Texts / Śivasaṃhitā / Verse 4.18

Śivasaṃhitā 4.18

Caturthaḥ paṭalaḥ — Mudrā

Sanskrit text

संविदं लभतेऽभ्यासाद्योगोभ्यासात्प्रवर्तते ।

Transliteration

saṃvidaṃ labhate'bhyāsādyogobhyāsātpravartate |

Translation

In this way, even the most unfortunate Yogi might obtain success. By this means all the vessels of the body are roused and stirred into activity; the life is increased and its decay is checked, and all sins are destroyed. All diseases are healed, and the gastric fire is increased. It gives faultless beauty to the body, and destroys decay and death. All fruits of desire and pleasure are obtained, and the senses are conquered. The Yogi fixed in meditation acquires all the above-mentioned things, through practice. There should be no hesitation in doing so.

Commentary

This verse articulates a precise yogic epistemology: saṃvid (supreme knowledge, pure awareness) is not obtained through intellectual study but through abhyāsa (practice). The verb labhate (‘obtains, reaches’) indicates real acquisition, not merely conceptual understanding. The second half adds that yogābhyāsa (practice of yoga) causes that knowledge to pravartate (become active, manifest, flow forward).

Saṃvid is a technical term in Kashmir Śaivism, especially in the Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam, where it designates the absolute Consciousness that recognizes itself. It derives from sam- (completely) + vid (to know). Pravartate (from pra-vṛt, ‘to roll forward, begin to move’) suggests that practice does not create knowledge but sets it in motion, revealing what was already present.

The distinction between labhate and pravartate is philosophically significant: first one ‘obtains’ awareness as understanding, then continued practice makes that understanding dynamic and operative in the yogin’s life. This mirrors the distinction between jñāna (knowledge) and vijñāna (lived, realized knowledge) that runs throughout the Bhagavadgītā and the later Upaniṣads.

Key terms

samādhi mudrā kuṇḍalinī
Verse 4.17
All verses
Verse 4.19