Śivasaṃhitā 3.76

The cakra dhāraṇā sequence continues with technical detail: five ghatis (approximately two hours) at ādhāra (the base cakra, mūlādhāra) and the same duration at the «seat of the liṅga» (liṅgasthāna, the svādhiṣṭhāna). In the tantric context, the liṅga at svādhiṣṭhāna is not a phallic symbol but the bāṇa liṅga, the «arrow» liṅga representing the vertical axis of creation in its second manifestation.

The text weaves without separation the cakra dhāraṇā instructions with khecarī practice: firmly closing the teeth (rājadantabila) and placing the tongue upward creates the internal pressure needed to direct amṛta downward in a controlled manner. The expression vidhinā pibet (drinks according to rules, with the correct method) indicates that speed is crucial: too fast and the substance disperses; correctly slow and the system absorbs it.

The conquest of death «in a short time» (alpakāle eva) this verse promises contrasts with the month of verse 72 and the year of other verses. The different durations are not contradictory: they depend on the practitioner’s prior degree of purification, the teacher’s guidance, and the intensity of commitment. The Śivasaṃhitā is not a self-learning instruction book: it is a transmission text requiring a guru who calibrates the timeframes.