḍīyāna-bandha. It is the lion that kills the elephant
Death.
In this Bandha, the stomach is compressed within a span.
The process seems to be this: By a very strong expiration the lungs
are emptied and driven against the upper part of the thorax
carrying the diaphragm along with them; and the intestines are
pushed up and fill the vacant space.
58. He who constantly practises the Uḍḍīyāna-
bandha as taught by the Guru so that it becomes
natural, even though he be old, becomes young.
59. He should draw back with effort [the ab-
domen] above and below the navel, and practise for
six months. [Then] he conquers death without doubt.
60. Of all the Bandha-s, the Uḍḍīyāna is the
most excellent. When this has been mastered, libera-
tion follows naturally.
When the Uḍḍīyāna-bandha has been mastered, the Prāṇa
flows up through the Suṣumnā and reaches the Brahmarandhra.
This results in Samādhi and leads to liberation.
61. Then MŪLA-BANDHA [is described]: Pressing
the perineum with the heel, contract the anus so as
to draw the Apāna upwards. This is Mūla-bandha.

HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ 49
62. By contraction [of the Mūlādhāra] the Apāna,
whose course is downwards, is forced to go upwards
[through Suṣumnā]. Yogin-s call that Mūla-bandha.
63. Pressing the anus with the heal compress the
air forcibly and repeatedly until the breath [Apāna]
goes upwards.
64. Through the Mūla-bandha, Prāṇa and Apāna
unite with Nāda and bindu and confer perfection in
Yoga. There is no doubt about this.
The meaning seems to be this: Through the Mūla-bandha,
the Prāṇa and Apāna unite and go into the Suṣumnā . Then the
inner sound (Nāda) becomes audible and the Prāṇa and Apāna
uniting with Nāda go above the heart and join the bindu, i.e. the
anusvāra or the inaudible sound of the point in the sacred syllable
Oṃ, symbolizing the transcendent Śiva. They then proceed to the
head and thus the Yogin obtains perfection. Nāda is the mysti-
cal inner sound proceeding from the Anāhatacakra or the cardiac
centre.
65. By constant practice of the Mūla-bandha, a
union of Prāṇa and Apāna is achieved. Urine and
excrement decrease and even the aged become young.
66. When the Apāna rises upwards and reaches
the sphere of fire, then the flame of the fire becomes
lengthened, being fanned by Apāna.
The sphere of the fire is said to be triangular in shape and is
situated in the centre of the body, below the navel. In the case
of animals it is rectangular, and circular in the case of birds.
The flame of the fire referred to is the gastric fire.
67. When the Apāna and the fire join Prāṇa,
which is by nature hot, then the heat in the body is
greatly intensified.

• 4

50 HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
68. By reason of that, the Kuṇḍalinī which is
asleep, feeling the extreme heat, is awakened, just as
a serpent struck by a stick hisses and straightens
itself.
69. Then it enters within the Suṣumnā, like
[a snake] which enters its hole. Therefore the Yogin-s
should every day and always practise Mūla-bandha.
70. Then the JĀLAṂDHARA-BANDHA [is described]:
Contract the throat and hold the chin firmly against
the chest [about four inches from the chest]. This is
the Bandha called Jālaṃdhara which destroys old age
and death.
71. Because it constricts the network (jāla) of
Nāḍī-s and [arrests] the downward course of the flow
of ambrosial water (jāla) [from the cavity in the palate],
this Bandha is Jālaṃdhara. It destroys all the maladies
of the throat.
72. When the Jālaṃdhara-bandha is practised,
by contraction of the throat, the nectar does not fall
into the [gastric] fire and the Prāṇa is not agitated
[i.e. not misdirected].
73. By the [firm] contraction of the throat the
two Nāḍī-s [Iḍā and Piṅgalā] are deadened. Here
[in the throat] is situated the middle Cakra (Viśuddhi).
This binds the sixteen ādhāra-s (vital centres).
They are the toes, ankles, knees, thighs, the perineum, the
generative organs, the navel, the heart, the neck, the throat, the
tongue, the nose, the centre of the eyebrows, the forehead, the head
and the Brahmarandhra, i.e. the upper opening of the Suṣumnā
Nāḍī in the skull.

HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ 51
74. Contracting the anus, practise the Uḍḍīyāna-
bandha. Constrain the Iḍā and the Piṅgalā [by the
Jālaṁdhara-bandha], and cause [the breath] to flow
through the Suṣumnā.
75. By these means the breath becomes motion-
less [in the Suṣumnā]; then there is no death, old age,
disease, etc.
76. Yogin-s know these three excellent Bandha-s
practised by the great Siddha-s, which are the means
of success in the various Haṭha-yoga practices.
77. Here Viparītakaraṇī [is described]: What-
ever nectar flows from the Moon which is of divine
form, all that is swallowed up by the Sun. Hence the
body becomes old.
The Moon is situated at the root of the palate and pours down
a stream of nectar; the Sun is situated near the navel and its fire
consumes the ambrosial flow.
78. There is an excellent process (karaṇa) by
which the Sun is duped. This should be learnt from
the Guru, and not through theoretical study of the
Śāstra-s.
79. When the Sun is above and the Moon below
[of the practitioner] whose navel is above and palate
below, it is the Viparītakaraṇī. It is to be learnt
through the instructions of a Guru.
80. In the case of one who practises this daily,
the gastric fire is increased, and the practitioner should
always have plenty of food.

52 HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
81. If he stints his diet, the fire quickly consumes
[the body]. On the first day he should stand for a
moment upon his head, with his feet above.
The process is this. The body should be raised in the air
by resting the back of the head and neck and shoulders upon the
ground, supporting the hips with the hands, the elbows resting on
the ground if required.
82. Practise this by increasing the duration gra-
dually every day. After six months wrinkles and grey
hair disappear. He who practises this for a yāma
(i.e. three hours) daily, conquers death.
83. Then VAJROLĪ [is described]: Even someone
living an unrestricted life, without the disciplines
prescribed by Yoga, if he knows well [by practice] the
Vajrolī, becomes the repository of the siddhi-s.
84. Here I mention two things that are difficult
for anyone to obtain: the one is milk [at the proper
time] and the other, a woman who acts according to
one’s wishes.
Attention is drawn to the previous note (III. 43) pointing
out that such statements should not be taken literally.
85. At the time of [the emission of the seminal
fluid during] sexual intercourse, practise slowly and
well to draw [it] up. Thus a man or a woman will
obtain success in Vajrolī.
86. Blow with effort into the hole of the penis
through a prescribed tube very slowly so as to allow
the passage of air.

HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ 53
The process as described by the commentator is as follows:
‘Obtain a very fine lead tube, fourteen aṅgula-s (finger-breadths)
long, and practise inserting it into the urethra, at the rate of one
aṅgula a day, until twelve aṅgula-s are introduced within leaving
two aṅgula-s outside, bent to face upwards. Then get another fine
tube and insert it into the above-mentioned tube, and blow through
it softly. This will clear all impurities in the passage. Then
practise drawing up water through the tube, and later on, draw up
the semen. This succeeds only in the case of those whose breath is
brought under control. When the Khecarī-mudrā and breath-
control have been thoroughly mastered, then this will succeed, not
otherwise.
87. The semen that is about to fall into the genital
organ of a woman should be drawn up by practice
[of the Vajrolī-mudrā]. If already fallen he should
draw up his own semen [and the woman’s seminal fluid]
and [thus] preserve it.
88. Thus the knower of Yoga should preserve
his semen. He [thereby] conquers death. When the
semen is expended, death ensues [in due course]; but
there is [prolonged] life for him who preserves it.
89. By preserving the semen [by the Vajrolī-
mudrā], a pleasant smell arises in the body of the
Yogin. As long as the semen is well retained in the
body, whence is the fear of death?
90. The semen of men is subject to control by
the mind and life depends upon the semen. Therefore
both semen and mind should be carefully preserved
and controlled.
91. A person perfect in this practice should, by
drawing up well [the fluids] through the penis, preserve

54 HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
his own semen and that of the woman with whom he
has intercourse.
The commentator states that this verse is an interpolation.
92. Then SAHAJOLĪ [is described]: Sahajolī and
Amarolī are varieties of Vajrolī, being one [in respect
of the result attained]. Mix the ashes obtained by
burning cow-dung [cakes] with water.
93. After intercourse in the Vajrolī, the man and
woman, their activity being ended, should, while
sitting in a happy frame of mind, besmear the excellent
parts of the body [with this mixture].
The parts are mainly the head, forehead, eyes, heart, shoulders
and arms.
94. This is called Sahajolī in regard to which
Yogin-s should always have confidence. It is a bene-
ficial process and bestows liberation though connected
with sensual experience.
95. This process in Yoga succeeds only in the
case of the virtuous, who are brave, who perceive the
truth and are free from envy; and not in the case of
envious persons.
96. Then AMAROLĪ [is described]: Discarding the
first part of the flow of water as it increases bile, and
the last flow as being without essence, when the cool
middle part of the stream [of Amarī] is absorbed, that
is Amarolī according to the Kāpālika sect.
The commentator explains that the stream refers to Śivāmbu,
which literally means 'water of Śiva'. It is called Amarī.

HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ 55
97. He, who drinks daily the Amarī and inhales
it day by day, should practise well Vajrolī. This is
called Amarolī.
98. He should mix ashes with the nectar flowing
from the Moon by the practice [of Amarolī] and smear it
on the principal limbs [of the body]. Then divine
sight is obtained.
Divine sight means ability to see the past, the present and
the future, as also hidden things.
99. If a woman, making herself expert through
sufficient practice, draws up the semen of man, and
preserves her own through [the practice of] Vajrolī,
she also becomes a Yoginī.
100. Without any doubt, even the least part of
her seminal fluid is not lost. In her body, the Nāda
becomes bindu itself.
That is, the Nāda that begins at the Mūlādhāra goes to the
heart and unites with the bindu. The following may perhaps throw
some light on these processes. The seminal fluid of man is called
bīja or bindu, and that of the woman, rajas. By the external union
of these two, a child is produced. But, only when these unite inter-
nally, i.e. when the things that are really denoted by these expres-
sions, unite in the inner man, he is called a Yogin. The bindu is said
to be of the nature of the Moon and rajas of the nature of the Sun.
From the union of these, is attained the supreme state. The bindu
is capable of giving svarga, meaning temporal pleasures, as also
mokṣa, i.e. emancipation. It can lead a man into virtue or vice.
In other words, understood literally, it leads to the attainment of
worldly pleasures, and hence vice; but if understood and practised
according to its inner sense, it leads to virtue and emancipation.

56 HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
101. That bindu and that rajas, becoming united
and remaining in the body by the practice of Vajrolī,
confer all siddhi-s.
102. She who preserves by upward contraction
her rajas is a Yoginī. She knows the past and the
future and certainly attains perfection in Khecarī.
103. By the Yoga consisting of the practice of
Vajrolī, bodily perfection is obtained [beauty, grace,
and great strength]. This Yoga confers merit (puṇya),
and though there is sensual experience, it leads to
emancipation.
104. Now the ŚAKTICĀLANA [is described] : Kuṭi-
lāṅgī, Kuṇḍalinī, Bhujaṅgī, Śakti, Īśvarī, Kuṇḍalī and
Arundhatī are all synonymous words.
105. As one can fling open a door with a key,
so the Yogin should through Haṭha-yoga open the door
of liberation [i.e. the Suṣumnā] by [the power of]
Kuṇḍalinī.
106. The great goddess (Kuṇḍalinī) sleeps
closing with her mouth the entrance to the way by
which the seat of Brahman (Brahmarandhra), where
there is no pain, is to be reached.
107. The Kuṇḍalinī-śakti, who sleeps above the
kanda, gives liberation to Yogin-s and bondage to the
ignorant. He who knows her knows Yoga.
The kanda is the place between the navel and the scrotum
from where spring the 72,000 Nāḍī-s. See verse 113 below.
108. The Kuṇḍalinī is described as being coiled
like a serpent. He who causes that Śakti to move

HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ 57
[from the Mūlādhāra upwards] becomes free, without
doubt.
109. Between the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā, there
sits the Bālaraṇḍā [i.e. Kuṇḍalinī, literally, a young
widow], practising austerity. She should be seized by
force. That [leads to] the supreme seat of Viṣṇu.
110. Iḍā is the holy Gaṅgā and Piṅgalā is the
river Yamunā. Between Iḍā and Piṅgalā, the young
widow is Kuṇḍalinī.
111. By seizing the tail that sleeping serpent
(Kuṇḍalinī) should be awakened. Then, that Śakti,
throwing off her sleep, rises up with force.
The commentator says that the secret of this process must be
learnt from a Guru.
112. Having inhaled through the right nostril
(piṅgalā), the recumbent serpent should be taken hold
of by the process of paridhāna, and made to move daily
for about an hour and a half, both morning and evening.
The commentator adds that the process of paridhāna should
be learnt from a Guru. The process described is the movement
of the abdominal muscle from left to right and right to left in a
spiral (see The Serpent Power, 1964, p. 207).
113. [The kanda] is twelve finger breadths
(aṅgula-s) above [the anus] and four aṅgula-s in breadth,
soft and white, and appearing as if it were a rolled
cloth.
Two aṅgula-s above the anus and two below the penis is the
middle of the body. The kanda is nine aṅgula-s from the middle

