Yogataravali Verse 6: Sushumna

by | Apr 22, 2026 | Texts

उड्ड्यान-जालन्धर-मूलबन्धैः
उन्निद्रितायाम् उरगाङ्गनायाम् ।
प्रत्यङ्मुखत्वात् प्रविशन् सुषुम्नाम्
गमागमौ मुञ्चति गन्धवाहः ॥६॥

1️⃣ Literal Meaning

  • उड्ड्यान-जालन्धर-मूलबन्धैः
    — by Uḍḍiyāna, Jālandhara, and Mūla bandhas
  • उन्निद्रितायाम् उरगाङ्गनायाम्
    — when the “serpent lady” (kuṇḍalinī) is awakened
  • प्रत्यङ्मुखत्वात्
    — by turning inward
  • प्रविशन् सुषुम्नाम्
    — entering the suṣumṇā
  • गम-आगमौ मुञ्चति
    — gives up going and coming
  • गन्धवाहः
    — the carrier of scent = prāṇa (vāyu)

2️⃣ Clean Meaning

“By the bandhas—Uḍḍiyāna, Jālandhara, and Mūla—when the serpent power (kuṇḍalinī) is awakened, then prāṇa, turning inward, enters the suṣumṇā and abandons its movement of going and coming.”

3️⃣ Step-by-Step Mechanism

This verse is extremely technical. It gives a chain:

1. Bandhas applied

→

2. “उन्निद्रिता” — kuṇḍalinī awakens

→

3. “प्रत्यङ्मुखत्व” — inward turning happens

→

4. prāṇa enters suṣumṇā

→

5. “गमागमौ मुञ्चति” — movement stops

4️⃣ Key Point: “गमागमौ मुञ्चति”

This is the exact answer to earlier reference about काल (time) from verse no 5.

  • गमन (going) = projection outward
  • आगमन (coming) = return inward

This is the oscillation of:

  • breath
  • prāṇa
  • attention
  • thought

This oscillation creates time-experience.

When it stops:

succession collapses
time-sense collapses
mind collapses

5️⃣ How Bandhas Cause This

Now we connect with Verse 5.

Bandhas do NOT directly “kill mind.”

They:

🔹 Contain prāṇa (no outward leakage)

🔹 Reverse its direction (upward + inward)

🔹 Force centralization

When this stabilizes:

prāṇa stops oscillating between ida–piṅgalā
enters suṣumṇā

6️⃣ What is “प्रत्यङ्मुखत्व”?

Very important word.

  • प्रत्यक् = inward, toward Self
  • मुखत्व = orientation

So:

prāṇa stops moving toward objects
and turns toward its source

This is not physical direction.

It is:

cessation of outward projection

7️⃣ “उरगाङ्गना” — Kuṇḍalinī

Do not over-mythologize.

Here it means:

the latent potential of prāṇa to centralize

“Awakening” means:

  • prāṇa no longer remains scattered
  • it becomes capable of entering suṣumṇā

8️⃣ Critical Insight

Now here come the details of our main question:

How bandhas lead to dissolution of mind?

Because:

  1. Mind depends on prāṇa movement
  2. Bandhas stop prāṇa oscillation
  3. When oscillation stops → mind cannot function

So:

mind does not dissolve by force
it becomes non-operational due to lack of movement

9️⃣ Connection to Nāda

When prāṇa stops moving:

  • gross vibration stops
  • only subtle continuity remains

That subtle continuity = nāda

Then:

nāda → laya → bodha (as earlier verses)

🔟 Connection to Your Experience

Now experience during your practice:

  • moments where movement stops
  • not just focus, but no inner shifting at all

That is what this verse is pointing to.

1️⃣1️⃣ Final Essence

Bandhas awaken inward movement of prāṇa;
prāṇa entering suṣumṇā stops all oscillation;
with cessation of movement, mind (which depends on movement) dissolves.

🔍 One very precise observation

When you are deeply with nāda:

You will have opportunity to experience a moment where:

  • breath is not clearly inhaling/exhaling
  • attention is not moving
  • and there is just a kind of suspended continuity

Even if for a second?

That is exactly “गमागमौ मुञ्चति” beginning to happen.

Now, We will have some insights about Time, as referred in this verse..

1️⃣ Literal Meaning of काल

In Sanskrit काल can mean several things:

  1. Time
  2. Death
  3. The devourer / destroyer
  4. Cosmic process of change

In yogic texts these meanings are often simultaneously intended.

