Verse 1

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 1:

र्ध्न्यंअमेरोर्बाह्यप्रदेशे शशि मिहिरसिरे सव्यदक्षे निषण्णे
  मध्ये नादी सुषुंनात्रितय-गुणमयि चन्द्रसूर्यग्निरूपा ।
धत्तूर-स्मेर-पुष्पग्रथित-तमवपुः कन्दमध्यच्छिरह्स्ता
  वज्राख्या मेढ्रदेशाच्छिरसि परिगतामद्यमे'स्या ज्वलन्ति ॥ १ ॥

merorbāhyapradeśe śaśi mihirasire savyadakṣe niṣaṇṇe
  madhye nādī suṣuṃnātritaya-guṇamayi candrasūryagnirūpā |
dhattūra-smera-puṣpagrathita-tamavapuḥ kandamadhyacchirahstā
  vajrākhyā meḍhradeśācchirasi parigatāmadyame'syā jvalanti || 1 ||

In the space outside the Meru,^[1] placed on the left and the right, are the two Sirās,^[2] Śaśī^[3] and Mihira.^[4] The Nāḍī Suṣuṃnā, whose substance is the threefold Guṇas,^[5] is in the middle. She is the form of Moon, Sun, and Fire;^[6] Her body, a string of blooming Dhātūra^[7] flowers, extends from the middle of the Kanda^[8] to the Head, and the Vajrā inside Her extends, shining, from the Meḍhra^[9] to the Head.

Commentary by Śrī-Kālīcaraṇa:

Now, Yoga like that which is about to be spoken of cannot be achieved without a knowledge of the six Cakras and the Nāḍīs; the Author therefore describes the relative Nāḍīs in this and the following two verses.

“In the space outside” (Bāhya-pradeśe) the two Nāḍīs, Śaśī and Mihira (Śaśī-mihira-sire=the two Nāḍīs or Sirās, Śaktī and Mihira). Śaśī=Candra (Moon); Mihira=Sūrya (Sun). These two Nāḍīs, which are in the nature of the Moon and Sun,^[10] are the Nāḍīs, Iḍā and Piṅgalā.

“Meru”—This is the Meru-daṇḍa, the backbone or spinal column, extending from the Mūla (root) or Mūlādhāra to the neck. This will be explained later.

“Placed on the left and the right” (savya-dakse niṣaṇṇe).

“These two Nādīs,”—“The Iḍā is placed on the left, and the Piṅgalā on the right of the Meru” says the Bhūta-śuddhi-Tantra. The Sammohana-Tantra^[11] speaks of their likeness to the Sun and Moon as follows:

“The Iḍā Nādī on the left is pale, and is in the nature of the Moon^[12] (Candra-svarūpiṇī). She is the Śakti-rūpā Devī,^[13] and the very embodiment of nectar (Amṛta-vigrahā). On the right is the masculine Piṅgalā in the nature of the Sun. She, the great Devī, is Rudrātmikā,^[14] and is lustrous red, like the filaments of the pomegranate flower.”

These two Nāḍīs go upward singly from the Mūla Mūlādhāra), and, having reached the Ājñā-Cakra, proceed to the nostrils.

The Yāmala says: “On its (i.e., the Meru’s) left and right are Iḍā and Piṅgalā. These two go straight up, alternating from left to right and right to left, and, having thus gone round all the Lotuses, these auspicious ones proceed to the nostrils.”

The above passage shows the twofold and differing positions of the two Nāḍīs. They go upward alternating from the left to right and right to left, and going round the Lotuses (Padma) they form a plait and go to the nostrils.

Elsewhere they are described as being placed like bows: “Know that the two Nāḍīs Iḍā and Piṅgalā are shaped like bows.”

Also^[15]: “She who is connected with the left scrotum is united with the Suṣuṃnā, and, passing near by the right shoulder-joint, remains bent like a bow by the heart, and having reached the left shoulder-joint passes on to the nose. Similarly, She that comes from the right scrotum passes on to the left nostril.”

These two Nāḍīs which come from the left and right scrotum, when they reach the space between the eyebrows, make with the Suṣuṃnā a plaited knot of three (Triveṇī) and proceed to the nostrils.

They are also thus described: “In the Iḍā is the Devī Yamunā, and in Piṅgalā is Sarasvatī, and in Suṣuṃnā dwells Gangā.^[16] They form a threefold plait^[17] united at the root of the Dhvaja,^[18] they separate at the eyebrows, and hence it is called Triveṇī-Yoga, and bathing there^[19] yields abundant fruit.”

“Whose substance is the threefold Guṇas” (Tritaya-guṇa-mayī).—The compound word here used is capable of different interpretations. Reading Guṇa to mean “a string,” it would mean “made up of three strings” —viz., Suṣuṃnā, Vajrā and Citriṇī.^[20] These three form one, but considered separately they are distinct. If Guṇa be read to mean “quality,” then it would mean “possessed of the qualities Sattva, Rajas and Tamas”. Now, the substance of Citriṇī is Sattva (Sattvaguṇamayī), of Vajrā, Rajas, and of Suṣuṃnā, Tamas.

