Śivasaṃhitā 5.44

Samyak jitvā—“having completely conquered”—indicates that the transcendence of guṇa is here total, not partial. All (bahūn) guṇa are conquered—and the plural bahūn suggests there are more manifestations of the three fundamental guṇa than their three basic forms. This total conquest is the result of the specific abhyāsayoga described in this chapter: the practice of nāda, pratīkopāsanā, and kumbhaka. Nādānusandhāna produces a dissolution of the mind deeper than any other technique.

Cidākāśa—“space of pure consciousness” (cit + ākāśa)—is the key term of Kashmiri tantrism to designate the non-objective dimension of consciousness. Unlike bhūtākāśa (physical space), cidākāśa cannot be perceived as an object: it is the space in which all perception occurs. Being absorbed in it is not entering something external but recognizing what one already is—the observing consciousness has always been cidākāśa.

This verse recapitulates the complete arc of chapter V’s practical section: from the typology of practitioners (verses 17–27) to pratīkopāsanā (28–39) to nāda (41–44). Each level prepares the next, and the final destination is always the same: cidākāśa, absorption in the space of pure consciousness. This pedagogical coherence makes the Śivasaṃhitā one of the most remarkable synthesis texts of the classical yogic tradition.