Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.55
॥
Devanāgarī
विशत्यलं तृतीयेऽह्नि पञ्चवृद्ध्या दिने दिने । कर्तव्यः कुम्भको नित्यं बन्धत्रयसमन्वितः
Transliteration (IAST)
viśatyalaṃ tṛtīye'hni pañcavṛddhyā dine dine | kartavyaḥ kumbhako nityaṃ bandhatrayasamanvitaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
विंशतिः अलं तृतीये अह्निviṃśatiḥ alaṃ tṛtīye ahnitwenty is enough on the third day
पञ्च-वृद्ध्या दिने दिनेpañca-vṛddhyā dine dinewith an increase of five, day by day
कर्तव्यः कुम्भकः नित्यंkartavyaḥ kumbhakaḥ nityaṃmust the holding be done, always
बन्ध-त्रय-समन्वितःbandha-traya-samanvitaḥtogether with the triad of locks
Translation
"Twenty is enough on the third day; with an increase of five day by day must the holding always be done, together with the triad of locks".
Version
8f7e31e24778 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The count continues, and in it the word alam, "enough," deserves note. It is said: on the third day, twenty is enough. That is, not only a lower limit is set, but an upper one too: no more is needed.
This reservation, in instructions about exercise, is a rare and precious thing. Usually one is told how much is needed; but to say how much is enough is to defend the diligent from himself. Anyone who has taken something up in earnest knows that it is most often not laziness that does harm, but zeal. The lazy one drops it and stays where he is; the zealous one overexerts himself and can then do nothing at all.
The Vaishnava side knows this and states it plainly. A beginner is assigned less than he is ready to take on, and the teacher is charged not to allow him to take more, for one who has taken above his measure will drop it sooner than one who took according to it. Separately, a word must be said about the expression dine dine, "day by day." It, like punah punah, is constant in this book, and both say the same thing: what decides is not the size of the effort, but its repetition. A hundred days of twenty are worth more than one day of two thousand; and this rule, I think, is among the few that hold true absolutely in every undertaking.