“Is in the middle” (Madhye)—i.e., in the middle or inside the Meru.

“She who is inside the Meru from the Mūla to the region of the Brahma-randhra,”^[21] etc.

Tripurā-sāra-samuccaya says: “She who is within the hollow of the Daṇḍa, extending from the head to the Ādhāra” (i.e., Mūlādhāra), and so forth.

Some persons rely on the following passage of the Tantra-cūḍāmaṇī, and urge that it shows that the Suṣuṃnā is outside the Meru: “O Śivā, on the left of Meru is placed the Nāḍī Iḍā, the Moon-nectar, and on its right the Sun-like Piṅgalā. Outside it (Tad-bāhye)^[22] and between these two (tayor madhye) is the fiery Suṣuṃnā.”

But this is merely the opinion of these persons. Our Author speaks (in the following verse) of the Lotuses inside the Meru; and as the Suṣuṃnā supports these she must needs be within the Meru.

“Form of Moon, Sun, and Fire” (Candra-sūryāgni-rūpā.—Citriṇī is pale, and is the form of the Moon, Vajriṇī^[23] is Sunlike, and hence has the lustre of the filaments of the pomegranate flower; Suṣuṃnā is fiery, and hence red. The Bhūtaśuddhi-Tantra, in describing the Suṣuṃnā, supports these three descriptions. Suṣuṃnā is the outermost and Citriṇī the innermost.

“Inside it, at a height of two finger’s breadth, is Vajrā, and so is Citriṇī; hence it is that Suṣuṃnā is Tri-guṇā; she is tremulous like a passionate woman; she is the receptacle of the three Guṇas, Sattva, and others, and the very form of Moon, Sun and Fire.”

“From the middle of the Kanda to the Head” (kanda-madhyāt śiraḥsthā).—Kanda is the root of all the Nāḍīs. It is spoken of as follows: “Two fingers above the anus and two fingers below the Meḍhra^[24] is the Kanda-mūla, in shape like a bird’s egg, and four fingers’ breadth in extent. The Nāḍīs, 72,000 in number, emanate from it.” The Nāḍīs come out of this Kanda.

Śirah-sthā (placed in the head): By this is to be understood that she ends in the middle of the Lotus of twelve petals which is near the pericarp of the Sahasrāra, hanging downwards in the head. See the opening verse of Pādukā-pañcaka: “I adore the twelve-petalled Lotus that is the crown of the Nāḍī along the channel (Randhra)^[25] within which the Kuṇḍalī passes.”

As the Citriṇī ends here, her Container, Suṣuṃnā, also ends here. If it be taken to mean that she exists above the Sahasrāra, then there will be a contradiction to the description in the fortieth verse, where the Sahasrāra is spoken of as “shining in vacant space” (Śūnya-deśe- prakāśaṃ). If Suṣuṃnā passes over it there can be no vacant space.

There are some who contend that all the three Nāḍīs—Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣuṃnā—are inside the Meru, and quote the following as their authority from the Nigama-tattva-sāra: “The three Nāḍīs are said to be inside the Meru, in the middle of the back.” But this cannot be; all the Tantras say that the Iḍā and Piṅgalā are outside the Meru, and on the authority of these our Author speaks of their being outside the Meru. Further, if they were inside the Meru they could not be bowshaped and touch the hip and shoulder joints. The Nigama-tattva-sāra by the “three Nāḍīs” apparently means Suṣuṃnā, Vajrā and Citriṇī, and not Iḍā, Piṅgalā and Suṣuṃnā.

The position of the Suṣuṃnā from the Mūlādhāra to the head is thus described: “Suṣuṃnā goes forward, clinging like a Chavya-creeper^[26] to the Meru, and reaching the end of the neck, O Beauteous One, she emerges and deflects, and, supporting herself on the stalk of the Śaṅkhinī,^[27] goes towards the region of Brahman (Brahma-sadana).

Also cf.: “The other two are placed like bows. Suṣuṃnā is the embodiment of Praṇava;^[28] emerging from the backbone, she goes to the forehead. Passing between the eyebrows and united with Kuṇḍalī,^[29] she with her mouth^[30] approaches the Brahma-randhra.”

By this it becomes apparent that the backbone extends to the end of the back of the neck.

“Supporting herself on the stalk of Śaṅkhinī,” (Śaṅkhinī-nālamā laṃbya). Śaṅkhinī is thus described.

Īśvara said: “Sarasvatī and Kuhū are on either side of Suṣuṃnā; Gāndhārī and Hastijihvā again are on the right and left of Idā.

And again: “Between Gāndhārī and Sarasvatī is Śaṅkhinī. The Nāḍī named Śaṅkhinī goes to the left ear.”

And also again: “Śaṅkhinī, emergṃg from the hollow of the throat, goes obliquely to the forehead, and then, O Aṃbikā,^[31] united with and twisted round Citriṇī, she thereafter passes to the head.”

