Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 2.28
॥
Devanāgarī
तालुमूलं समुत्कृष्य सप्तवासरमात्मवित् । स्वगुरूक्तप्रकारेण मलं सर्वं विशोधयेत्
Transliteration (IAST)
tālumūlaṃ samutkṛṣya saptavāsaramātmavit | svagurūktaprakāreṇa malaṃ sarvaṃ viśodhayet
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तालु-मूलं समुत्कृष्यtālu-mūlaṃ samutkṛṣyathe base of the palate, having drawn up
सप्त-वासरम् आत्म-वित्sapta-vāsaram ātma-vitfor seven days, knowing the self
स्व-गुरु-उक्त-प्रकारेणsva-guru-ukta-prakāreṇaby the manner spoken by his own teacher
मलं सर्वं विशोधयेत्malaṃ sarvaṃ viśodhayetall impurity shall he purify
Translation
"Having drawn up the base of the palate for seven days, knowing the self, by the manner spoken by his own teacher, shall he purify all impurity".
Version
e6d23e6a5f4c · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The description of a technique begins, and about it something must be said plainly and in advance. Here and in the following lines is described the cutting of the tongue's frenum and its gradual stretching, so that the tongue can reach behind the palate. This is done, by the descriptions, over months: cut a little, stretched, rubbed.
This must not be done, and we do not accept it. The reason is not squeamishness and not timidity. The tongue's frenum is a part of the body with a purpose: it holds the tongue and takes part in speech and in swallowing. To cut it is a mutilation performed for the sake of a state that can be attained otherwise, or not attained at all.
The same was said when reading Shandilya (1.7.52), where the same technique is described, and it was noted there too that these books, for all their acuity, at this point prescribe harm. It is worth adding what pertains to the matter and can be said without condemning the ancients. They lived in a world where mutilation for a purpose was an ordinary thing: warriors were branded, widows were burned, children were given away. We do not accept this — not because we are wiser, but because we have been taught, and taught dearly.
The Vaishnava side does not mutilate the body and teaches otherwise: the body is an instrument of service given for a time, and it must not be spoiled — neither by fasting beyond measure, nor by a knife. The Gita says of self-torturers that they "torment Me, who dwell in the body" (17.6).