Upanishads · Varāha 5.17
॥
Devanāgarī
सव्योरु दक्षिणे गुल्फे दक्षिणं दक्षिणेतरे । निदध्यादृजुकायस्तु चक्रासनमिदं मतम्
Transliteration (IAST)
savyoru dakṣiṇe gulphe dakṣiṇaṃ dakṣiṇetare | nidadhyādṛjukāyastu cakrāsanamidaṃ matam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सव्य-उरु दक्षिणे गुल्फेsavya-uru dakṣiṇe gulphethe left thigh, on the right ankle
दक्षिणं दक्षिण-इतरेdakṣiṇaṃ dakṣiṇa-itarethe right, on the other
निदध्यात् ऋजु-कायः तुnidadhyāt ṛju-kāyaḥ tulet him place, holding the body straight
चक्र-आसनम् इदं मतम्cakra-āsanam idaṃ matamthis is held to be the wheel-posture
Translation
"The left [thigh] on the right ankle, the right on the other; let him place [them] thus, holding the body straight: this is held to be the wheel-posture."
Version
5ab437c201e3 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A description of the first posture is given, and worth noting in it is one word: riju-kayah, "with straight body." This requirement recurs in every such description and is, in substance, the one thing common to all of them. The Gita says the same: samam kaya-shiro-grivam dharayan achalam sthirah, "holding body, head, and neck straight and motionless" (6.13).
The ground given is simple and true: in a straight position, breath runs even, while a bent body inclines to sleep. Let us add what deserves saying of the descriptions of postures in these books. They are brief to the point of unintelligibility: it is said where to place the thigh, and that is all.
This is not carelessness, but a trait of the bookish transmission of a craft: the description served as a reminder to one already shown, not as an instruction to one who has not seen. This rule was general in India and extended to every craft, including grammar: the book preserves, the teacher transmits. The Vaishnava side holds this rule and extends it to what matters most; and its verse, cited when reading the second chapter (2.2), states: tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, "know this by prostration, by earnest inquiry, and by service" (Gita 4.34).
That is, even where everything is written down, the written is not enough; and the book itself points to this.