Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.51
॥
Devanāgarī
पूरकान्ते तु कर्तव्यो बन्धो जालन्धराभिधः । कण्ठसङ्कोचरूपोऽसौ वायुमार्गनिरोधकः
Transliteration (IAST)
pūrakānte tu kartavyo bandho jālandharābhidhaḥ | kaṇṭhasaṅkocarūpo'sau vāyumārganirodhakaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
पूरक-अन्ते तु कर्तव्यःpūraka-ante tu kartavyaḥat the end of the inhale must be done
बन्धः जालन्धर-अभिधःbandhaḥ jālandhara-abhidhaḥthe lock called "net-holder"
कण्ठ-सङ्कोच-रूपः असौkaṇṭha-saṅkoca-rūpaḥ asauit has the form of a throat contraction
वायु-मार्ग-निरोधकःvāyu-mārga-nirodhakaḥblocking the path of the wind
Translation
"At the end of the inhale must be done the lock called "net-holder"; it has the form of a throat contraction and blocks the path of the wind".
Version
bf5eca2774a9 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third lock is described, and again it is stated when: puraka-ante, "at the end of the inhale." The three locks, then, are distributed across three times: the root lock — during the holding, the flying-up one — at the start of the exhale (1.47), the net-holder — at the end of the inhale. This distribution is technical and deserves attention as a model. One and the same action, done at the wrong time, turns from useful into harmful; and so in an instruction about the body, timing matters more than the action itself.
Worth noting too is the definition: vayu-marga-nirodhaka, "blocking the path of the wind." The lock is named for what it closes; and in this lies its whole purpose — to hold the air, keeping it from going up, into the head. This detail, incidentally, explains why the lock is considered necessary. During breath retention pressure rises and presses into the head and ears; a pressed chin prevents this. That is, before us is not a mysterious act, but a precaution.
The Vaishnava side has full sympathy for precautions of this kind and adds only what pertains to this whole part. These techniques are techniques of safety, not means of attainment; and anyone who passes off a safety technique as the path deceives, as one would deceive by teaching swimming in a life vest and then declaring the vest to be the ship.