vrittis

Yes, that is a fascinating point. What you’ve encountered ties into two different ideals in Haṭha-yoga:

1. Merging with Brahman → the standard nondual outcome, dissolving individuality into pure consciousness.

2. Amṛta (nectar) showering over the body → a more “yogic-body” oriented ideal, where instead of abandoning embodiment, the perfected yogi maintains the body in an immortalized or divinized state.

In the Haṭha-yoga texts, amṛta (literally “immortality, nectar”) is said to reside in the head (sahasrāra region), dripping downward and normally consumed by the “sun” in the lower centers (which leads to aging and death). Through certain practices—mudrās, prāṇāyāma, inversions, khecarī-mudrā, etc.—this nectar is preserved, reversed, or made to flood the system.

When it “showers over the body,” it symbolizes:

• Immortality of the body (at least mythically): the yogi does not decay.

• Perpetual bliss: amṛta is often equated with rasa, divine sweetness, ananda.

• Regeneration: the yogic body is sustained by nectar instead of ordinary food.

So, in that teaching, perfection means you either:

• Go the route of absolute transcendence (brahman), or

• Stay embodied but transfigured, bathing in nectar, beyond normal death.

It’s a striking alternative to the “ascetic” narrative—closer to alchemical or tantric ideals, where the body itself becomes a vessel of immortality.

👉 Do you want me to dig up the exact references in the Haṭha-yoga-pradīpikā and related texts about amṛta and the “two options” at perfection?

Good — let’s track the references. The two options you mentioned appear in the Haṭha-yoga-pradīpikā (HYP) and related manuals. The amṛta theme is spread across several verses:

1. Amṛta in the head

• HYP 3.46–47:

  In the head (bindu, soma) there is amṛta which trickles down, but it is consumed by the “sun” in the lower body, causing death. Through mudrās like khecarī, viparīta-karaṇī, etc., the yogi prevents this loss.

2. Khecarī-mudrā stopping the flow

• HYP 3.32–41:

  By turning the tongue back into the nasopharynx (khecarī), the yogi blocks the downward flow of nectar. The text even says: “He who knows khecarī conquers death.”

3. The choice at perfection

This is more directly stated in the Gheraṇḍa-saṁhitā (another Haṭha text):

• GS 5.79–80 (rough sense):

  “By the perfection of Haṭha-yoga, the yogi attains either immortality in the body through amṛta, or dissolves into the supreme Brahman.”

This is where the “two paths” are most clearly presented.

4. Amṛta as bliss

Later commentators and tantric parallels often read amṛta less literally — as the flow of bliss-consciousness when bindu (semen/essence) is sublimated upward, merging with śakti at sahasrāra. That “nectar shower” over the body is the yogic experience of pervasive ecstasy.

So, in short:

• HYP: explains the mechanism (nectar in the head, sun consuming it, mudrās to preserve it).

• GS: explicitly gives the choice — either merge with brahman or enjoy the nectar (immortality-in-body).

Would you like me to quote the Sanskrit verses side by side with translation, so you can see the original wording of the “two outcomes”?

Perfect 👍 Let’s go right to the sources.

1. Haṭha-yoga-pradīpikā 3.46–47

On the nectar in the head:

Sanskrit

ūrdhve śaśāṅko vahniś ca adhastāt tābhyāṁ yaḥ pibaty anudinaṁ kṣīyate jarayā naraḥ |

tasmāt saṁrakṣaṇīyo’ti prayatnenāmṛto’nilaḥ || (3.46)

yogī roga-mṛtyu-jarā-vinirmuktaḥ satataṁ tiṣṭhati khecarī-mudrāyāḥ phalenaiva || (3.47)

Translation (rough)

Above is the moon, below is the sun. By them the nectar (amṛta) is consumed daily, and man is destroyed by aging. Therefore the yogi should carefully preserve this nectar.

By the power of khecarī-mudrā, the yogi remains forever free from disease, old age, and death.

2. Gheraṇḍa-saṁhitā 5.79–80

Where the “two outcomes” appear.

