Upanishads

Yogakundalini Upanishad

Samaveda
group of Upanishads – yoga

     The title of this Upanishad is translated as "The Precious Crown of Yoga". It belongs to the late yogic Upanishads, which were finally formed in the late Middle Ages. It contains large sections that repeat or are very similar to passages from the clearly earlier Goraksha Shataka and Dhyanabindu Upanishads.

     In general, this rather late text is quite clear, its language is simple, there are no special semantic and stylistic subtleties and embellishments, for example, in comparison with the Vedic Upanishads. However, there are some dark places. For example, in Art. 102 literally says "joined twelve times the creator of the night (the moon) and the creator of the day (the sun) remove the net of vice." Perhaps this is not about breathing through ida and pingala, which is already clearly stated in the previous verses, but about breathing at the beginning of the night and at dawn, or about the union (samyukta) of the solar and lunar semen. Verse 117 seems to speak of correct and incorrect pranayama.

     There are some passages in the Upanishad that help in understanding yoga. In the description of the chakras at the beginning, there are expressions that clarify their locations and definitions. Verses 98-99 describe the method and fruits of purification of the currents (nadi shoddhana). The Upanishad, of course, mentions dharana, dhyana and samadhi, but in passing, and its final verse praises pratyahara. Either this is due to the incompleteness or poor preservation of the text, or for the Upanishad this is the most important thing that is still somehow subject to description.

     Our translation was already in progress when Swami Satyadharma's English version came out. She is an American who took initiation at the Bihar School of Yoga. Unfortunately, the translation by American standards is simplified for mass understanding, very approximate and therefore often inaccurate. Our translation, although sometimes difficult to understand, is more literal.

     1. I will tell the yogis about the treasure of yoga, the desired goal.
This achievement of isolation (kaivalya) is the hidden wealth of those who know yoga.

     2. Asana, retention of prana (pranasamrodha), pratyahara, dharana,
Dhyana, samadhi – there are six such limbs of yoga.

     3. One is siddhasana, it is said, the second is kamalasana (lotus seat),
six chakras, sixteen bases, three goals, five heavens^[1].

     4. How will he become perfect who does not know this in his body?
They say that the Basis^[2] is four-petaled, and svadhishthana is six-petaled,

     5. in the navel there are ten lotus petals, in the heart, – like spokes (in a wheel), twelve, sixteen – in vishuddhi, and two – between the eyebrows,
in the Auspicious aperture (brahmarandhra) there are a thousand petals. This is the great path.

     6. The root (mula) is the first chakra, svadhishthana is the second,
between (these) two, they say, is the place of the yoni, the abode of the Desired in appearance (of the God of love),

     7. which is called love passion. And in the anal region impurities are born.
The four-petaled chakra is between (these) two, they say.

     8. This womb (yoni), which is called passion, is revered by those who have attained.
In its middle is the location of the great lingam, facing backwards.

     9. In the navel is the jewel revered by yogis, similar to the red disk of the nascent sun, like a flash of lightning blazing with golden brilliance.

     10. That triangular fiery city is located above the lower ud,
(here is achieved) in samadhi the highest light, all-pervading, infinite.

     11. (To him who) thus sees the great yoga, the coming (to the world) and the going (from it) are unknown.
The very word svadhishthana (i.e. one's abode) indicates that it is the receptacle of prana,

     12. and because of the location of uda (medhra) in the region of svadhishthana, it is also called^[3].
Here is a jewel-like tuber^[4], pierced by the thread of sushumna.

     13. In the navel area is a wheel with twelve spokes, which is called the "city of treasures" (manipuraka), which averts all good and evil actions.

     14. While a living (creature) is spinning in the great wheel^[5] – the essence is not found.

     15. (In the body there is) a tuber located above the ud and below the navel, which is similar to a bird's egg,
from this womb are born 72 thousand currents along which the pranas move.

     16. Of these thousands, 72 are named,
and of these, ten are the most famous as the main ones.
(These are) three (main ones) – ida, pingala, sushumna, —

     17. and also gandhari, hastijihva, pusha and yashasvini,
alambusa, kuhu, sankhini – these are the ten known.

     18. Such is the great wheel of currents, which yogis should always know.
Ida is located on the left side, pingala – on the right.

     19. Sushumna in the middle, gandhari in the left eye,
in the right hastijihva, pusha – in the right ear,

     20. in the left ear – yashasvini, and in the mouth – alambusa
kuhu – in the area of ud, and in the root seat – shankhini.