So कालपाश literally means:

“the noose of time / death that binds beings to saṃsāra.”

2️⃣ How Time Binds the Mind

Your insight touches the core point.

The experience of time depends on:

  • memory (past)
  • anticipation (future)
  • change of mental states

All three are functions of mind (manas).

When the mind is active:

  • it measures change
  • it constructs sequence
  • it experiences duration

Thus psychological time arises.

3️⃣ When Mind Dissolves

In deep yogic absorption:

  • mental modifications stop
  • memory and anticipation pause
  • awareness remains without succession

In that condition:

the sense of time disappears.

4️⃣ Why Bandhas Affect Time

Bandhas stabilize prāṇa.

And classical yoga states:

प्राणबन्धनात् मनोबन्धः
control of prāṇa leads to control of mind.

When prāṇa becomes steady:

  • mind loses its fluctuations
  • mental sequence stops

This is what the verse hints at.

when, through bandha, prāṇa becomes still, and mind subsides:

  • the sequence-making faculty weakens
  • memory and expectation no longer dominate
  • awareness is no longer moving from one point to another

Then there is not exactly “time passing.”

Therefore:

The internal perception of time collapses.

There is only presence.

5️⃣ Meaning of “कालपाश”

So कालपाश can be understood at three levels:

1. Biological level

Time → aging → death.

2. Psychological level

Mind creates past–future → bondage of memory and expectation.

3. Metaphysical level

The cycle of saṃsāra, governed by time and change.

When mind dissolves in awareness:

  • psychological time disappears
  • identification with the body weakens
  • thus the “noose of time” loses its hold.

6️⃣ Why the Verse Uses “पाश” (Noose)

A noose binds something that moves.

Mind constantly moves through:

  • memories
  • projections
  • desires

Thus it gets caught in time.

But when mind dissolves:

there is nothing left for the noose to bind.

7️⃣ The Yogic Insight

So your interpretation is essentially correct:

When mind dissolves, the conceptual framework that measures time disappears.

Awareness itself:

  • does not move
  • does not age
  • does not measure duration.

Thus from that standpoint:

काल has no authority.

8️⃣ Subtle Advaita View

In Advaita terms:

Time itself appears within consciousness.

So when consciousness rests in itself:

  • time becomes just a phenomenon within it
  • not something that binds it.

Read The Article-

What is Sushumna Nadi?

Please refer this link

https://antaryogi.me/what-is-sushumna/

What is Sushumna, Kundalini and their relation with mind.

by | Apr 22, 2026 | Insight, Theory

Now we must be very precise, otherwise “suṣumṇā” easily becomes mythology or vague symbolism.

Let us examine it cleanly.

1️⃣ What is Suṣumṇā (Textually)?

In yogic texts :

  • Suṣumṇā is described as the central nāḍī
  • Associated with:
    • stillness
    • non-duality
    • cessation of prāṇa oscillation

It is contrasted with:

  • iḍā (left, cooling, lunar)
  • piṅgalā (right, heating, solar)

These two represent duality and alternation.

2️⃣ What Does “Entering Suṣumṇā” Mean?

It does NOT mean:

  • a physical tube in spine being entered
  • something literally moving inside a channel

That is symbolic language.

Functionally, it means:

prāṇa stops alternating between dual patterns
and becomes non-oscillatory and centralized

3️⃣ Functional Definition (Most Important)

Let me give you the most precise definition:

Suṣumṇā = the state in which prāṇa is no longer moving in dual patterns (in–out, left–right, subject–object)

So:

  • iḍā–piṅgalā → movement, alternation, duality
  • suṣumṇā → stillness, centrality, non-duality

4️⃣ Experiential Markers

When prāṇa is in iḍā–piṅgalā:

  • breath alternates
  • thoughts arise
  • attention moves
  • time is felt

When prāṇa enters suṣumṇā:

  • breath becomes subtle or pauses
  • attention stabilizes
  • inner movement reduces
  • nāda becomes clear
  • sense of time weakens

5️⃣Why Called a “Nāḍī”?

Because ancient language needed a way to describe:

  • inner pathways
  • energetic tendencies

So they used:

“channels” as a model

But if taken literally, confusion arises.

6️⃣Deeper Insight (Very Important)

Suṣumṇā is not something you “reach.”

It appears when:

  • effort reduces
  • prāṇa stabilizes
  • dual movement collapses

So:

Suṣumṇā is a resulting condition, not a target location.

