Chapter Four

Mudras

The Lord said, “Now I shall teach the sublime Yoga of mudras. Just by practicing mudras the yogi is freed from all disease.

First fix the mind in the Adhara by means of inhalation. There is a yoni between the anus and the penis. Contract it and make it active.

Meditate on the God of Love as residing in Brahma’s yoni in the shape of a ball, looking like ten million suns and as cool as ten million moons.

Above it is the ultimate digit, a tiny flame whose form is consciousness. The yogi should imagine himself as having become one with it. He goes along the way of Brahma, progressing through the three lingas, to the nectar of immortality which is in heaven, characterized by ultimate bliss, pink, abounding in vital energy, and pouring forth showers of rain.

After drinking the divine nectar of the Kula1 the yogi should enter the Kula once more. He should go again to the Kula by means of pranayama, not otherwise.

In this tantra I have called her prana. That which begins with the fire of time and ends in Shiva is absorbed in her once more.

This is the great Yonimudra. Its application has been taught. Just by applying it one can do anything.

Mantras that are incomplete, pierced, paralyzed, burnt out, blunt, dirty, reviled, broken, mistaken, cursed, unconscious, slow, young, old, audacious, proud of their youth, on the side of the enemy, impotent, weak, weakened, or fragmented into a hundred pieces, soon become powerful in conjunction with this practice. When given by a guru, they all bestow perfections and liberation.

The yogi obtains mastery of whatever he utters in the form of a mantra, auspicious or otherwise, by applying the Yonimudra.

After duly initiating him and anointing him a thousand times, this mudra is taught in order to grant the right to practice mantra.

Were he to kill a thousand Brahmins and destroy the three worlds, by applying the Yonimudra he would not be tainted by sin.

By applying the Yonimudra, a man who kills his guru, drinks alcohol, steals, or sleeps with his guru’s wife, is not bound by these sins.

Therefore those who desire liberation should practice regularly. Success arises through practice. Through practice one attains liberation.

One obtains understanding through practice. Yoga happens through practice. Mantras are mastered through practice. Mastery of the wind comes through practice.

One deceives time through practice and conquers death. Through practice there arise mastery of speech and the ability to go where one wants.

Yonimudra is to be well guarded and not given to all and sundry. It is absolutely not to be given out, even by those at their last gasp.

Now I shall teach the greatest means of success in Yoga. Adepts must guard this extremely precious Yoga.

When the sleeping Kundalini awakens through the grace of the guru, all the lotuses and knots are pierced.

Therefore, in order to awaken the goddess sleeping at the opening of the gateway of Brahman, the yogi should make every effort to practice mudras.

Mahamudra, Mahabandha, Mahavedha, Khechari, Jalandhara, Mulabandha, Viparitakarani, Udyana, Vajroli, and the tenth, Shaktichalana: these ten mudras are the very best mudras.

In this tantra I shall teach you Mahamudra, which is dear to me. In the past, adepts like Kapila have attained complete perfection after receiving it.

Following one’s guru’s instructions, carefully press the yoni in the space between the anus and the penis with the left heel.

Stretch out the right foot and hold it with both hands. Block the nine doors, put the chin on the chest. Place the mind in the way of the mind and start holding the breath. This is Mahamudra. It is kept secret in all the tantras.

– Mahamudra

After practicing on the left side of the body, the yogi, his mind restrained, should balance his pranayama and practice again on the right.

After receiving this glorious mudra from his guru’s mouth, even an ill-starred yogi can achieve success with this technique.

The ability to make all the nadis flow, the steadying of bindu, the incineration of impurities, the destruction of sins, the heating of Kundalini, the insertion of the wind into the aperture of Brahman, the curing of all diseases, the increase of the digestive fire, perfect physical beauty, the destruction of old age and death, the achievement of desired goals, happiness, and the conquest of the senses: through practice, all these arise for the yogi on the path of Yoga. This is not to be doubted.

This mudra is worshipped by the gods and is to be carefully guarded. On obtaining it, yogis cross the ocean of worldly existence.

This mudra that I have taught grants practitioners their every desire. It is to be performed secretly and not given to all and sundry.

While in Mahamudra, place the foot that is extended upon the thigh. Contract the anus and yoni and make the apana move upwards.