     21. Thus are the openings of the currents
arranged sequentially on the great path of prana. Ida, Pingala, Sushumna,

     22. Continuously carrying prana, – (like) the deities moon, sun, fire.
The winds are called prana, apana, samana, vyana and udana,

     23. naga, kurma, then krikara, devadatta and dhananjaya.
Prana resides in the heart, apana – in the area of the anus,

     24. samana in the navel area, udana goes to the middle of the throat,
and vyana – throughout the body. These are the five principal winds.

     25. It is said that the naga is in the (secretion of) saliva, and kurma is in the blinking of the eyes,
krikara is in the arousal of hunger^[6], and devadatta, one should know, is in yawning.

     26. And even the dead are not abandoned by the all-pervading dhananjaya.
In all these currents the born wanders living (creature)^[7].

     27. As a ball thrown by a club is carried about,
so, thrown by prana and apana, a living (creature) is unstable

     28. By the power of prana and apana, the living thing is carried now up, now down,
now to the right, now to the left, and because of (such) mobility it is not seen.

     29. As a falcon, striving upward, is tied by a rope, and is pulled back again,
so the living thing, bound by the gunas, is pulled by prana and apana.

     30. Now down, now up rushes the living thing by the will of prana and apana:
prana attracts apana, apana attracts prana>

     31.now up, now down. Whoever knows the basis of this two is an expert in yoga.
With the sound HA (breath) goes out, with the sound SA enters (the body).

     32. "Hamsa, hamsa" – the living being continuously whispers this mantra.
Day and night, twenty-one thousand six hundred times (per day)

     33 the being continuously whispers this mantra.
The chant^[8] that always gives liberation to yogis is called wordless.

    34. Only by such a decision are they freed from all sins.
There is no other corresponding vision, no other corresponding japa,

     35. There was and will be no other corresponding knowledge.^[9]
By this chanting and flowing prana the kundalini is excited.

     36. He who has learned this great knowledge, the knowledge of prana, is an expert in yoga.
The Annular Power, coiled eightfold over the Tuber,

    37. eternally abides with the mouth turned towards the auspicious aperture,
by which, (like) a door, the auspicious aperture is closed, by which sorrowlessness is achieved.

     38. The sleeping Great Lady, with whose mouth the aperture (of sushumna) is covered,
awakened by the flame of yoga together with the mind and air,

     39. with a body like a needle, passes up the sushumna.
Let the yogi, like the doors of a house, open the screen from the body of the Ringed One,
let him thus open the gates of liberation through kundalini.

    40. Thus, having done padmasana, clasped (legs) with hands firmly placed (on the knees)
one should firmly press the chin to the chest and contemplate.

     42. Restrained, chaste, moderate in food, consistent in exercise,
will become an achiever at the end of the year – there should be no doubt about it.

     43. He who, offering (first) to Shiva, eats soft and sweet food, leaving a quarter (of the stomach) empty – is called moderate in food ^[10].

1. Above the tuber is the annular force, coiled eightfold.

     For the lost it is a fetter^[11], but always gives liberation to the yogi.

     45. He who knows mulabandha, mahamudra, nabhomudra,

1. Firmly pressing the heel to the perineum^[12], you need to pull up the apana with a strong contraction – this is what is called the root knot.
2. Thus (from the fusion) of apana with prana and the reduction of urine and feces, even an old man becomes forever young.
3. As a great bird flies up after rest, so does uddiyana bandha act, which is like a lion defeating the elephant of death.
4. Pull in the part of the abdomen below the navel, they say, is pashchima^[13].

     Uddiyana here is the lock in the abdomen, which should be revered.

     50. Since it prevents the heavenly water born in the head from going down, therefore (it is called) the knot that holds the water (jalandhara bandha).

     51. When performing jalandhara bandha blocking the throat, the drink of immortality does not flow into the fire, the breath does not move in and out, ailments in the throat are destroyed.

     52. Penetration of the curled tongue into the cranial cavity and fixing the gaze between the eyebrows – this is khechari mudra.

     53, Neither disease, nor hunger and thirst, nor sleep, nor fainting, nor death disturb him who knows khechari mudra.

     54. He who knows khechari mudra is not affected by disease, suffering, nor bound by actions.

     55. All the siddhas worship him who directs the mind into space when he directs the tongue of this khechari mudra into the (cranial) space.

     56. The seed that spreads in this body through the vessels from the heels to the head is considered to be the root in the body.

