Upaniṣads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.36
॥
Devanāgarī
यथोदरं भवेत्पूर्णं पवनेन तथा लघु । धारयन्नासिकामध्यं तर्जनीभ्यां विना दृढम्
Transliteración (IAST)
yathodaraṃ bhavetpūrṇaṃ pavanena tathā laghu | dhārayannāsikāmadhyaṃ tarjanībhyāṃ vinā dṛḍham
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
यथा उदरं भवेत् पूर्णंyathā udaraṃ bhavet pūrṇaṃas the belly becomes full
पवनेन तथा लघुpavanena tathā laghuwith wind, so too easily
धारयेत् नासिका-मध्यंdhārayet nāsikā-madhyaṃshall he hold the middle of the nose
तर्जनीभ्यां विना दृढम्tarjanībhyāṃ vinā dṛḍhamwithout forefingers, firmly
Traducción
"As the belly becomes full of wind, so too shall he easily hold the middle of the nose — without the forefingers, firmly".
Versión
568ad6a4e95f · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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A purely technical detail: the nostrils are pinched, but not with the forefingers. This rule is universal in books on breath and is explained thus: the forefinger and middle finger are bent under during this act, and the pinching is done with the thumb, ring finger, and little finger. This hand position is called nasagra-mudra.
It is explained variously, and most explanations are later ones. The reason, it seems, is simple: in Indian custom the forefinger is the finger of pointing and accusing — it is used to point at a person, which is considered rude, and to threaten with; it is also linked to ahankara, egotism, and so in ritual acts it is generally avoided.
This rule, for all its triviality, deserves attention as a mark of a whole mindset. In this practice everything means something: which hand one takes with, which finger one points with, over which shoulder one pours water. The Vaishnava side is the same in this and does not differ from the rest: the beads are told with the middle finger and thumb, bypassing the forefinger; things are taken and given with the right hand; in the temple one circumambulates left to right.
To people of another cast of mind all this seems trivial. It is worth noting, though, that they too have their own: not to whistle in the house, not to greet across a threshold, not to sit at the corner of a table. The difference is not in whether rules exist, but that here they are gathered, explained, and made sense of, while there they simply persist on their own.