Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 3.1
॥
Devanāgarī
अमावास्या च प्रतिपत्पौर्णमासी च शङ्कर । अस्याः का वर्ण्यते संज्ञा एतदाख्याहि तत्त्वतः
Transliteration (IAST)
amāvāsyā ca pratipatpaurṇamāsī ca śaṅkara | asyāḥ kā varṇyate saṃjñā etadākhyāhi tattvataḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अमावास्या च प्रतिपत्amāvāsyā ca pratipatnew moon and the first day
पौर्णमासी च शङ्करpaurṇamāsī ca śaṅkaraand full moon, O Shankara
अस्याः का वर्ण्यते संज्ञाasyāḥ kā varṇyate saṃjñāwhat name is described for it?
एतत् आख्याहि तत्त्वतःetat ākhyāhi tattvataḥthis proclaim by the truth
Translation
"New moon, the first day, and full moon, O Shankara — what name is described for it? This proclaim by the truth".
Version
05aa661bcd50 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A question is asked by Brahma and addressed to Shiva; and it asks about three lunar days: new moon, the first day, and full moon. Worth noting is the very structure of the third chapter: it is a dialogue. The first was instruction, the second a eulogy, and the third begins with question and answer.
That the appearance of a questioner changes the character of a book was discussed when reading Tripuratapini (31): exposition is addressed to anyone; a conversation is addressed to the one who has sat down. Worth noting too is the word tattvatah, "by the truth, by the substance." The questioner asks not for description, but for essence; and this word, in Sanskrit dialogues, is a sign that the questioner wants not information, but understanding.
The question is about the lunar days — that is, about time. And this is constant in books about the inner work: time in them is not indifferent, as discussed when reading the first chapter (1.10) and Bhavana (p25). The Vaishnava side knows and honors the lunar days: ekadashi, the eleventh day, is her day of fasting and special service; and her whole year is scheduled by lunar, not solar, days. The reason is not astrological but simple: memory needs knots, and a day recurring twice a month is a convenient knot on which everything else can be hung.