     57. He who Khechari Mudra closes the crack in the roof of the palate, does not lose semen from his penis during intercourse with the desired (woman).

     58. As long as the semen is retained in the body, where does the fear of death come from? Semen does not go away as long as it is locked by nabha mudra.

     59. Even if the semen produced and consumed in the fire (of manipura) has gone (down), when held (by the yogi) by the power of yoni mudra, (it is again) directed upward.

     60. Further, semen (bindu) is of two types: white and red.
White (shukla) is sperm, and red (maharaj) is menstrual blood.

     61. Red semen resides in the solar region, while white semen resides in the lunar region.
The union of these two is difficult to achieve.

     62. The seed is Brahma, the blood is Shakti. The seed is the moon, the blood is the sun.
By the union of both, verily, the highest state is attained.

     63. When by the movement of the air^[14] the red and white seed come to unity,
then the Power (Shakti) rises forever and the wondrous body appears.

     64. White (seed) is associated with the moon, red – with the sun. He who knows the merging of both into oneness, knows yoga^[15].

     65. The purification of the flow of currents, the movement of the sun and moon,
as well as the drying of moisture (in the body) are performed by the great seal (mahamudra).

     66. With the chin lowered to the chest, firmly and permanently pressing the perineum with the left leg, with both hands one must grasp the extended right leg,
and filling the (upper and lower) regions of the abdomen with breath, lock it and quietly exhale. This mudra, which destroys all diseases, is proclaimed especially important for men.

     67. It is necessary to perform this, carefully repeating, through the lunar and solar sides again and again. When there is a corresponding equality in (their) duration^[16] – then the mudra will be fulfilled.

     68. (By means of this mudra) everything useful, unwholesome, tasty, tasteless or eaten in excess, (becomes) like cream, and even terrible poison is overcome.

     69. Consumption, leprosy, constipation, diseases of the spleen, indigestion^[17] and all (possible) diseases in the future, are reduced and pass away at one who will practice maha mudra.

     70. This previously mentioned maha mudra, which creates great powers for a person, should be carefully kept secret and not communicated to anyone.

     71. In a secluded place, having assumed the correct lotus seat, with the body and head kept straight, with the gaze fixed on the tip of the nose, one should continuously repeat the mantra OM.

     72. Verily, Vishva is always the taster of the gross, Tejasa is the taster of the subtle, Prajna is the taster of bliss. But the All-Seeing (sarvasakshin) is beyond.^[18]

     73. The sonorous OM (pranava) always abides in all living beings. Tasting (the world) with the mouth turned downwards, he enjoys the Supreme in all states.

     74. The syllable "A" (abides) in all living beings in the waking state and in the eye. The syllable "U" – in the dream state and in the throat. The syllable "M" is in dreamless sleep and in the heart.

     75. The syllable "A" is rajas, red, it is called Brahma and consciousness, the syllable "U" is sattva, white, it is Vishnu, so they say.

     76. and the syllable "M", they say, is tamas, black, it is called Rudra.
From the Sounding OM Brahma is born, from the Sounding OM Vishnu is born,

     77. from the Sounding OM Rudra is born, and (itself) the Sounding OM manifests as the Supreme.
Brahma is immersed in the sound "A", Hari is immersed in the sound "U",

     78. into the sound "M" Rudra sinks, but (all) the Sonorous shines.
Those who know (this) are directed upward, those who do not know will go downward.

     79. Such, verily, is the state of the Sonorous. He who knows this, knows the Veda. By the nature of the unextracted (sound OM) it directs upward those who know.

     80. Like oil in a continuous stream, like the drawn-out sound of a bell – the echo of the Sonorous. Such is its front part, which is called Brahma.

     81. This front part is shining, inexpressible. It is visible to the great soul as the subtle mind. He who knows this, knows the Veda.

     82. Verily, in the waking state, the Swan (hamsa) shines between the eyes. Of its (two syllables), the syllable SA is called khechari, and to it corresponds the saying TVAM.

     83. The syllable HA is the Supreme Lord and, accordingly, the saying TAT. The born one, contemplating the syllable SA, will be established in the syllable HA.

1. The living (being) is bound by the senses, but the Self (Atman) is not bound. The being arises from self-separation, but without self-separation^[19] (becomes) free.
2. That supreme light is AUM. The worlds – Earth, Heaven and Sky, the deities – the Sun, Moon and Fire – abide in its parts.

     86. Desire, action, knowledge, as well as (the powers) of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra are established here in three parts. That is the supreme light.

