Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 5.6
॥
Devanāgarī
नासाग्रे शशभृद्बिम्बे बिन्दुमध्ये तुरीयकम् । स्रवन्तममृतं पश्येन्नेत्राभ्यां सुसमाहितः
Transliteration (IAST)
nāsāgre śaśabhṛdbimbe bindumadhye turīyakam | sravantamamṛtaṃ paśyennetrābhyāṃ susamāhitaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
नासा-अग्रे शश-भृत्-बिम्बेnāsā-agre śaśa-bhṛt-bimbeat the tip of the nose, in the disc of the moon-bearer
बिन्दु-मध्ये तुरीयकम्bindu-madhye turīyakamat the middle of the bindu — the fourth
स्रवन्तम् अमृतं पश्येत्sravantam amṛtaṃ paśyetthe flowing nectar let him see
नेत्राभ्यां सु-समाहितःnetrābhyāṃ su-samāhitaḥwith both eyes, wholly concentrated
Translation
"…with both eyes, wholly concentrated, let him see, at the tip of the nose, in the disc of the moon-bearer, at the middle of the bindu, the fourth — the flowing nectar."
Version
b71366ebc314 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
One is told to look at the tip of the nose and see there the lunar disc, from which flows amrita, "nectar." The first half of this instruction is a commonplace: gazing at the tip of the nose is prescribed by the Gita too — samprekshya nasikagram svam, "gazing at the tip of one's own nose" (6.13). Its sense is material: half-closed eyes, directed down and inward, neither wander nor fall asleep. A simple and effective means.
The second half is already a vision: the lunar disc, the point, turiya ("the fourth," that is, the state beyond the three ordinary ones), the flowing nectar. Worth examining is the image of nectar, for it appears everywhere in books on yoga, and we met it in the Yoga-kundalini. The conception is this: in the crown there is a moon, from which nectar drips, and it ordinarily falls into the fire of the stomach and burns away — which is why a person ages; but by practice it is retained.
The Vaishnava side does not share this conception and uses the word amrita differently, and it is worth saying how. For it, nectar is a name and a narrative: the Bhagavatam calls itself amala-purana, and its chapters amrita, and its famous verse declares that the account of Him is "nectar for the ears and for the heart" (10.1.4). The difference between the two nectars deserves stating. One is drawn from oneself and held by technique; the other comes from without, from the one who tells the story, and cannot be held — it passes through and leaves behind it only the thirst for more.