Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 2.24
॥
Devanāgarī
वलीपलितनाशश्च भविष्यति न संशयः । एवं लब्ध्वा महाविद्यामभ्यासं कारयेत्ततः
Transliteration (IAST)
valīpalitanāśaśca bhaviṣyati na saṃśayaḥ | evaṃ labdhvā mahāvidyāmabhyāsaṃ kārayettataḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
वली-पलित-नाशः चvalī-palita-nāśaḥ caand the destruction of wrinkles and gray hair
भविष्यति न संशयःbhaviṣyati na saṃśayaḥwill come to pass, no doubt
एवं लब्ध्वा महा-विद्याम्evaṃ labdhvā mahā-vidyāmthus having obtained the great science
अभ्यासं कारयेत् ततःabhyāsaṃ kārayet tataḥpractice shall he then perform
Translation
"And the destruction of wrinkles and gray hair will come to pass, no doubt. Thus having obtained the great science, practice shall he then perform".
Version
f3337d1935ca · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Vali-palita-nasha, "destruction of wrinkles and gray hair," is promised. This promise is constant in books on yoga and deserves being spoken of plainly, because it is verifiable and not confirmed. Gray hair and wrinkles are consequences of age; no exercise annuls them. People who spent whole lives on these techniques grayed and aged like everyone else; and compositions promising otherwise promise what no one has seen.
The addition na samshayah, "no doubt," makes matters worse, not better. This was already discussed when reading the first chapter (1.18): assurance of the impossible undermines trust in what is true in the book — and there is no small amount of truth in it. The Vaishnava side gives no promises of bodily rejuvenation and, worth noting, generally tends to speak of old age plainly. The Bhagavatam describes aging in detail and without consolation (3.30); and Kunti asks not for health, but that misfortunes not cease, for they lead one to Him (1.8.25).
It is worth adding that this book was most honest where it promised peace (1p) and joint joy (1.86). Everything it promised beyond this — immortality, power over celestials, the annulment of gray hair — is a eulogy to its own means; and these two kinds of promise must be distinguished without fail.