Śivasaṃhitā 3.113

The verse qualifies the preceding āsana with the adjective ugra—fierce, powerful, intense—and assigns it a precise physiological action: kindling or fanning the anila, the vital wind. This is not merely a bodily posture but an instrument for activating the prāṇic energy that circulates through the subtle organism.

Ugra derives from the root uj (force, power) and appears frequently in Tantric texts to designate high-intensity practices or terrifying deities. Anila is a synonym of vāyu (wind, air), here referring to prāṇa in its circulatory dimension. Dīpana literally means ‘kindling’, like a flame being fanned—an image evoking both digestive and yogic fire.

This action of ‘fanning the wind’ connects the āsana to the system of the five vāyus: prāṇa, apāna, samāna, udāna, and vyāna. Postures that alternately compress and release specific areas of the torso activate these energetic flows, preparing the body for more advanced prāṇāyāma practices.