The Void at Back and Root
Contemplate emptiness at the back and at the root of the body together; by a body-free energy, the mind becomes void.
पीठ और मूल में शून्य को एक साथ भावित करो; देह-निरपेक्ष शक्ति से मन शून्य हो जाता है।
The conversation of Devi & Bhairava
A faithful retelling of the dialogue that frames this verse — the Goddess asks, and Bhairava answers with the teaching above. (The śloka is the scripture; the conversation dramatizes its meaning, in English and Hindi.)
You taught me the three voids, Lord. Is there a simpler pairing to begin with?
आपने मुझे तीन शून्य सिखाए, नाथ। आरम्भ के लिए कोई सरल जोड़ी है?
Sense emptiness at the back of the body and at the root, and hold both together, simultaneously.
पीठ में और मूल में खालीपन अनुभव करो, और दोनों को एक साथ, युगपत्, थामे रखो।
Two voids at once — the mind cannot grip either.
एक साथ दो शून्य — मन किसी एक को पकड़ नहीं पाता।
With two voids and no single object to grip, the mind drops toward thought-free emptiness. And something more awakens — a power no longer dependent on the body.
दो शून्य और पकड़ने को कोई एक वस्तु न होने से, मन निर्विकल्प शून्यता की ओर गिर जाता है। और कुछ और जागता है — एक शक्ति जो अब शरीर पर निर्भर नहीं।
A power free of the body?
शरीर से मुक्त एक शक्ति?
A body-independent Shakti, and through it the mind itself becomes void. You taste directly that consciousness-energy is not produced by the body at all — and that independence is itself the emptying of the mind.
एक देह-निरपेक्ष शक्ति, और उसी से मन स्वयं शून्य हो जाता है। तुम सीधे चखती हो कि चेतना-ऊर्जा शरीर से उत्पन्न होती ही नहीं — और वही स्वतन्त्रता मन का खाली होना है।
Why it works
Holding emptiness at two points of the body — the back and the root — at the same time gives the mind two voids and no single object to grip, dropping it toward thought-free emptiness. The verse adds a distinctive note: a "body-independent power" (śarīra-nirapekṣiṇī śakti) awakens, and through it the mind itself becomes void (śūnya-manas).
How to practice
- 1Sense emptiness at the back of the body — open space behind the spine.
- 2At the same time, sense emptiness at the root, the base of the trunk.
- 3Hold both voids together, simultaneously.
- 4Let a body-independent energy (śakti) arise in that double emptiness, and the mind become void (śūnya-manas). Rest there.
The deeper story
Companion to the three-voids verse, this two-point form names the fruit precisely: a śakti that no longer leans on the body. It points to the recognition that consciousness-energy is not produced by the body at all, and tasting that independence is itself the emptying of the mind.
Terms in this technique
- śūnya
- Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.
- śakti
- Energy, the dynamic power of consciousness; Devi.
- laya
- Dissolution, absorption; the merging of attention into its source.
- madhya
- The middle, the centre, the gap between two states — a key VBT doorway.
Sources consulted
- Jaideva Singh, Vijñānabhairava: The Manual for Self-Realization (Motilal Banarsidass, 1979)
- Bettina Bäumer, Vijñâna Bhairava: The Practice of Centering Awareness (Indica Books, 2011)
- Swami Lakshmanjoo, Vijnana Bhairava: The Manual for Self Realization (Universal Shaiva Fellowship, 2007)