Upaniṣads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.30
॥
Devanāgarī
जिह्वया वायुमाकृष्य पूर्ववत्कुम्भकादनु । शनैस्तु घ्राणरन्ध्राभ्यां रेचयेदनिलं सुधीः
Transliteración (IAST)
jihvayā vāyumākṛṣya pūrvavatkumbhakādanu | śanaistu ghrāṇarandhrābhyāṃ recayedanilaṃ sudhīḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
जिह्वया वायुम् आकृष्यjihvayā vāyum ākṛṣyaby the tongue, having drawn in air
पूर्व-वत् कुम्भकात् अनुpūrva-vat kumbhakāt anuas before, after the holding
शनैः तु घ्राण-रन्ध्राभ्यांśanaiḥ tu ghrāṇa-randhrābhyāṃslowly, by both nostrils
रेचयेत् अनिलं सुधीःrecayet anilaṃ sudhīḥshall he release the air, the wise man
Traducción
"Having drawn in air by the tongue, as before, after the holding, slowly through both nostrils shall the wise man release the air".
Versión
ca7bc448e893 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Shitali, "cooling," is described: the inhalation is made through the tongue, rolled into a tube, and the exhalation through the nose. This technique is verifiable at once and by anyone: air passing over a moist tongue is cooled, and the mouth grows cool. There is no mystery here — it is the same as blowing on something hot, only in reverse.
The promises attached to it will come in the next line, and they are again bodily: heat, bile, thirst. It is worth noting, though, one peculiarity of this technique, because it is curious. Not everyone can roll the tongue into a tube: this ability, as is known, is distributed unequally among people and appears to be innate.
That is, before us is a prescription a portion of people cannot fulfill, by the body's own build. And this happens often enough in books about bodily paths: fitness for them depends on how a person was born. From this the Vaishnava side draws an argument it makes constantly. A path whose fitness depends on the body cannot be a path for all; but the Name requires neither a supple tongue nor healthy lungs nor a rollable tongue — it requires only that a man utter it, and it is fit even for one who utters it poorly.