Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 3.34
॥
Devanāgarī
जीवन्मुक्तपदं त्यक्त्वा स्वदेहे कालसात्कृते । विशत्यदेहमुक्तत्वं पवनोऽस्पन्दतामिव
Transliteration (IAST)
jīvanmuktapadaṃ tyaktvā svadehe kālasātkṛte | viśatyadehamuktatvaṃ pavano'spandatāmiva
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
जीवन्-मुक्त-पदं त्यक्त्वाjīvan-mukta-padaṃ tyaktvāhaving abandoned the state of the living-liberated
स्व-देहे काल-सात्-कृतेsva-dehe kāla-sāt-kṛtewhen his own body is surrendered to time
विशति अ-देह-मुक्तत्वंviśati a-deha-muktatvaṃhe enters bodiless liberation
पवनः अ-स्पन्दताम् इवpavanaḥ a-spandatām ivaas wind — into stillness
Translation
"Having abandoned the state of the living-liberated, when his own body is surrendered to time, he enters bodiless liberation, as wind enters stillness".
Version
c129b15ff076 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Two liberations are distinguished: jivan-mukti, "while living," and videha-mukti, "bodiless"; the dispute between schools on this was discussed when reading Bhavana (p45). Worth noting is the phrase kala-sat-krite, "surrendered to time." The body does not "die" and does not "perish," but is surrendered to time, as a thing is surrendered to its owner.
This turn, I think, is more precise and more honest than our "died." The body was taken on loan; the term is up; the thing is returned. And the word kala, "time," discussed when reading Bhavana (p25), is, in these books, one of the names of the Lord.
On this reading it follows that the body is surrendered not to death, but to the One whose it is; and this, I think, is the best thing that can be said about an ending. The simile given is this: pavanah aspandatam iva, "as wind [enters] stillness." The image deserves unpacking. Wind that has ceased to blow does not vanish — it is the same air, only motionless. That is, the simile speaks not of annihilation, but of the cessation of motion.
The Vaishnava side points out here that even this simile does not speak of merging. Wind, having settled, remains air; and if the soul is likened to wind, then by this simile it remains, ceasing only to thrash about.