Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā / 3.3 The empty path becomes the royal road
3.3
Haṭha (हठ) Yoga Pradīpikā (प्रदीपिका)
प्राणस्य शून्यपदवी तदा राजपथायते ।
तदा चित्तं निरालम्बं तदा कालस्य वञ्चनम् prāṇasya śūnyapadavī tadā rājapathāyate |
tadā cittaṃ nirālambaṃ tadā kālasya vañcanam
The line
Then the empty path of prāṇa (प्राण) becomes a royal road. Then the mind is without a support. Then there is the cheating of time.
नेपालीमा
तब प्राणको रित्तो बाटो राजमार्ग हुन्छ। तब मन निराधार हुन्छ। तब कालको छल हुन्छ।
Where it sits
Śūnya-padavī (शून्य-पदवी) is the empty path, a name of suṣumṇā (सुषुम्णा) in the next verse. Kāla-vañcana (काल-वञ्चन) is the slipping past time, the phrase that closes the book at 4.103.
Split: prāṇasya (प्राणस्य) śūnya (शून्य) + padavī (पदवी) tadā (तदा) rājapathāyate (राजपथायते) / tadā (तदा) cittaṃ (चित्तं) nirālambaṃ (निरालम्बं) tadā (तदा) kālasya (कालस्य) vañcanam (वञ्चनम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| prāṇasya (प्राणस्य) | genitive singular | prāṇa (प्राण). |
| śūnya-padavī (शून्य-पदवी) | nominative singular | empty; a path. |
| tadā (तदा) | indeclinable | then. |
| rājapathāyate (राजपथायते) | present | as this verse uses the word. |
| cittaṃ (चित्तं) | nominative or accusative singular | the mind. |
| nirālambaṃ (निरालम्बं) | nominative or accusative singular | supportless. |
| kālasya (कालस्य) | genitive singular | by time. |
| vañcanam (वञ्चनम्) | nominative or accusative singular | the slipping past. |
Sanskrit in this line
The quarters run 16, 16 syllables. A hyphen in the split is a compound joint, a teaching mark, and the voice joins it.
Say it back
Cover the English and say the verse in one sentence. Then the empty path of prāṇa (प्राण) becomes a royal road. Then the mind is without a support. Then there is the cheating of time.