58 HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
of the body. It is like an egg and is covered by membranous
coverings. In the case of beast and birds it is in the middle of the
abdomen.
114. Seated in the Vajrāsana posture hold firmly
with the hands the feet near the ankles, and thereby
put pressure on the kanda.
115. Seated in the Vajrāsana posture, the Yogin
having caused the Kuṇḍalinī to move, should then
perform the Bhastrikā Kumbhaka. Thus he will
soon awaken the Kuṇḍalinī.
116. He should then contract the Sun [which is
near the navel] and then cause the Kuṇḍalinī to move.
Even though fallen into the mouth of death, he need
not fear death.
Contraction of the Sun is effected by contraction of the navel.
117. By moving [the Kuṇḍalinī] fearlessly for
about an hour and a half, she is drawn into the Suṣumnā
and upwards a little.
118. By this [process] Kuṇḍalinī certainly leaves
[open] the mouth of the Suṣumnā, and therefore Prāṇa
goes naturally through the Suṣumnā.
119. So one should move daily the Arundhatī
(Kuṇḍalinī) that is calmly sleeping. By merely moving
her the Yogin is freed from diseases.
120. The Yogin who moves the Śakti becomes the
possessor of the siddhi-s. What further needs be said?
He conquers Time (Death) as if it were mere play.
121. Only one who delights in the life of a celibate
(brahmacārin), and always conforms to a moderate and

HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ 59
salutary diet, and who practises Yoga in the form of sti-
mulating Kuṇḍalinī approaches siddhi within forty days.
122. Having set the Kuṇḍalinī in motion, the
Bhastrikā Kumbhaka should be particularly practised.
Whence is the fear of Death for the self-restrained
[Yogin] who practises thus every day?
123. Except the practice of [causing to move]
Kuṇḍalinī [through Śakticālana], what other means
is there for clearing away the impurities of the seventy-
two thousand Nāḍī-s?
124. This middle Nāḍī (Suṣumnā) becomes
straight [for the easy passage of Prāṇa] by persevering
practice by Yogin-s, by Āsana-s, Prāṇāyāma and
Mudrā-s.
125. To those who are alert [and free from
indolence] in practice, and whose minds are steadily
held in a state of concentration (samādhi), the Rudrāṇī
(Śāmbhavī) or other Mudrā confers a beneficial fulfil-
ment (siddhi).
126. There is no earth (pṛthvī) without Rāja-
yoga, there is no night without Rāja-yoga, and even a
variety of Mudrā-s become useless without Rāja-yoga.
Here pṛthvī stands for the firmness of the Āsana-s. Night
stands for Kumbhaka, in which state everything is quiet. There
is a pun on the words rāja-yoga. The earth does not flourish
without the sovereign’s rule (rāja-yoga), the night does not shine in
the absence of the moon (rājā) and the seal (mudrā) is of no use
without being associated with the king (rājā).
127. All the breathing processes should be
practised with a mind concentrated [on them]. The

60 HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
wise man should not allow his mind to wander else-
where.
128. Thus have the ten Mudrā-s been described
by the primeval Lord, Śambhu (Śiva). Each one of
them confers on the self-restrained (Yamin-s) the great
siddhi.
129. One who imparts teaching regarding the
Mudrā-s as handed down by a succession of Guru-s,
he is the real teacher. He is the master, the Lord
(Īśvara) in visible form.
130. Carefully following his teaching, he who
concentrates on the practice of the Mudrā-s, obtains
the capacity to overcome death, along with the siddhi-s
such as aṇiman.

FOURTH CHAPTER

1. Salutations to Śiva, the Guru, who is of the
   form of nāda, bindu and kalā; the person ever devoted
   to these obtains the stainless state [free from māyā].
   This chapter is wholly devoted to Rāja-yoga. The nāda
   is a mystical sound similar to the prolongation of the sound of
   a bell and represented by a semicircle in Om. Bindu is the ṃ
   sound of the anusvāra in the Praṇava. Kalā is a speciality of nāda.
2. Now I shall expound the excellent process of
   Samādhi, that destroys death, leads to [eternal] happi-
   ness and confers the supreme bliss of [absorption in]
   Brahman.
   ‘Destroying death’ means enabling the Yogin to shed his
   body at will. This is explained later on.
   The happiness of a Jīvanmukta is brought about when the
   mind is stilled and the vāsanā-s (acquired tendencies) are destroyed.
   Bliss is that of Videhamukti, when the Prārabdha-karman is
   exhausted and a permanent union takes place between the Jīva
   and Parabrahman.
   3, 4. Rāja-yoga, Samādhi, Unmanī, Manonmanī,
   Amaratva (immortality), Laya (absorption), Tattva
   (Truth), Śūnyāśūnya (void and yet not-void), Parama-
   pada (the supreme state), Amanaska (transcending the
   mind), Advaita (non-duality), Nirālamba (without
   support), Nirañjana (pure), Jīvanmukti (liberation