Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.42
॥
Devanāgarī
अधोगतिमपानं वै ऊर्ध्वगं कुरुते बलात् । आकुञ्चनेन तं प्राहुर्मूलबन्धोऽयमुच्यते
Transliteration (IAST)
adhogatimapānaṃ vai ūrdhvagaṃ kurute balāt | ākuñcanena taṃ prāhurmūlabandho'yamucyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अधः-गतिम् अपानं वैadhaḥ-gatim apānaṃ vaithe downward-going apana, indeed
ऊर्ध्व-गं कुरुते बलात्ūrdhva-gaṃ kurute balātupward-going does he make it, forcibly
आकुञ्चनेन तं प्राहुःākuñcanena taṃ prāhuḥby contraction that is called
मूल-बन्धः अयम् उच्यतेmūla-bandhaḥ ayam ucyatethis is called the root lock
Translation
"The downward-going apana he forcibly makes upward-going; that is called by contraction, — this is called the root lock".
Version
9398d5fb24be · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Mula-bandha is described: by a contraction at the base of the trunk, apana, which goes downward, is made to go upward. Let us recall that apana, by this scheme, is the breath that governs excretion; the ten winds were discussed when reading Bhavana (p15). Worth noting is the word balat, "forcibly." It is not persuaded and not habituated, but — forced; and this is honest in describing the technique: one goes against the natural course of breath by force.
Here is where something must be said that concerns this whole path, and which the Vaishnava side says without any disdain toward it. Yoga of this kind is work against nature: what goes down is driven up; what moves is stopped; what desires is subdued. This work is possible and bears fruit, but it is heavy precisely because it constantly goes crosswise.
The path of devotion, though, is built otherwise and works with nature: desire is not driven back but given an object; the mind is not stopped but occupied; the senses are not shut but turned. And so the Gita calls it su-sukham kartum, "pleasant to perform" (9.2) — a definition said of no other discipline in these books. The difference between the two methods is the difference between an oarsman going against the current and a sail going with the wind. Both will arrive; but one will tire before he does.