Now we come to Yukti (technique) #5, according to my numbering, which you’ll recall differs from that of other translators. Here we have the biggest surprise of the text so far, because verse 31 presents a version of khecarī mudrā, which is undoubtedly one of the most esoteric practices of the tradition, and one of the most advanced. So why should it occur so early in the text? Perhaps because the order of the verses makes little reference to beginner versus advanced practices, but rather tends to group verses thematically. This Yukti is clear evidence that the practitioner should not attempt to work through the Yuktis in the order presented, but rather should consult one’s guru on the matter. Verse 31 reads:
तयापूर्याशु मूर्धान्तं भङ्क्त्वा भ्रूक्षेपसेतुना |
निर्विकल्पं मनः कृत्वा सर्वोर्ध्वे सर्वगोद्गमः || ३१ ||
tayāpūryāśu mūrdhāntaṃ bhaṅktvā bhrū-kṣepa-setunā |
nirvikalpaṃ manaḥ kṛtvā sarvordhve sarvagodgamaḥ || 31 ||
Having quickly filled [the central channel] with that energy (i.e. prāna-śakti), and having broken through the crown of the head by means of the ‘dike’ of concentration between the eyebrows, [and] having [thereby] freed the mind from its thought-entrancement, one ascends to the all-pervasive state (vyāpinī) in the [region] above all. || 31 ||
Word-by-word translation: tayā = with that (fem.); āpūrya = filling completely; āśu = quickly; mūrdha-antam = the end of the head; bhaṅktvā = having breached, crossed, crossed over; bhrū-kṣepa = lit., ‘knitted eyebrows’, i.e. concentration between the eyebrows; setunā = with the bridge/dike (of the bhrū-kṣepa); nirvikalpa = free of mental constructs, ideation, and/or thought; manaḥ kṛtvā = having made the mind; sarva-ūrdhve = above all (loc.); sarvaga = all-pervasive; udgama = ascent, elevation, production, manifestation.
Now, looking at the existing translations, including mine, it’s hard to understand exactly what you’re supposed to do here. To discern that, we need the help of the commentators. Usually I rely only on Śivopādhyāya, who is much the more verbose of the two commentators, but in this case we really do need to look at what Ānandabhaṭṭa has to say as well, because in reading Śivopādhyāya one is not convinced that he definitely understands the practice. However, reading the two commentators together, one gets an understanding of the practice that corresponds to what is taught in Tantrāloka chapter 32, which treats the many varieties of khecarī mudrā in classical Tantra. Of course our sources here span 900 years (from the composition of the VBT to the time of the commentators), so we can’t be sure they had exactly the same practice in mind, but there are strong similarities. The primary similarity is that, both in the Tantrāloka account (for which see Dyczkowski vol. 11 pages 143-144) and in Ānandabhaṭṭa’s explanation of VBT verse 31, the practice happens in three stages. First, one fills the central channel (or the whole body) with prāṇa-śakti (conjoined with attentive awareness) up to a point somewhere just below the top of the head. Then one retains the breath (kumbhaka) while concentrating at the third eye, knitting the brows, until the mind is thought-free (Ā: “The liquid flow (of the breath) must be blocked as by a dike formed by the bringing together of the two eyebrows. Having thus blocked the mind…”). Then on the exhale, one breaks through the ‘barrier’ of the upper limit of the physical body (i.e. the cranium) and lets the energy surge up to the upper limit of the energy-body, twelve finger-widths above the head (Ś: “Then one must break through the [brahmarandhra], according to the instruction of one’s guru, as the flow of water (breaks) a dike.”). Then, if the practice is successful, one experiences one’s all-pervasive nature, boundless and free, as the vast Sky of Consciousness.
This, then, is the khecarī mudrā according to classical Tantra. More information on this practice will be given the second time it is mentioned in the VBT, namely in verse 77.
Note how in rice farming, a dike first blocks the flow of water, then at the right time it is breached to allow water to flow through. That is the point of the metaphor here.
Thanks are due to DaleAnn Gray, who translated David Dubois’s French for me, and whose translation of the Sanskrit of VBT verse 31 is below. Also thanks to Sarah Taub for her insights on this verse that helped me see it with fresh eyes after being unduly influenced by other translators.
