Śivasaṃhitā 2.6

The inner moon that distills nectar is one of Haṭha Yoga’s most powerful and recurring images. Located at the crown of the spinal column, this moon is not a decorative metaphor but a subtle physiological reality: a source of amṛta flowing continuously downward, nourishing and sustaining the organism. Its downward orientation (adhomukha) explains why the digestive fire below gradually consumes it.

Sudhā (nectar, ambrosia) is synonymous with amṛta, the fluid of immortality. In tantric physiology, the moon (candra) represents the body’s cool, nourishing pole, located at the palate or in the bindu region at the back of the skull. Aharniśam (‘day and night’, ‘without interruption’) emphasizes that this process is continuous and involuntary, independent of the practitioner’s ordinary awareness.

One of Haṭha Yoga’s declared goals is to reverse this downward flow through techniques such as viparītakaraṇī (the inverted posture) or khecarīmudrā, which ‘seals’ the palate to prevent the nectar’s loss. The Haṭhapradīpikā devotes extensive passages to this theme. Understanding this verse illuminates the underlying logic of much of classical yoga’s technical repertoire.