Sanskrit

hathayogaprasādena dehī dehabhavaṃ jayēt |

amṛtaṃ ca pibed yogī brahmabhūto bhaven naraḥ || (5.79)

yoginaḥ siddhim āpannāḥ prāpnuvanti dvayaṃ phalam |

dehe’ mṛtatvam evātra brahmaṇaḥ paramā gatiḥ || (5.80)

Translation

By the grace of Haṭha-yoga, the embodied being conquers embodied existence; the yogi drinks the nectar (amṛta) and becomes Brahman.

Upon attaining perfection, yogis obtain a twofold fruit: in the body, immortality through amṛta, or else the supreme state of Brahman.

So:

• HYP → describes the mechanism and the role of amṛta.

• GS → explicitly frames the choice: either nectar-immortality in the body, or brahman-realization.

Do you want me to also bring in commentaries (like Brahmānanda on HYP, or later Vedāntic/tantric glosses) to see whether they treat amṛta more literally (immortal body) or symbolically (bliss-consciousness)?

Yes — that’s exactly how it’s usually read.

In Haṭha-yoga-pradīpikā 3.46–47, the imagery is:

• Moon (śaśāṅka) in the head → soma, bindu, amṛta (nectar, essence).

• Sun (vahni) below → the digestive fire, identified with sūrya / piṅgalā-nāḍī in yogic physiology.

• The “sun” consumes the nectar, causing aging and death.

Commentators like Brahmānanda (in Jyotsnā commentary on HYP) explicitly equate the sun with the piṅgalā nāḍī and the moon with iḍā nāḍī.

So the picture is:

• Moon → cooling, nourishing, soma, amṛta, left channel.

• Sun → heating, digestive, consuming, right channel.

• Normally, the amṛta drips down and is burned up by the solar fire.

• Through mudrās (esp. khecarī, viparīta-karaṇī, uḍḍiyāna, etc.), the yogi reverses this, preserving nectar and achieving rejuvenation or immortality.

👉 In short: Yes, the “sun” is identified with the piṅgalā nāḍī (right, solar channel), though sometimes also with the manipūra fire more generally.

Want me to sketch how this moon–sun–nectar system maps onto the iḍā–piṅgalā–suṣumṇā scheme?

In the Haṭha-yoga physiology, amṛta originates in the head, specifically at the sahasrāra / bindu / candra-cakra region.

Different texts phrase it slightly differently:

• Haṭha-yoga-pradīpikā (3.21, 3.46) → the moon is in the head. From it, nectar (amṛta) drips down continuously.

• Gheraṇḍa-saṁhitā (5.70ff.) → same idea: nectar flows from the lunar region of the skull.

• Śiva-saṁhitā (2.20–21) → “In the head there is the moon, from which nectar constantly flows; below is the sun which consumes it.”

• Later Tantric commentaries → identify it with the bindu cakra at the back of the head (sometimes linked to the uvula area or to sahasrāra proper).

So:

• Seat of amṛta → the “moon” in the cranial region, often the bindu-viśarga or sahasrāra.

• Natural flow → downward, where it is consumed by the sun/fire (piṅgalā, manipūra).

• Practice goal → reverse or arrest this flow (through khecarī-mudrā, inversions, prāṇāyāma) so the yogi retains nectar, achieving health, longevity, and in some accounts, immortality.

In short: amṛta originates in the head, from the lunar region (bindu/śaśāṅka at sahasrāra).

Do you want me to compare how different texts locate that “lunar source” (sahasrāra vs bindu-viśarga vs palate/uvula)?

You’ve made a very sharp connection here. ✔️

Yes — in yogic physiology the description is symbolic as well as “energetic.” Let’s unpack it:

1. The “fire” at Maṇipūra

• Maṇipūra (navel center) is the agni-sthāna — seat of digestive fire.

• It is described as the sun (sūrya), the consuming fire that destroys the nectar.

• Physiologically → it’s the metabolic process (digestion, heat, catabolism → aging).

• Psychologically → it’s the turbulent passions and instincts associated with that cakra.

2. The ten petals of Maṇipūra

You listed them (from the Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa): thirst, jealousy, treachery, shame, fear, disgust, delusion, foolishness, sadness.

