Śivasaṃhitā 5.59

Identifying Kuṇḍalinī as Viṣṇu’s śakti is a notable ecumenical gesture in a Śaiva text: the Śivasaṃhitā recognizes that the primordial energy that Śaivism calls Kuṇḍalinī is the same that Viṣṇuism calls Lakṣmī or Śrī—the energy sustaining the universe. The description as nirmalā svarṇabhāsvarā (immaculate, brilliant as gold) evokes the iconographic image of Lakṣmī and emphasizes that this energy is not stained by the guṇa that she herself produces.

The verse name also includes kūrmanāḍī—the beautiful nāḍī of the tortoise, located below the throat cavity (kaṇṭhakūpa). The tortoise (kūrma) is a symbol of interior withdrawal: just as the tortoise retracts its limbs under its shell, the kūrmanāḍī facilitates pratyāhāra (withdrawal of the senses). This specific nāḍī is the support point for the dhāraṇā on kaṇṭhakūpa that the text describes in these verses.

That Kuṇḍalinī is “mother of the three guṇa” (triguṇamātā) is a profound metaphysical statement: the three principles comprising all manifested nature have their origin in the energy sleeping in mūlādhāra. Yoga practice does not attempt to eliminate the guṇa but to awaken the mother who contains and transcends them. When Kuṇḍalinī ascends through the chakras, the guṇa transform: tamas becomes stability, rajas clarity, sattva luminous transparency.