Shloka 55
Kālajñāna (Knowledge of Time) and Mṛtyu-cihna (Signs of Death): Śiva’s Instruction to Umā
यदा नवदिनं प्राणा वहंत्येव त्रिमासकम् । मासद्वयं च द्वे मासे दिना द्वादश कीर्तिताः
yadā navadinaṃ prāṇā vahaṃtyeva trimāsakam | māsadvayaṃ ca dve māse dinā dvādaśa kīrtitāḥ
When the vital breaths (prāṇas) are sustained for nine days, it is spoken of as equal to three months; and when they are sustained for two months, it is declared to be, in effect, twelve days.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
It teaches that disciplined mastery of prāṇa alters the seeker’s inner experience of time and effort—tapas becomes intensified—supporting the Shaiva aim of turning the mind from pāśa (bondage) toward Pati (Shiva).
In Shaiva practice, breath-discipline steadies attention so Linga worship becomes inward as well as outward—offering breath, mind, and awareness to Saguna Shiva, which then matures toward realization of Shiva as the inner Lord.
It points toward prāṇāyāma and steady retention/sustaining of prāṇa as a form of tapas, ideally joined with japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and meditative focus on Shiva.