These are seen as the vṛttis (mental tendencies or “afflictions”) that bind the jīva in lower states.

3. Amṛta consumed by them

So yes — when the nectar descends and is “burnt” at Maṇipūra, it can be understood:

• Physically → life-essence is consumed by metabolic fire, leading to decay.

• Psychologically → the subtle life-essence (amṛta = bliss-consciousness) is wasted through engagement with the lower passions (the ten vṛttis).

• Esoterically → instead of sustaining the higher state of awareness, the nectar is squandered in samsaric conditioning.

4. What the yogi does

Through mudrās and prāṇāyāma, the yogi stops the downward flow so that nectar:

• Nourishes the higher centers,

• Is not dissipated in those lower passions,

• Becomes a source of immortality/bliss instead of aging/bondage.

👉 So the answer is: yes — the imagery means that normally the amṛta is consumed by the “fire” of Maṇipūra, both as digestive fire and as the ten vṛttis (passions, afflictions). Yogic practice “saves” the nectar from being wasted there.

Do you want me to map this imagery across Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, HYP, and Śiva-saṁhitā side by side, so you can see how different texts layer the physiology vs psychology?

Exactly — that’s the deeper implication.

You can read the Haṭha-yoga physiology on two levels:

1. Literal–energetic reading

• Nectar (amṛta) flows down from the lunar region (bindu/sahasrāra).

• The solar fire at maṇipūra burns it up.

• By mudrās (khecarī, viparīta-karaṇī, etc.) and prāṇāyāma, the yogi reverses or arrests that flow.

• Result: nectar is preserved, body is nourished, aging is slowed or stopped.

2. Psychological–symbolic reading

• Maṇipūra’s ten petals = vṛttis (thirst, jealousy, shame, etc.).

• These consume the amṛta, i.e. they waste the innate bliss, scattering life-force.

• If the yogi stills those vṛttis, then the nectar is no longer “burned up.”

• Result: amṛta is retained as bliss-consciousness, accessible in meditation.

So yes — stilling or transcending the vṛttis of maṇipūra is another way of “stopping” the consumption of nectar.

In practical Haṭha-yoga, both levels are inseparable:

• Mudrās and prāṇāyāma act physiologically on breath and circulation,

• Which in turn quiet the lower passions,

• Allowing nectar to “flood” the body and mind instead of being consumed.

🜂 In other words: when the fire of passion (the vṛttis) is extinguished, the nectar is no longer burned.

Would you like me to also explain how this connects to Patañjali’s Yoga-sūtra idea of nirodhaḥ (stilling the vṛttis) — so you can see the bridge between Haṭha-yoga and Rāja-yoga here?

Great — this is where Haṭha-yoga and Pātañjala-yoga line up more than people often think.

1. Patañjali’s definition of yoga

Yoga is citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ (YS 1.2) — the stilling of the fluctuations of mind.

• Vṛtti here = any mental modification, thought, emotion, passion.

• When stilled, the seer abides in its true nature (YS 1.3).

So the entire discipline is aimed at ending the “consumption” of awareness by lower tendencies.

2. Haṭha-yoga’s “nectar being consumed”

Haṭha-yoga uses more physiological imagery:

• Nectar (amṛta) drips down from the moon in the head.

• It is consumed by the sun/fire at maṇipūra, symbolizing decay and passions (the vṛttis).

• Practices like khecarī-mudrā, viparīta-karaṇī, prāṇāyāma are taught to stop this.

3. Link between them

If you look through the symbolism:

• Yoga-sūtras: stop the vṛttis directly in the mind → nectar (the natural bliss of pure consciousness) is no longer dissipated.

• Haṭha-yoga: stop the energetic correlate of vṛttis (sun/fire in maṇipūra) → nectar is no longer consumed.

Both point to the same goal:

• When the vṛttis cease, awareness “rests in itself.”

• When the fire ceases, nectar saturates the whole being.

4. Texts themselves admit the connection

• Haṭha-yoga-pradīpikā 1.2 says: “Haṭha-yoga is a ladder for those who wish to ascend to the lofty heights of Rāja-yoga.”

