उपनिषद् · Varāha 5.20
॥
देवनागरी
मेढ्रदेशादधस्तात्तु द्व्यङ्गुलान्मध्यमुच्यते । मेढ्रान्नवाङ्गुलादूर्ध्वं नाडीनां कन्दमुच्यते
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
meḍhradeśādadhastāttu dvyaṅgulānmadhyamucyate | meḍhrānnavāṅgulādūrdhvaṃ nāḍīnāṃ kandamucyate
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
मेढ्र-देशात् अधस्तात् तुmeḍhra-deśāt adhastāt tubelow the region of the genital organ
द्वि-अङ्गुलात् मध्यम् उच्यतेdvi-aṅgulāt madhyam ucyatetwo finger-widths, it is called the middle
मेढ्रात् नव-अङ्गुलात् ऊर्ध्वंmeḍhrāt nava-aṅgulāt ūrdhvaṃfrom the organ, nine finger-widths upward
नाडीनां कन्दम् उच्यतेnāḍīnāṃ kandam ucyateit is called the bulb of the passages
अनुवाद
"Two finger-widths below the region of the genital organ, it is called the middle; nine finger-widths above the organ, it is called the bulb of the passages."
संस्करण
34b693beaa7e · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The kanda, "bulb," is named — the knot from which, by this teaching, all the passages branch out. The word is well chosen: a bulb is that from which roots go out in every direction, and this image is precise for a converging knot. Its position is indicated by measure from fixed points of the body, that is, described so it can be found.
Worth noting is this concern for precision: numbers are given, not hints; and in this the craft-origin of the chapter is visible. Let us add what deserves saying of the relation between this description and what is known. There is no knot at this place in the body; but there is a plexus of nerves, known in medicine, and sensations in this region truly do occur.
That is, the description apparently comes from experience and is only interpreted as a structure. The Vaishnava side does not dispute such descriptions and does not enter the dispute; but it defines its own attention in the body differently, and this deserves noting. For it, what is marked out in the body is not knots and passages, but the organs of service: the tongue with which one sings, the ears with which one hears, the hands with which one serves, the feet with which one circumambulates the temple, the head with which one bows.
This list was cited when reading the Tarasara (1.11), and is, in substance, likewise a description of the body — only by purpose, not by composition.