Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.33
॥
Devanāgarī
यथा लगति कण्ठात्तु कपाले सस्वनं ततः । वेगेन पूरयेत्किञ्चिधृत्पद्मावधि मारुतम्
Transliteration (IAST)
yathā lagati kaṇṭhāttu kapāle sasvanaṃ tataḥ | vegena pūrayetkiñcidhṛtpadmāvadhi mārutam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यथा लगति कण्ठात् तुyathā lagati kaṇṭhāt tuas it touches, from the throat
कपाले स-स्वनं ततःkapāle sa-svanaṃ tataḥto the skull, with sound, then
वेगेन पूरयेत् किञ्चित्vegena pūrayet kiñcitwith force shall he fill somewhat
हृत्-पद्म-अवधि मारुतम्hṛt-padma-avadhi mārutamup to the heart-lotus, with wind
Translation
"As it touches, from the throat to the skull, with sound; then with force shall he fill somewhat, up to the heart-lotus, with wind".
Version
1188ccdf5932 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The description continues, and again it proceeds by sensation: "as it touches, from the throat to the skull." Worth noting is the word vegena, "with force, forcefully." It is the opposite of the shanaih, "slowly," that stood with the other techniques; and herein lies the whole peculiarity of bhastrika: alone among the four, it is done rapidly.
Here a word must be said about the word vega itself, for it is two-sided. It means both "speed" and "impulse, thrust," and — in books on conduct — "an urge" that must be restrained. The Manusmriti and books of rules speak of vega-nigraha, "restraint of urges," and distinguish which urges must not be restrained (hunger, thirst, the call of nature, sneezing) from which must be (anger, envy, ill speech). This distinction is, I think, among the soundest in that whole literature: it is harmful to restrain bodily urges, and necessary to restrain those of the soul; and confusion between the two has bred no small amount of both illness and wrongdoing.
The Vaishnava side holds this distinction and adds to it the famous verse of Rupa Gosvami: "one who can restrain the urge of speech, the urge of the mind, the urge of anger, the urge of tongue, of belly, and of the genitals, is fit to teach the whole world" (Upadeshamrita 1). Note: six urges are listed there, and the first named is the urge of speech, not of the belly.