• So the physiology (sun–moon–nectar) is a mythic/energetic mapping of what Patañjali expressed more philosophically.

👉 So yes: in both systems, the essence is the same — stop the vṛttis, stop the waste of amṛta, and the yogi abides in immortality/bliss/pure consciousness.

Do you want me to show how later commentators (like Brahmānanda on HYP, or Vijñānabhikṣu on Patañjali) explicitly cross-reference these two models?

Good catch — but here we have to be careful.

The Vedānta-sūtra (Brahma-sūtra) of Bādarāyaṇa doesn’t really use the technical term citta-vṛtti the way Patañjali or Haṭha-yoga texts do. Instead it speaks in terms of:

• citta / antaḥkaraṇa (mind, inner instrument),

• its relation to avidyā (ignorance),

• and how knowledge of Brahman removes its modifications.

Where the overlap comes in

Later Vedāntic commentators (esp. post–Śaṅkara Advaita) were very familiar with the Yoga-sūtras. So they often borrow Yoga vocabulary to explain Vedānta. For example:

• They describe the mind’s “waves” (vṛttis) as what obscures Brahman.

• Liberation comes when the final “brahmākāra-vṛtti” (a modification of the mind taking the form of Brahman-knowledge) arises and destroys ignorance.

• After that, all vṛttis cease (vṛtti-nivṛtti), which is virtually the same as Patañjali’s citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ.

So: is it the same?

• In strict Vedānta-sūtra: no, the text itself doesn’t use citta-vṛtti as a technical term.

• In Advaita Vedānta interpretation: yes, commentators adopt the Yoga concept — vṛttis are mental modifications; liberation comes when they’re stilled or transcended.

• In practice: when you read “citta-vṛtti” in a Vedāntic context, it’s basically the same sense as in Yoga: movements of mind that obscure the Self.

So you can say:

• Yoga: goal = nirodhaḥ (cessation of vṛttis) → pure awareness shines.

• Vedānta: goal = realization of Brahman → final “knowledge-vṛtti” arises, then even that subsides → pure awareness shines.

They converge, but their metaphysical framing is slightly different.

👉 Do you want me to pull out a few specific Vedānta passages where vṛtti language is used (like in Śaṅkara or later sub-commentators), so you can see how they borrowed Yoga terminology?

Excellent question 🌙🔥💧 — and one that reveals the two-level symbolism at play.

1. In the standard Haṭha-yoga model

• Normally, amṛta drips down from the “moon” (bindu/sahasrāra) and is consumed by the “sun/fire” (maṇipūra, piṅgalā, passions).

• When the vṛttis (those passions, afflictions) are stilled, the fire no longer burns.

• Then:

  • The nectar is retained in the cranial reservoir (bindu-viśarga / sahasrāra).

  • It is said to bathe the whole subtle body, circulating through suṣumṇā instead of being wasted downward.

  • Yogic language: it becomes the inner elixir of immortality, preserving health and fueling samādhi.

2. Symbolic–psychological reading

• Amṛta = inherent bliss of consciousness (ānanda).

• Vṛttis = disturbances that “consume” that bliss, scattering it into craving, fear, jealousy, etc.

• When vṛttis are destroyed, that bliss is no longer dissipated outward.

• Then the nectar pervades awareness itself — experienced as unbroken bliss or immortality of the Self.

3. Bridging the two

• In yogic physiology: amṛta “stays in the head and floods the system.”

• In Vedāntic terms: amṛta “is recognized as your true nature — sat–cit–ānanda.”

• In tantric Haṭha language: the yogi “drinks the nectar” and becomes deathless.

👉 So, when the vṛttis are destroyed: the amṛta no longer goes downward to be consumed, but remains above — bathing the suṣumṇā, suffusing the body-mind, or simply revealing itself as the bliss of pure consciousness.

Would you like me to show you the different images for this “flooding” — e.g. HYP’s “showering nectar,” Kaula Tantras’ “amṛta bathing the cakras,” and Vedānta’s “ānanda-svarūpa”?