Upaniṣads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 2.31
॥
Devanāgarī
एवं क्रमेण षण्मासं नित्योद्युक्तः समाचरेत् । षण्मासाद्रसनामूलं सिराबद्धं प्रणश्यति
Transliteración (IAST)
evaṃ krameṇa ṣaṇmāsaṃ nityodyuktaḥ samācaret | ṣaṇmāsādrasanāmūlaṃ sirābaddhaṃ praṇaśyati
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
एवं क्रमेण षट्-मासंevaṃ krameṇa ṣaṭ-māsaṃso, in order, for six months
नित्य-उद्युक्तः समाचरेत्nitya-udyuktaḥ samācaretalways diligent, shall he perform
षट्-मासात् रसना-मूलंṣaṭ-māsāt rasanā-mūlaṃafter six months, the root of the tongue
सिरा-बद्धं प्रणश्यतिsirā-baddhaṃ praṇaśyatibound by the vein, perishes
Traducción
"So, in order, for six months, always diligent, shall he perform [this]; after six months the root of the tongue, bound by the vein, perishes".
Versión
28410c735e58 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
A term is named: six months at one incision a week, that is, about twenty-five incisions. This term deserves being stated aloud, for it explains the whole cast of such a practice. For half a year a man weekly cuts his own mouth, and waits.
Worth noting is the word nityodyukta, "always diligent"; and the word kramena, "in order," discussed when reading the first chapter (1.53). Order and constancy here are the same as in the breath section, and this shows that we are dealing with one cast of mind, applied to different subjects. The same man who counted the days in breathing and added five at a time counts the weeks in the incisions.
Hence an observation worth making without mockery. Constancy is a force indifferent to what it is applied to. It bears fruit in a good undertaking and in a bad one alike; and so by itself it is not a virtue, but a tool. The Vaishnava side understands this, and so nowhere does she praise diligence in itself. What is praised is directed diligence: diligence in hearing, constancy in service. Diligence in general is, for her, rather a matter of caution: the Gita directly enumerates austerity of three kinds and acknowledges as worthy only that performed "with the highest faith, disinterestedly" (17.17).