Join prana with samana and make it face downwards. The wise yogi should apply this in order to make prana and apana move upwards.

This Mahabandha that I have taught leads the way to perfection. All the yogi’s fluids go from the network of nadis to the head.

– Mahabandha

One should take great care to practice this with both feet alternately. Through practice, the wind enters the Sushumna.

It nourishes the body, makes the skeleton strong, and fills the yogi’s heart. These things arise for the yogi.

Using this bandha, the lord of yogis unites prana and apana and accomplishes all that he desires in the three worlds.

While seated in Mahabandha, the wise yogi should fill his belly with air and tap his buttocks. This is the Vedha taught by me.

The best of yogis, having by means of this Vedha used his breath to pierce the knots along the Sushumna, breaks through the aperture of Brahman.

Mastery of the wind, which destroys decrepitude and death, arises for the yogi who regularly practices the secret Mahavedha.

The gods in the middle of the chakra tremble when the wind is struck and the great goddess of illusion, Kundalini, is absorbed into Kailasa.

Without Vedha, Mahamudra and Mahabandha do not bear fruit, so the yogi should carefully practice all three in succession.

He who carefully practices this triad four times a day is sure to conquer death within six months.

Only the adept understands the importance of this triad and, on realizing it, all practitioners duly achieve perfection.

It is to be guarded carefully by practitioners desiring perfection, otherwise the mudras are certain not to be mastered.

The wise yogi should sit in Vajrasana and, free from any disturbances, firmly fix his gaze between the eyebrows.

The clever yogi should turn back his tongue and carefully insert it into the well of nectar in the hollow above the uvula.

I have taught this Khecharimudra out of affection for my devotees. It brings about perfections and is more dear to me than life.

Through regular practice, the yogi drinks nectar every day, as a result of which perfection of the body arises, a lion against the elephant of death.

Whatever condition a man may be in, pure or impure, if he knows Khechari he is sure to be purified.

He who practices it for half an instant crosses the ocean of sin and enjoys divine delights before being born into a good family.

He who remains comfortably and without fatigue in Khecharimudra, reckons a hundred ages of Brahma to be half an instant.

The wise yogi, who knows this Khecharimudra from the instruction of his guru, reaches the ultimate destination while delighting in a multitude of sins.

It is not given even to him who is as dear as one’s own life. This mudra which is worshipped by the gods is to be guarded with great care.

Constrict the network of vessels in the neck and place the chin on the chest. This is called Jalandharabandha. It is precious even to the gods.

– Jalandharabandha & Mulabandha

In living beings, the fire situated at the navel drinks the abundance of nectar pouring from the thousand-petaled lotus. That is why one should apply this bandha.

By applying this bandha, the wise yogi drinks the nectar himself. He becomes immortal and has fun in the three worlds.

This Jalandharabandha grants perfection to adepts. The yogi desirous of perfection should carry out the practice regularly.

Press the anus tightly with the heel. Forcefully pull the apana and gradually raise it.

This makes Mulabandha. It destroys decrepitude and death, and is sure to unite apana and prana.

By applying this bandha, Yonimudra is easily perfected. When Yonimudra is perfected, there is nothing on earth that one cannot master.

By grace of this mudra, the yogi sitting in Padmasana conquers the wind and leaves the ground to dwell in the sky.

If the best of yogis wants to cross the ocean of samsara, he should practice this mudra in a secret place free from people.

Place the head on the ground and both feet in the air. This Viparitakarani is kept secret in all the tantras.

– Viparitakarani

From daily practice for a period of three hours, the yogi who performs it conquers death and does not perish even at the cosmic dissolution.

He drinks the nectar of immortality and becomes equal to the adepts. He who performs this bandha is to be worshipped by the whole world.

The yogi should stretch the region above and below the navel backwards. This is Udyanabandha. It destroys all one’s many sorrows.

– Udyanabandha

He should stretch it to behind the stomach and above the navel. In this text this bandha is called Udyana.2 It is a lion against the elephant of death.

The navel of the yogi who regularly performs it four times a day is purified and the wind is mastered.

Practicing it for six months, the yogi is sure to conquer death. The fire in his stomach burns brightly and there is an increase in his vital fluids.

