Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 2.36
॥
Devanāgarī
ब्रह्मरन्ध्रं समावृत्य तिष्ठेदेव न संशयः । तिर्यक् चूलितलं याति अधः कण्ठबिलावधि
Transliteration (IAST)
brahmarandhraṃ samāvṛtya tiṣṭhedeva na saṃśayaḥ | tiryak cūlitalaṃ yāti adhaḥ kaṇṭhabilāvadhi
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ब्रह्म-रन्ध्रं समावृत्यbrahma-randhraṃ samāvṛtyathe Brahman-crevice having covered
तिष्ठेत् एव न संशयःtiṣṭhet eva na saṃśayaḥit abides, indeed, no doubt
तिर्यक् चूलि-तलं यातिtiryak cūli-talaṃ yāticrosswise it goes to the base of the crown
अधः कण्ठ-बिल-अवधिadhaḥ kaṇṭha-bila-avadhidownward — to the opening of the throat
Translation
"Having covered the Brahman-crevice, it abides, no doubt; crosswise it goes to the base of the crown, downward — to the opening of the throat".
Version
24f0b391c837 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The outcome is described: the tongue closes the opening in the crown. This image deserves examining, for it shows the whole point of this technique. The tongue here is used as a plug: it closes an outlet, so that what flows from above (the nectar to be spoken of further) does not run down and burn away.
That is, the goal is to hold back: not to let out, to lock, to plug. This whole path, seen by its goals, is a path of retention: breath is held, locks are shut, an opening is plugged. And its opposition to the Vaishnava path is nowhere clearer than here.
There the chief act is giving away: one offers, serves, distributes, sings aloud. The Bhagavatam says that the more one gives away, the more one has; and her famous rule is that the Name, given to others, does not diminish in the giver, but grows. The difference between retention and giving-away is, I think, the most precise brief difference between the two structures. One guards what has accumulated, and so must lock it away; the other lives by what is spent, and so has nothing to lock away.
It is worth adding that the turn na samshayah, "no doubt," stands here again, and again attached to something unverifiable. The value of this addition was discussed when reading the twenty-fourth line.