From saṃyama on the form of the body, when the power to be perceived is suspended, contact between eye and light is broken: invisibility.

Kāya is body. Rūpa is form. Grāhya is perceptible. Śakti is power, capacity. Stambha is suspension. Cakṣus is eye. Prakāśa is light. Antardhāna is disappearance, invisibility.

This is one of the most spectacular siddhis: invisibility.

Through saṃyama on the visible form of the body, the yogī can suspend its perceptibility. Light ceases to reflect in a way that can be captured by others’ eyes.

Vyāsa explains that the same principle applies to other senses. The yogī can become inaudible, intangible, imperceptible.

How is this possible? Perception depends on certain conditions. The yogī who deeply understands those conditions can modify them.

Some interpret this symbolically: becoming invisible to mundane ego. Others take it literally. Later tantric texts give specific instructions.

Whether literal or symbolic, the message is clear: bodily form is not as solid as it appears.