Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 6.38
॥
Devanāgarī
पुनस्तज्ज्ञाननिष्पत्तिर्योगात्संसारनिह्नुतिः । दक्षिणोत्तरगुल्फेन सीविनीं पीडयेत्स्थिरम्
Transliteration (IAST)
punastajjñānaniṣpattiryogātsaṃsāranihnutiḥ | dakṣiṇottaragulphena sīvinīṃ pīḍayetsthiram
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
पुनः तत्-ज्ञान-निष्पत्तिःpunaḥ tat-jñāna-niṣpattiḥagain, the ripening of that knowledge
योगात् संसार-निह्नुतिःyogāt saṃsāra-nihnutiḥfrom yoga — the cessation of the cycle
दक्षिण-उत्तर-गुल्फेनdakṣiṇa-uttara-gulphenawith the right and left ankle
सीविनीं पीडयेत् स्थिरम्sīvinīṃ pīḍayet sthiramlet him press the seam firmly
Translation
"Again, the ripening of that knowledge; from yoga, the cessation of the cycle. Let him press the seam firmly with the right and left ankle."
Version
21e8a190fd2d · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The description of mula-bandha, "the root lock," begins: the heel presses the perineum to hold back the movement of the lower breath. The description has again become bodily, and this was already discussed when reading the third khanda (3.7): the body in these books is not a subject of shame. Worth noting is the word nihnuti, "cessation, denial," from ni-hnu, "to deny, to conceal."
This word, applied to the cycle, is curious. It is not said "exit from the cycle" and not said "victory over it"; it is said — its denial, as one denies a statement. Behind this choice of word stands, apparently, the very same nondualist reading: the cycle is not overcome, but found to never have been.
The Vaishnava side would not accept this word, and uses others: mukti ("liberation"), nivritti ("cessation"), uddhara ("extraction"). All of them presume there was something to extract from. The difference here is not verbal, and deserves stating one last time for this book.
If captivity is a misunderstanding, no liberator is needed: an explanation suffices. If captivity is real, then someone who leads one out is needed; and everything Vaishnava books say of grace flows from this. The Bhagavatam holds to the second and speaks of the Lord as bhava-sindhu-pota, "the boat across the sea of existence"; and a boat presumes the sea is genuine.