COMPARE all extant translations:
a) Having quickly filled [the central channel] with that energy, and having then broken through the top of the head [or brahmarandhra] by means of the ‘dike’ of concentration between the eyebrows, [and] having [thereby] freed the mind from its thought-entrancement, one ascends to the all-pervasive state (vyāpinī) in the [place] above all. (WALLIS)
b) Having filled the mūrdhānta with the same prāṇic energy quickly and having crossed it with the help of the bridge-like contraction of the eye-brows, one should free one's mind of all dichotomizing thought-constructs. His consciousness will then rise higher than dvādaśānta and then there wiIl appear the sense of omnipresence. (SINGH)
c) Having quickly filled (the body up to the Cavity of Brahmā) at the summit of the head with that (same energy of the vital breath) and having crossed over (it) by the bridge (formed by) the contraction of the eyebrows, freeing one’s mind from thought, the omnipresent one emerges above all (things). (DYCZKOWSKI)
d) Having filled (the body up to) mūrdhānta with the same Energy of Breath and having crossed it like a bridge by contracting the eye-brows and makng one's mind free from thoughts, one becomes all-pervading in the highest state. (BÄUMER)
e) Having quickly filled (the body) up to the head with that (Vital Energy, and) having broken through the bridge of the protracted eyebrows, having made awareness undivided, when (the Vital Energy) goes above all, one goes above all. (DUBOIS)
f) Then, having filled the tip of moordha (forehead) and crossed the bridge between the eyebrows, the mind rises above all dichotomizing thought patterns and omnipresence (prevails). (SATSANGI)
g) Concentrate without thoughts on a point between and just above the eyebrows. The Divine Energy breaks out and rises above to the crown of the head, immediately filling one completely with her ecstasy. (CHAUDRI)
h) Having filled the highest point of the head (mūrdhānta) with the prānic energy quickly and having gone cross it by the bridge-like formation between the eyebrows as also having cleared manas of all its ideations, at the end the aspirant rises in omniscience. (Prakāsh Singh & Maheśvarānanda)
i) Ayant rempli le sommet du crâne (de l’énergie du souffle) et projeté (celle-ci) rapidement à l’aide du pont établi par une contraction des sourcils (bhrūkṣepa), si l’on a libéré la pensée de toute dualité, grâce à cette (énergie) on deviendra omnipénétrant dès qu’on accède à ce qui est au-delà de toute chose. (SILBURN)
j) On doit remplir rapidement le (corps) jusqu’au sommet de la tête avec cette (Puissance du souffle), (puis) on doit rompre la digue (formée par) un froncement des sourcils. L’esprit devenu sans pensées par-delà (les étapes du souffle), on transcende tout. (DUBOIS)
k) Wenn man (den Körper bis) zu brahmarandhra (oberstes cakra am Scheitel) mit derselben Energie gefüllt hat und (diesen Punkt) mit Hilfe der Brücke des Zentrums zwischen den Augenbrauen überstiegen hat, und wenn man das Denken von allen Vorstellungen frei macht (nirvikalpa), dann wird man allgegenwärtig im höchsten Bereich (des Bewußtseins). (BÄUMER)
l) Tras llenar rápidamente el cráneo con esta [energía], tras hacerla irrumpir a través del puente del ceño fruncido, [el yogui] libera su mente de toda representación: en la cúspide suprema [tiene lugar] el ascenso al Omnipresente. (FIGUEROA)
m) Focus your attention between your eyebrows. Keep your mind free from any dualistic thought, let your form be filled with breath essence up to the top of your head, and there, soak in radiant spatiality. (ODIER)
n) Attention between eyebrows, let mind be before thought. Let form fill with breath-essence to the top of the head, and there shower as light. (REPS)
o) Fill (the central channel) with Her (Prāṇa Śakti). Then, with a dam of knitted eyebrows (concentrating intensely), free the mind of thought. Next, shatter the boundary at the crown quickly. Arise to Omnipresence above All! (DaleAnn GRAY)
PAUL MULLER-ORTEGA’s interpretation of this verse (note that he assumes the the knot of māyā a.k.a. the rudra-granthi is what one breaks through in this practice, rather than the crown of the head):
“When, in the course of the practice of deep meditation, the living energy of the subtlest breath is felt to rise quickly, and thus rapidly fills and pervades the subtle body, in a way that is powerfully and tangibly felt, up to and through the crown of the head, it then becomes possible to move strongly through the natural barrier that exists at the Ājñā door, and to break that barrier thus gaining access to the subtle energetic passageway, which like a bridge, opens then an experiential passage of the meditator’s awareness through the Ājñā door, the subtle space that inheres at the center of the brow.
At such a time, the brow spontaneously contracts into an apparent frown in outward response to the inner energetic movement through that space. As this happens, the mind becomes deeply serene and moves to stabilize and cohere beyond its divisive conceptualizing waves of separative thought, perception, and feeling.
Thus, the mind consciously stands in the condition that transcends above and beyond the All of Everything. For such a Yogin, there then magnificently rises the omnipresent and all-pervading Great Consciousness.”