7️⃣Relation to Nāda

When prāṇa is in suṣumṇā:

  • gross movement stops
  • subtle continuity remains

That continuity is perceived as nāda

So:

Nāda is often a sign of suṣumṇā activation

8️⃣Advaita Interpretation

From the standpoint of Adi Shankaracharya:

Even suṣumṇā is still within:

  • mind–prāṇa framework

Final truth is beyond even that.

But:

suṣumṇā-state removes disturbance enough
for non-dual awareness to be evident

9️⃣Trika Parallel

In Kashmir Shaivism:

This corresponds to:

  • central channel (madhya)
  • state where spanda is balanced

But again:

not a physical channel — a state of awareness-energy unity

🔟Final Essence

Suṣumṇā is the condition where prāṇa ceases oscillation and becomes centrally still, allowing mind to dissolve.

🔍 Now a very precise experiential question

When you are with nāda deeply:

Do you notice:

  • breath not clearly left/right dominant
  • and a sense that attention is not “going anywhere”

If yes:

👉 that is closer to suṣumṇā-state, not just concentration.

Suṣumṇā and Kuṇḍalinī — An Inner Movement Toward Stillness

In yogic texts such as Yogataravali, the language of kuṇḍalinī and suṣumṇā often appears symbolic — a serpent, a central channel, an ascent.

But behind these images lies something far more immediate:
a subtle transformation in the movement of prāṇa and mind.

Let us understand this, not as mythology, but as lived experience.

1️⃣ Kuṇḍalinī — The Turning Within

Kuṇḍalinī is not an object hidden in the body.
It is not something to be seen or imagined.

It is a shift — from outward movement to inward gathering.

In ordinary life:

  • prāṇa flows outward
  • attention runs toward objects
  • thoughts arise in continuous succession

This outward flow sustains the restless mind.

Through:

  • regulated breath
  • subtle internal locks
  • and quiet observation

something begins to change.

  • dispersion reduces
  • movement slows
  • a gentle inward pull is felt

This turning — subtle yet undeniable — is called:

the awakening of kuṇḍalinī

It may appear as:

  • a quiet surge
  • a rising sensation
  • warmth, vibration, or pulsation

Yet these are only surface signs.

The essence is:

prāṇa no longer seeks the outer — it inclines toward the inner

2️⃣ Suṣumṇā — The Still Center

If kuṇḍalinī is the turning, suṣumṇā is the settling.

Traditionally described as a central channel,
suṣumṇā is not a place to be found,
but a state that reveals itself.

It is the condition where prāṇa no longer oscillates.

Ordinarily, there is constant movement:

  • inhalation and exhalation
  • attention moving outward and returning
  • thought following thought

This “going and coming” sustains:

  • mental activity
  • the sense of time
  • the feeling of individuality

But as inwardness deepens:

  • movement becomes subtle
  • attention ceases to wander
  • breath quiets into stillness

And at a certain point:

the oscillation itself begins to fade

This is what the sages describe as:

the cessation of going and coming

This is suṣumṇā.

3️⃣ The Relationship — Movement and Its End

These two are not separate realities,
but phases of a single unfolding:

  • Kuṇḍalinī → the movement inward
  • Suṣumṇā → the stillness that follows

Or more simply:

movement toward the center
and the silence found there

4️⃣ What Becomes of the Mind?

Mind does not need to be forcibly silenced.

It follows.

  • when prāṇa is scattered → mind is restless
  • when prāṇa turns inward → mind becomes quiet
  • when prāṇa becomes still → mind loses its movement

At first:

  • thoughts slow down
  • gaps appear

Then:

  • thoughts arise but do not bind
  • they pass without leaving trace

And eventually:

even the subtle sense of “watching” begins to dissolve

5️⃣ On Experiences Along the Way

At times, there may be:

  • heat rising in the body
  • movement along the spine
  • inner sound (nāda)
  • spontaneous stillness of breath

These may accompany the process.

But they are not its goal.

They are movements on the surface
of a deeper settling within

6️⃣ The Essential Marker

Beyond all sensations and descriptions,
one sign remains unmistakable:

movement reduces

  • attention no longer runs
  • thought no longer binds
  • time loses its grip

What remains is not something gained,
but something revealed.

7️⃣ Final Reflection

Kuṇḍalinī and suṣumṇā are not distant mysteries.

They describe a simple, profound shift:

  • from dispersion → to gathering
  • from movement → to stillness

And in that stillness:

  • the mind no longer measures
  • the breath no longer compels
  • awareness rests in itself

Not as an experience,
but as what has always been.

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