Upaniṣads · Jābāladarśana 4.10
॥
Devanāgarī
पृष्ठमध्यस्थितेनान्स्था वीणादण्डेन सुव्रत । सह मस्तकपर्यन्तं सुषुम्ना सुप्रतिष्ठिता
Transliteración (IAST)
pṛṣṭhamadhyasthitenānsthā vīṇādaṇḍena suvrata | saha mastakaparyantaṃ suṣumnā supratiṣṭhitā
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
पृष्ठ-मध्य-स्थितेन अस्थाpṛṣṭha-madhya-sthitena asthāby the bone standing in the middle of the back
वीणा-दण्डेन सु-व्रतvīṇā-daṇḍena su-vratalike the stem of a vina, O one true to his vow
सह मस्तक-पर्यन्तंsaha mastaka-paryantaṃtogether, all the way to the head
सुषुम्ना सु-प्रतिष्ठिताsuṣumnā su-pratiṣṭhitāsushumna is firmly established
Traducción
"By the bone standing in the middle of the back, like the stem of a vina, O one true to his vow, — together with it, all the way to the head, sushumna is firmly established."
Versión
57b795c8e60e · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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The spine is called vina-danda, "the stem of a vina" — after the name of the stringed instrument with a long neck and gourd resonators at each end. This comparison deserves noting, for it is among the finest in the whole book. The spine truly does resemble the neck of a vina; but more important than the resemblance is what the comparison implies: the body is likened to a musical instrument.
This thought recurs in books on yoga, and from it a whole understanding follows. The instrument does not sound by itself — one plays it; and it must be tuned, strung, and whole. The whole preceding section on postures and the whole following one on the purification of the passages, seen from here, are tuning; and the question of who plays, the book leaves open.
The Vaishnava side poses this question and answers it directly, and hence the image of the vina has a different continuation for it. Narada, its own model devotee, is depicted with a vina in his hands: he does not tune it and does not reason about it, but travels through the worlds and sings. Let us add too what is implicit in the comparison itself and deserves saying here. A tuned vina on which no one plays is silent; and the difference between tuning and music is exactly the difference between preparation and the deed.
Hence, in its books, preparation is cut to the minimum, and the deed begins at once: hear and sing today, and you will tune yourself along the way.