1. One must always pronounce it with speech, repeat it with thought, always pronounce it with the (whole) body. That is, the highest light.
2. Pure or even impure, whoever always repeats the Sonorous OM, is not touched by sin, like a lotus leaf by water.

     89. When the wind (prana) moves, the seed also moves. When the wind is motionless (it) becomes motionless. The yogi gains stability. Therefore, one must restrain the air.

1. As long as the air is stable in the body, Life does not leave it. Death does not strike it. Therefore, one must restrain the air.
2. As long as the air is bound in the body, life does not leave it. As long as the gaze is (concentrated) between the eyebrows, what fear of Death can there be?
3. Because of the fear of the short term (of life), Brahma^[20] becomes supreme in pranayama. Therefore, yogis and sages should also restrain prana.
4. The external breath (hamsa) has a length of 26 angulas (thumb widths). It is produced through the left and right paths (ida and pingala).
5. When all the currents and circuits (nadis and chakras) become clean of accumulated dirt, then the yogi becomes able to conserve prana.
6. Bound by the lotus seat, the yogi should fill the lunar current with prana, retain it as long as he has strength, and exhale it again with the solar current.
7. During pranayama, contemplating the lunar disk, white as cow's milk, like an ocean of life-giving moisture, he will become happy.
8. Contemplating that flickering flame in the heart, the region of the rising sun, the yogi, steadfast in pranayama, will become happy.
9. justify;">One should draw in prana through the left nostril (ida), retain it (there) and exhale through the other. Again drawing in the breath through the right (pingala), then locking it, one should expel it through the left. In this way, alternately contemplating the two seeds, the solar and lunar, curbed in two months, they carry out the purification of the network of currents.^[21]
10. When, during the purification of the currents, (they do) holding the breath, as much as necessary, the (inner) fire is ignited, the Sound is manifested and painlessness occurs.
11. While prana is in the body, it is necessary to restrain apana (and vice versa), so that the breath produced upward and downward remains the same in the space (of the body).
12. Inhalation, exhalation, retention – correspond to (the three syllables) pranava. Pranayama should be performed twelve times with concentration.
13. The creator of the night and the creator of the day, when combined twelve times, remove the net of vice. Yogis should always know this.
14. Filling (with inhalation) is done twelve (units), retention should be done sixteen times, and emptying (with inhalation) – twelve. This is called pranayama of the syllable Om.
15. In the lower (pranayama) – twelve measures, in the middle – double (quantity), in the higher, it is said, – triple.
16. At the lower – sweat arises, at the middle – trembling appears, at the higher – stability is achieved. Therefore, one must hold one's breath.
17. The yogi, having assumed the lotus seat, fixing his gaze on the tip of his nose and worshipping Shiva as the teacher, should perform pranayama.
18. (This is done) by closing the nine gates (indriyas), diligently and correctly locking the air, with steady attention directing the Dark (Snake), excited by apana, together with the fire, to the crown. To the extent that (the yogi) establishes Himself through integral contemplation, to that extent does he not need the company of the great.
19. Pranayama becomes a flame that burns the fuel of sins, and a bridge across the great ocean of existence – so the yogis always affirm.
20. Diseases are destroyed by asana, sins – by pranayama. By Pratyahara the yogi removes the fickleness of the mind.
21. Dharana achieves stability of mind, in samadhi – supernatural consciousness. By renouncing pure and impure karma, one achieves Liberation.
22. It is said that with two sixes of pranayama, pratyahara is produced, and with two sixes of pratyahara, auspicious dharana.
23. Twelve dharanas are proclaimed dhyana. And with twelve dhyanas, skilled in yoga, samadhi is attained.
24. In samadhi is the highest light, infinite, all-round. In this vision there is no action of karma, no coming and going (in this world).
25. (One must sit) in the appropriate^[22] asana, pressing the ud with the feet together, closing the openings of the ears, eyes, nasal passages with the fingers, and locking the air in the chest with the mouth. Together with abundant apana one must retain (the air). Thus it goes to the crown, and in the balanced mind of the yogi (it will abide as) a special Essence and Lord.
26. When the air reaches the heavens^[23], a great (inner) sound is heard, (like the sound) of a bell and other instruments. By this the perfection of sound (nada) is attained.
27. By correct pranayama all diseases are destroyed, by incorrect pranayama all diseases are generated^[24].
28. Various kinds of diseases – hiccups, cough, asthma, diseases of the head, eyes and ears – occur due to the change that occurs in the air.
29. As a lion, an elephant or a tiger is gradually tamed, so the (vital) wind is subdued, otherwise it will kill the practitioner.
30. One should release the air with great restraint, and fill it with great restraint. In the same way, very discreetly, one should lock (it). Thus perfection is achieved.
31. The return in order of (the senses) striving for their respective regions, sight and others, is called pratyahara.

