Śivasaṃhitā 2.31

The image of branches and sub-branches (śākhopaśākhataḥ) conveys a sophisticated understanding of the subtle body as a ramifying network. Just as a tree’s vascular system distributes sap from trunk to leaf, the nāḍī system distributes prāṇa from the primary channels outward to every region of the body, ensuring no part remains without vital nourishment.

The adverb kramāt — meaning «in due order» or «sequentially» — is technically significant. It implies that the branching follows a lawful, hierarchical pattern rather than an arbitrary one. This resonates with Āyurvedic descriptions of the srotas (channels of the gross body), suggesting a deliberate structural analogy between the subtle and physical anatomies.

For the practitioner, this verse underscores the importance of systematic purification. Attempting to work on peripheral channels before clearing the principal ones would be, by the text’s own logic, working against the natural order. The progressive approach (krama) is thus not merely pedagogical preference but a structural necessity embedded in the very architecture of the subtle body.