Śivasaṃhitā 3.24

This verse specifies the manual technique for directing breath through the left nostril by blocking the right. The thumb pressed against piṅgalā is not incidental detail but the precise mechanism through which the practitioner redirects prāṇic flow. Such anatomical specificity is characteristic of the Śivasaṃhitā’s practical orientation, which balances metaphysical elaboration with concrete instruction.

Piṅgalā, the solar channel, carries associations of heat, outward activity, and the masculine principle. Its name likely derives from piṅga, meaning ‘tawny’ or ‘reddish’, evoking solar fire. The participle niruddhya (‘having blocked’) indicates a firm, complete closure. The epithet sudhīḥ, ‘one of refined intellect’, implies that these practices demand not just physical dexterity but discernment.

The technique described here corresponds closely to the nāḍī śodhana method found in the Haṭhapradīpikā and Gheraṇḍasaṃhitā, indicating a shared technical vocabulary across the major Haṭha texts. What distinguishes the Śivasaṃhitā’s treatment is its consistent emphasis on the practitioner’s inner quality — intelligence, steadiness — as prerequisite for the practice to bear fruit.