     121. As in the third quarter of the day the sun diminishes in brightness,
even so, established in the third part of Yoga, the fickleness of the mind is overcome.

     This is the Upanishad.

     Thus the Yoga Chudamani Upanishad is completed.

     [1] Six chakras… The Upanishad does not include the sahasrara in its list of chakras, instead speaking of the Auspicious Aperture (brahmarandhra), the attainment of which is the last step to Liberation. However, this aperture is attributed, like the sahasrara, with a thousand petals. Sixteen bases… these are the toes, ankles, knees, thighs, perineum, genitals, navel, heart, base of the neck, throat, tongue, nose, between the eyebrows, forehead, back of the head, crown of the head. Three goals – physical, mental, spiritual. Five heavens, five spaces (akasha) of consciousness – surya akasha, tattva akasha, mahat akasha, apara akasha and para akasha.

     [2] Base (adhara). Short for muladhara (approximately "root base").

     [3] Once again, we note the precise indication of the text: it is not svadhishthana that is located in the area of the genitals, but the penis (medhra) is in the area of svadhishthana. The text also says that it is usually or often identified with the genitals.

     [4] Tuber (kanda). From this word, some representatives of the yoga heritage derive the word kundalini. More often, the kundalini snake is said to have three and a half turns.

     [5] There is a double meaning here: either in the wheel of samsara or in the cycle of currents (nadi), which in the worldview of yoga seem to merge.

     [6] Naga also manifests itself as hiccups and vomiting. Krikara – "pepper". Apparently, the feeling of hunger was compared to the burning sensation in the throat caused by pepper. The connection of the feeling of hunger and thirst to the throat area is found already in Yoga Sutra, 3.30.

     [7] Jiva

     [8] Chant – Gayatri (lit. singing). The sound of the breath is compared to the most sacred prayer of the Vedas.

     [9] Cf. Dhyanabindu Upanishad, 86-90.

     [10] A position often repeated in yoga texts with slight variations (see, for example, Yoga Kundalini Up. 1,4). Sweet food in yoga and Ayurveda is not only sweets, but food with a sweet taste – grains, milk, sweet fruits, etc.

     [11] That is, this force gives all sorts of benefits and miraculous abilities not automatically, as many "so-called yogis" think, but also binds a person just as strongly – with desires, passion, zeal beyond reason, and so on.

     [12] Yoni.

     [13] Deep meaning paschimottanasana the Upanishad sees precisely in this lock, and not in stretching the lower part of the spine. The same understanding of paschimottanasana is in the Ashtanga yoga of Charandas.

     [14] That is, by controlling prana.

     [15] Cf. Dhyanabindu Upanishad, 86-90

     [16] Literally "in counting". The interpretation that the mudra is performed when the number of approaches becomes equal is doubtful.

     [17] The names of the diseases mentioned here can also be understood in a more general sense. Consumption (kshaya) – loss of strength, general weakness, exhaustion; leprosy (kushtha) – skin diseases in general; enlargement of the spleen (gulma) – also melancholy, depression, spleen (cf. English spleen – spleen).

     [18] In psychoanalytic terms, vishva is associated with consciousness, tejas – with the subconscious, prajna – with the unconscious, although it would be more accurate – with the supraconscious.

     [19] This refers to ahamkara – “creation of the self”, “separation of the self” – the stage of unfolding (and falling) of consciousness from Pure Reason into the world.

     [20] Although according to Indian cosmology the life span of the creator God Brahma is billions of years, he is also mortal. When he inhales, he draws the world into himself, and when he exhales, he releases it.

     [21] In the Indian heritage, a time of two to three months for the purification of currents (nadi shoddhana) is considered, apparently, sufficient (see, for example, Vivekananda's commentary on the Yoga Sutra)

     [22] It is hardly worth considering this word, as in the translation of Swami Satyadharma, as the name of a special asana (sambaddhasana).

     [23] Heaven (gagana) is also a synonym for the sahasrara chakra.

     [24] By correct... by incorrect pranayama. Lit. "by appropriate" and "by inappropriate".