Upanishads · Varāha 5.8
॥
Devanāgarī
तस्य मुक्तिस्तनोः कायात्तस्य बन्धो हि दुष्करः । अग्नौ तु चालिते कुक्षौ वेदना जायते भृशम्
Transliteration (IAST)
tasya muktistanoḥ kāyāttasya bandho hi duṣkaraḥ | agnau tu cālite kukṣau vedanā jāyate bhṛśam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तस्य मुक्तिः तनोः कायात्tasya muktiḥ tanoḥ kāyātfor him there is freedom from the body
तस्य बन्धः हि दुष्करःtasya bandhaḥ hi duṣkaraḥhis lock is difficult
अग्नौ तु चालिते कुक्षौagnau tu cālite kukṣaubut when the fire in the belly is disturbed
वेदना जायते भृशम्vedanā jāyate bhṛśamintense pain is born
Translation
"For him there is freedom from the body; but his lock is difficult. When the fire in the belly is disturbed, however, intense pain is born."
Version
ab3275832561 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Worth noting is the frankness of the second half: it is said that with incorrect performance, intense pain results. This admission is rare in such books and does them credit: usually only benefits are listed. Let us add that this warning matters, and no less today than then.
Techniques of this kind are not harmless: they work with breath and internal organs, and, if overdone, cause disorders spoken of obliquely even in these same books. Hence it was required they be done under a teacher, not by book; discussed when reading the Jabala-darshana (6.19). Let us say plainly what must be said: the setting-out of such techniques in a book is not a guide to their performance, and one who takes them up after reading should consult someone knowledgeable.
Let us add what the Vaishnava side notes here, and which forms its constant argument against craft-based paths. A means that harms with incorrect performance is a means with conditions; and these conditions — health, age, guidance, time, food — exclude most people. Its own means has no conditions: anyone, in any state and at any hour, can sing and hear.
Its rule is stated by Rupa Gosvami thus: the Name is bound by no rule of time and no rule of purity; discussed when reading the Kali-santarana.