Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.71
॥
Devanāgarī
यातेन्दुचक्रं यत्रास्ते शुद्धश्लेष्मद्रवात्मकम् । तत्र सिक्तं ग्रसत्युष्णं कथं शीतस्वभावकम्
Transliteration (IAST)
yātenducakraṃ yatrāste śuddhaśleṣmadravātmakam | tatra siktaṃ grasatyuṣṇaṃ kathaṃ śītasvabhāvakam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
याते इन्दु-चक्रं यत्र आस्तेyāte indu-cakraṃ yatra āstewhen it comes to the circle of the moon, where dwells
शुद्ध-श्लेष्म-द्रव-आत्मकम्śuddha-śleṣma-drava-ātmakamthat which consists of pure liquid phlegm
तत्र सिक्तं ग्रसति उष्णंtatra siktaṃ grasati uṣṇaṃthere, sprinkled, it swallows heat
कथं शीत-स्वभावकम्kathaṃ śīta-svabhāvakamhow, being cool by nature?
Translation
"When it comes to the circle of the moon, where dwells that which consists of pure liquid phlegm, — there, sprinkled, it swallows heat; how, being cool by nature?"
Version
6290e6b82041 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A question is posed in the line, and it is the author's own perplexity: how can that which is cool by nature swallow heat? The very appearance of such a question deserves note. In books of this kind, perplexities are rare: exposition is usually confident and without reservation. But here the author raises an objection against himself.
What he answers is not visible from the text: the line breaks off with the question, and the next speaks of something else. Perhaps the answer is lost; perhaps the question was rhetorical. But even so, this passage is valuable, and here is why. It shows that these descriptions were not undisputed even for those who composed them; someone among the transmitters noticed the unevenness and inserted the question, instead of smoothing it over.
The Vaishnava side values passages of this kind especially, and for a reason worth naming. A teaching in which its own difficulties are preserved is more trustworthy than one where everything is smooth: smoothness is achieved either because difficulties are resolved, or because they are struck out — and the second happens more often. It is worth adding that the turn katham, "how then?" is, in Sanskrit compositions, the usual mark of an objection; this is how opposing opinions are introduced in disputes. Here it stands without an answer, and that is a rarity.