Śivasaṃhitā 2.10

The Śivasaṃhitā locates the Sun not in the heavens but at the base of the spinal axis, establishing one of yoga’s most striking macrocosm-microcosm correspondences. The human body becomes a complete cosmological system: the spine is Mount Meru, the world-axis, and at its root burns the solar principle that drives all vital and energetic processes upward through the right channel.

The twelve kalās of the Sun are its fractional powers or rays, corresponding to the twelve solar months or zodiacal divisions. This number is not arbitrary; it encodes the idea that cosmic time itself circulates within the body. Piṅgalā, whose name suggests a tawny, reddish-brown hue associated with fire and solar heat, is the nāḍī through which this ascending solar force travels.

Practically, this verse provides the theoretical basis for sūrya bhedana prāṇāyāma, the breath technique that activates Piṅgalā by inhaling through the right nostril. Understanding the nāḍī as a solar channel clarifies why classical texts prescribe this practice for generating internal heat, stimulating digestive fire, and driving prāṇa upward toward higher centers of awareness.