Hence she (Śaṅkhinī) starts from Kanda-mūla, proceeds between Sarasvatī and Gāndhārī and reaches the throat, and then one of her branches proceeds obliquely to the left ear and the other goes to the top of the head.

“Vajrā inside Her” (Madhyame'syāḥ)—i.e., inside Suṣuṃnā.

There are some who contend that the Meru-daṇḍa extends from the feet to the Brahma-randhra, and quote in support the following passage from Nigama-tattva-sāra: “The bony staff which goes from the feet^[32] to the Brahma-randhra is called the Meru-daṇḍa of the fourteen Lokas.”

But the backbone is the spinal bone (Meru-daṇḍa). It extends from the Mūla-kanda to the end of the back of the neck. This is selfevident, and no authority can alter things which are patent. Moreover, it is impossible for one piece of bone to go to the end of the feet, for then the legs could not be bent or stretched. The Meru therefore does not go below the Mūla (Mūlādhāra). The meaning of the passage from the Nigama-tattvasāra becomes clear if we read Pāda to mean “leg,” and not “foot”. “Beginning of the pāda” (Pādādhi) would then mean “where the legs begin”. The sense would then be that the bone which controls the whole body from the feet right up to the head is the Meru- daṇḍa, which is like a stick, and begins from the penis, two fingers’ breadth above the Mūla-kanda. The Bhūtaśuddhi-Tantra says: “Within it and two fingers’ breadth above it are Vajrā and Citriṇī.”

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The spinal column.

[2]:

i.e., Nādīs.

[3]:

Moon—that is, the feminine, or Śakti-rūpā Nāḍī Iḍā, on the left.

[4]:

Sun, or the masculine Nāḍī Piṅgalā on the right.

[5]:

Meaning either (v. post) the Guṇas, Sattva, Rajas and the Tamas; or as “strings,” the Nāḍī Suṣuṃnā with the Nāḍī Vajrā inside it, and the Nāḍī Citriṇī within the latter.

[6]:

That is, as Citriṇī, Vajriṇī and Suṣuṃnā.

[7]:

Dhattūra fastuos.

[8]:

The root of all the Nāḍīs (v. post). Kanda=Bulb.

[9]:

Penis.

[10]:

Candra-svarūpīṇī and Sūryarūpā.

[11]:

Ch. iv, 5-6. The seventh verse, which is not quoted by the Commentator, runs: “Inside the Meru, she who extends from the Mūla to the place of Brahman is the fiery Suṣuṃnā, the very self of all knowledge.”

[12]:

Cf. Rudra-yāmala, Ch. XXVII, v. 51.

[13]:

Śakti-rūpā—the Devī as Śakti or “female”.

[14]:

Rudrātmikā—that is, of the nature of Rudra or “male”.

[15]:

Passage is from Prapañcāsara (Vol. III, Tāntrik Texts), Ch. I, vv. 81, 82. There is a variant reading nādikā for nāsikā.

[16]:

Sammohana-Tantra, Gḥ. II, 13, thus: “In the Iḍā is the Devī Jāhnavī and Yamunā is in Piṅgalā, and Sarasvatī is in Suṣuṃnā”—all names of Indian sacred rivers.

[17]:

This is also interpreted to mean that the three Nāḍīs conjoin at the three Granthis—Brahma-granthi, Viṣṇu-granthi and Rudra-granthi.

[18]:

The penis.

[19]:

By “bathing there,” etc., in the “rivers” is meant, when the mind is suffused with a full knowledge of this Cakra, great benefit is thereby attained.

[20]:

Suṣuṃnā is the outermost sheath, and Citriṇī the innermost, and within Citriṇī is Brahma-nāḍī, the channel along which Kuṇḍalī goes.

[21]:

Sammohana-Tantra, II, 7; also occurs in Ch. XXVII, v. 52, of Rudra-yāmala.

[22]:

If Tad-bāhye be interpreted to mean outside these two, then this apparent contradiction is removed. Tad-bāhye is formed either by Tasya bāhye or Tayor bāhye: if the latter, then the meaning would be outside the two. Those who rely upon this passage read Tad-bāhye as equal to Tasya-bāhye.

[23]:

Vajriṇī=vajrā.

[24]:

Meḍhra=penis.

[25]:

This channel or passage within Citriṇī is Brama-nāth.

[26]:

Tetranthera Apetala (Colebrook’s Amarakośa).

[27]:

Nāḍī of that name; v. post.

[28]:

Praṇavākṛti—the mantra Oṃ. This means that Praṇava manifests as the Suṣuṃnā.

[29]:

Devī Kuṇḍalinī; v. ante.

[30]:

Her mouth has neared the Brahma-randhra. The locative here is Sāmīpye saptamī—that is, locative in the sense of proximity. Suṣuṃnā does not actually reach Brahma-randhra, but goes near it, ending near the twelve-petalled lotus. Cf. v.l., Pādukā-Pañcaka.

[31]:

“Mother,” a title of the Devī.

[32]:

Pādādi, lit., beginning of the pādā; v. post.