Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.56
॥
Devanāgarī
दिवा सुप्तिर्निशायां तु जागरादतिमैथुनात् । बहुसङ्क्रमणं नित्यं रोधान्मूत्रपुरीषयोः
Transliteration (IAST)
divā suptirniśāyāṃ tu jāgarādatimaithunāt | bahusaṅkramaṇaṃ nityaṃ rodhānmūtrapurīṣayoḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दिवा सुप्तिः निशायां तुdivā suptiḥ niśāyāṃ tusleep by day, and by night
जागरात् अति-मैथुनात्jāgarāt ati-maithunātfrom waking, from excessive coitus
बहु-सङ्क्रमणं नित्यंbahu-saṅkramaṇaṃ nityaṃconstant much-walking
रोधात् मूत्र-पुरीषयोःrodhāt mūtra-purīṣayoḥfrom retention of urine and feces
Translation
"Sleep by day, wakefulness by night, excessive coitus, constant much-walking, retention of urine and feces…"
Version
ad584eefc00f · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A list begins of what causes illness, and it is thoroughly practical: sleeping by day, waking by night, excess in coitus, much walking, holding back nature's calls. This list is medical, not moral, and this deserves noting. Not one of the items is called a sin; all are called a cause of ailment.
The last deserves special mention: rodhat mutra-purishayoh, "from retention of urine and feces." The distinguishing of urges that must not be restrained was discussed when reading the thirty-third line; and here this rule is applied directly. A treatise which, amid discourse on channels and powers, warns that it is harmful to hold back nature's needs deserves more trust than many others: it looks at the man, not at the scheme.
The Vaishnava side is not surprised by prescriptions of this kind, for her bodily practice too is scheduled: when to rise, when to lie down, how much to sleep. The basis for this is not mystical but the same: a body kept in disorder hinders everything else. Separately, a word must be said about ati-maithunat, "from excessive coitus." It says "excessive," not "all"; and the prefix ati, "beyond measure," is placed there deliberately. Even in a book on yoga, written for the renounced, it says not "abstain," but "not beyond measure"; and this, I think, is worth noting.