Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.46
॥
Devanāgarī
बिलप्रवेशतो यत्र ब्रह्मनाड्यन्तरं व्रजेत् । तस्मान्नित्यं मूलबन्धः कर्तव्यो योगिभिः सदा
Transliteration (IAST)
bilapraveśato yatra brahmanāḍyantaraṃ vrajet | tasmānnityaṃ mūlabandhaḥ kartavyo yogibhiḥ sadā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
बिल-प्रवेशतः यत्रbila-praveśataḥ yatrathrough entry into the hole, where
ब्रह्म-नाडी-अन्तरं व्रजेत्brahma-nāḍī-antaraṃ vrajetit enters within the Brahman-channel
तस्मात् नित्यं मूल-बन्धःtasmāt nityaṃ mūla-bandhaḥtherefore always the root lock
कर्तव्यः योगिभिः सदाkartavyaḥ yogibhiḥ sadāmust be done by yogis, always
Translation
"Through entry into the hole, it enters within the Brahman-channel; therefore the root lock must always be done by yogis, always".
Version
144f9aa07175 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The image is carried to the end: the serpent enters bila, "a hole." The word is physical and means a hole, a hollow, a crevice; and it is said that the channel is that hole into which the serpent goes. The whole image, looked back on, is built thus: sleeping serpent, blow, hiss, straightening, entry into a hole. There is nothing mysterious in it — it is a description of what happens to a serpent, applied to what a man feels.
Worth noting is how far this differs from the Vaishnava way of speaking of the same subject. Where here is serpent and hole, there is a summons and an arrival: it is not a power awakened by a blow, but a Person appearing in answer to a request; and that what manifests itself is not a construction but a refuge was discussed when reading Tripuratapini (62). The difference in images is a difference in the substance of the matter, not in the style. One deals with the serpent by technique; one addresses the Person with words. And so one book describes how to hold the fingers and how much to press, while the other — what to say and with what feeling.
It is worth adding that the words nityam sada, "always, constantly," stand here twice in a row — probably for the meter. But such a doubling means something too: the root lock is prescribed not as an hour's exercise, but as a constant state; and in later manuals it is indeed enjoined to be held throughout the whole day.