Verse 9

Kshurika

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

अतिसूक्ष्मां च तन्वीं च शुक्लां नाडीं समाश्रयेत् । तत्र संचारयेत् प्राणान् ऊर्णनाभीव तन्तुना ॥९॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

अति-सूक्ष्माम् च । तन्वीम् च । शुक्लाम् । नाडीम् । समाश्रयेत् । तत्र । संचारयेत् । प्राणान् । ऊर्णनाभीव । तन्तुना ॥

IAST Transliteration

atisūkṣmāṃ ca tanvīṃ ca śuklāṃ nāḍīṃ samāśrayet | tatra saṃcārayet prāṇān ūrṇanābhīva tantunā ||9||

Translation

ਅਤਿ ਸੂਖਮ, ਪਤਲੀ ਅਤੇ ਸ਼ੁੱਧ-ਸ਼ਵੈਤ ਨਾਡੀ ਦਾ ਆਸਰਾ ਲਵੇ; ਉੱਥੇ ਪ੍ਰਾਣਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸੰਚਾਰਿਤ ਕਰੇ—ਜਿਵੇਂ ਊਰਨਨਾਭੀ (ਮਕੜੀ) ਆਪਣੇ ਤੰਤੂ (ਧਾਗੇ) ਨਾਲ ਕਰਦੀ ਹੈ।

Academic Translation

One should resort to the exceedingly subtle, slender, white nāḍī; there one should cause the prāṇas to move, like a spider by (its) thread.

Verse Context

• Inner control and refinement of prāṇa as an aid to nididhyāsana (deep contemplation) culminating in ātma-jñāna
• Mahavakya: Indirect: prāṇa-sādhana is treated as an auxiliary (aṅga) that steadies mind for realizing mahāvākya import (identity of ātman and brahman)
• Atharva
• Chandas: Prose/Upaniṣadic mixed (not reliably classifiable as a strict Vedic chandas)