The body easily becomes perfected through using it and the yogi’s diseases are sure to be eliminated.

The wise yogi should obtain this extremely precious bandha from a guru and practice it in a comfortable place where there are no people.

I shall teach my devotees a summary of Vajroli, the secret of all secrets, the destroyer of the darkness of samsara.

Through the practice of Vajroli, even a householder living according to his desires and without the restrictions taught in Yoga can be liberated.

Together with Vajroli, this Yoga grants liberation even to one who indulges his senses, so it should be regularly and zealously practiced by yogis.

First the wise yogi should carefully and correctly draw up through his urethra the generative fluid from a woman’s vagina and make it enter his body.

After awakening his semen he should start to move his penis. If by chance his semen should move upwards it can be stopped with the Yonimudra.

He should draw his semen onto the left side, remove his penis from the vagina for a moment, and then start having intercourse again.

Following his guru’s instructions, the yogi should draw up his apana wind and with the sound hum hum forcibly extract the generative fluid from the yoni.

In order to obtain success in Yoga quickly by means of this practice, the yogi who worships his guru’s lotus feet eats the products of the cow.

Know semen to be lunar and the generative fluid to be solar. One should strive to combine them both in one’s own body.

I am semen, the goddess is the generative fluid. When both are combined, the body of the practicing yogi becomes divine.

Death arises through the falling of semen, life when it is retained. Therefore one should do one’s utmost to retain one’s semen.

One is born and dies in the world through semen. In this there is no doubt. Knowing this, the yogi should always retain his semen.

When the great jewel semen is mastered there is nothing on earth that cannot be mastered. Through its grace, one becomes as great as me.

Semen, depending on its state, brings about happiness and sorrow for all the deluded inhabitants of the world subject to decrepitude and death.

This auspicious Yoga is the best of all for yogis. Through its practice a man obtains perfection even if he indulges his senses.

Every goal that is sought after is sure to be achieved here on earth by means of this Yoga, even after enjoying all pleasures.

Using it, yogis are sure to attain total perfection, so one should practice it while having lots of fun.

Sahajoli and Amaroli are variations of Vajroli. The yogi should use any and every means to master his semen.

If his semen should accidentally enter the vagina, then the resultant combination of the moon and the sun is called Amaroli, and he should suck it up through his urethra.

When his semen moves, the yogi should restrain it with Yonimudra. This is called Sahajoli and is kept secret in all the tantras.

The difference is due to a difference in name. In practice it has the same result. Therefore yogis always make every effort to master it.

I have taught this Yoga out of great affection for my devotees. It is to be guarded well and not given to all and sundry.

There has never been a secret as secret as this, nor will there ever be, so the wise should always guard it very carefully.

For the yogi who uses his wind to force back his urine when urinating and then releases it bit by bit while holding it up, and who practices every day according to the way taught by his guru, there arises the mastery of semen, which grants great success.

The semen of the yogi who practices daily for six months according to his guru’s instructions is never lost, even if he enjoys a hundred women.

When the great jewel semen is mastered, there is nothing on earth that cannot be mastered. By its grace, even my majesty is easily obtained.

The wise yogi should thoroughly agitate Kundalini, who is asleep in the Adhara lotus, and force her upwards by raising the apana wind.

The lifespan of the yogi who practices this Shaktichalana every day is extended and his diseases are destroyed.

Shaking off sleep, the serpent rises up automatically, so the yogi desirous of perfection should carry out the practice.

For the yogi who constantly practices according to his guru’s instructions the sublime Shaktichalana which brings about perfection of the body and bestows the powers of becoming infinitesimal and so forth, there is no fear of death. For the yogi who takes pains to practice Shaktichalana according to the rules for two muhurtas,3 perfection is near at hand. Yogis should practice Shaktichalana in Muktasana.

There never were ten mudras like these nor will there ever be. Perfection arises when the practice of each one is mastered. It does not happen otherwise.”

Thus ends the fourth chapter in the glorious Shiva Samhita, a treatise on Yoga in the form of a dialogue between the Lord and Parvati.

1 In the Shiva Samhita, Kula means the Adhara lotus. See verse 5.88.

² This bandha is usually called Uddiyana.

³ A muhurta is forty-eight minutes.