Kumbhaka Paddhati of Raghuvira (Science of Pranayama)

Book Description - 

Sanskrit Text With Transliteration and English Translation

Kumbhaka Paddhati is the only text which deals exhaustively the topic of pranayama. It is extensively quoted by Sunderadeva , another writer on hatha-yoga in his Hatha-sanketa-candrika and Hatha-tatva- kaumudi . The text describes more than 50 kumbhakas, many of which are not commonly known. Despite the description of various kurnbhakas , the author is loud in praise for meru-kumbhaka of which he describes 47 stages. These include all levels of spiritual development. These stages are a continuum of experiences the yogi passes through as a result of continuous-practice. of kumbhakas. These are not found described in any. available texts. Therefore. it is the unique feature of .Kumbhaka Paddhati .

Kumbhaka-paddhati (manual on pranayama) of Sri Raghuvira, edited by Dr. M. L. Gharote and Dr. Parimal Devnath is an interesting collection on the science of pranayama.

yoga-cudamani-upanisad mentions pranayama vidya as mahavidya (great knowledge of learning), where the practitioner of pranayama experiences the union of himself with the Universal Spirit (Brahma).

Kumbhaka-paddhati explains fifty-seven types of kumbhaka with forty-seven stages.

God is one, but people call him by different names. Similarly, though the text explains fifty-seven types of kumbhakas, the readers should know that the principal kumbhakas are of these types namely, antar-kumbhaka (retention of breath after inhalation), bahya-kumbhaka (retention of breath after exhalation), kumbhaka in-between interrupted puraka and recaka and one that is both instinctive and intuitive (kevala-kumbhaka).

Actually, pranayama consists of four movements: puraka (in-breath), antar-kumbhaka (retention after breath), recaka (out-breath) and bahya-kumbhaka (retention of breath after the out-breath).

As different patterns of breathing and retention can be discovered while performing different types of asanas, it is possible to adopt and adapt different types of breathing patterns and retention (kumbhaka), according to one' internal intellectual development and maturity. These adoptions and adaptations through the various permutations and combinations express the multiples of kumbhakas.

As Pranava 'aum' with the crescent and dot is the seed of all words, puraka represents generation or creation of energy (G) Brahma, antar-kumbhaka represents organization of energy (0) Visnu, recaka releases that vitious air that destroys life (D) Mahesvare, while bahya-kumbhaka takes one to experience the changeless, eternal state of quietude.

Pranayama is a great penance (maha tapas). It is nadanusandhana, one has to investigate, inquire and search (sravana, manana and nididhyasana). Lord Patanjali puts this in simple words, japa, artha and bhavana.

We have all been bestowed with pance-bhautike-serira consisting of earth, water, air and ether. They are the physical matters of the body. These five matters have their own infrastructures as panca tenmatras, namely, odour, taste, shape, touch and space. These tanmatras are the chemistry and alchemy of the body. These are controlled by the cosmic life force (visva-prana-sakti). As nature (Prakrti) divides into various sections, this visva-prana-sakti transforms into panca vayus as prana, apana, samana, vyana and udana. These five vayu's locations have been explained in the text corresponding to the five elements and their corresponding five atomic powers. They also correspond to the five cakras namely, muladhara, svadhisthana, manipuraka, anahata and visuddhi. The other two cakras, ajna and sahasrara are beyond matter.