Caturthopadeśaḥ (Samādhi) · Verse 36
यदा सङ्क्षीयते प्राणो मानसं च प्रलीयते | तदा सम-रसत्वं स्यात् समाधिर् अभिधीयते
yadā saṅkṣīyate prāṇo mānasaṃ ca pralīyate | tadā sama-rasatvaṃ syāt samādhir abhidhīyate
When the prāṇa is exhausted and the mind is dissolved, then the same essence arises;that is called samādhi.
This verse offers another definition of samādhi from the perspective of practice:
Saṅkṣīyate prāṇa — the prāṇa is exhausted or ceases.It does not mean physical death but suspension of the ordinary pranic flow.The prāṇa enters suṣumnā and its movement ceases.
Mānasaṃ pralīyate — the mind dissolves.Pralaya is cosmic dissolution;here applied to the individual mind.The fluctuations cease;thoughts stop.
Sama-rasatva — the state of same essence.The term comes from tantric alchemy: when different substances reach the same rasa (essence, flavor), they become completely unified.
The Bihar School points out the correlation:
- Prāṇa corresponds to the energy level
- Manas corresponds to the mental level
When both cease, what remains is pure consciousness without modification.There is no separate experiencer and no separate experience;just the “same flavor” of reality without division.
This definition complements the previous ones: samādhi is the unity of jīva-paramātman, of salt-water, of prāṇa-mind ceasing.They all point to the same reality from different angles.