Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 2.46
॥
Devanāgarī
शनैः सुमथनं कुर्याद्भ्रूमध्ये न्यस्य चक्षुषी । षण्मासं मथनावस्था भावेनैव प्रजायते
Transliteration (IAST)
śanaiḥ sumathanaṃ kuryādbhrūmadhye nyasya cakṣuṣī | ṣaṇmāsaṃ mathanāvasthā bhāvenaiva prajāyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
शनैः सु-मथनं कुर्यात्śanaiḥ su-mathanaṃ kuryātslowly, good churning shall he perform
भ्रू-मध्ये न्यस्य चक्षुषीbhrū-madhye nyasya cakṣuṣīhaving placed both eyes between the brows
षट्-मासं मथन-अवस्थाṣaṭ-māsaṃ mathana-avasthāfor six months, the state of churning
भावेन एव प्रजायतेbhāvena eva prajāyateby the very state is born
Translation
"Slowly shall he perform good churning, having placed both eyes between the brows; for six months, the state of churning is born by the very state".
Version
26c945f809bd · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Another six months are added to the terms already given; their sum was discussed when reading the thirty-fifth line. Worth noting is the phrase bhavena eva prajayate, "is born by the very state." That is, after half a year, the technique ceases to be a technique: the state that was pursued by effort begins to come from the state itself — that is, by itself.
This is the same as was said in the first chapter about kevala-kumbhaka, "pure holding" (1.20): practice with the technique, until what comes without the technique arrives. This rule, as noted there, is the general rule of every art; and it is pleasant to see the book hold to it consistently, from breath to this point. The Vaishnava side goes by the same order in her own practice: rule, count, effort — and then bhava, "state," in which what was formerly done comes of itself. And the very same word is used there — bhava — so that in both teachings the threshold between labor and gift is marked by one word.
Separately, a word must be said about bhru-madhye nyasya chakshushi, "having placed both eyes between the brows." This is the famous shambhavi-mudra, and it is worth saying that it is done by anyone involuntarily: a man sunk deep in remembering draws his eyes up and inward. The technique, then, is the fixing of what happens anyway during concentration.