Shloka 52
न्यासवर्णनम् (Nyāsa-varṇanam) — Description of Nyāsa in the Saṃnyāsa Procedure
निरुद्धप्राण आसीनो हंसमंत्रमनुस्मरन् । हृदिस्थं जीवचैतन्यं ब्रह्मनाड्या समान येत्
niruddhaprāṇa āsīno haṃsamaṃtramanusmaran | hṛdisthaṃ jīvacaitanyaṃ brahmanāḍyā samāna yet
Seated with the vital breath restrained, repeatedly recollecting the Haṃsa-mantra, one should lead the living consciousness abiding in the heart into alignment with the Brahma-nāḍī, the central subtle channel.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Mantra: haṃsa (ajapā-japa; so’ham/haṃsa implicit)
Role: teaching
FAQs
It teaches an inward Shaiva yogic method: by restraining prāṇa and remembering the Haṃsa-mantra, the seeker gathers the scattered jīva-consciousness in the heart and guides it into the central channel, preparing for Shiva-realization and liberation.
While Linga worship is an outer support (saguna upāsanā), this verse gives the inner counterpart—mantra and prāṇa-sādhana—by which devotion becomes internalized, leading the mind from form-based reverence toward the subtle presence of Shiva within.
A seated meditation combining gentle prāṇāyāma (breath restraint within capacity) with continuous Haṃsa-mantra recollection, focusing awareness in the heart and steadying it toward the central nāḍī; it can be paired with Shaiva japa such as “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” as one’s main mantra.