Chapter-3, Sutra 29

Patanjali Yogasutra 3.29

 नाभिचक्रे कायव्यूहज्ञानम्।

"By concentrated meditation on the navel center (nābhicakra), knowledge of the body’s constitution is obtained."

This Sutra highlights the power of focused meditation or samyama on specific energy centers within the body, in this case, the nābhicakra, or the navel center. Patanjali teaches that through concentrated awareness on this chakra, one gains deep insight into the body’s structure and functioning. The nābhicakra is considered the center of the body's vitality and is associated with the Manipura chakra in yogic traditions, which governs digestion, strength, and vitality. Meditation on this center allows the yogi to access detailed knowledge of the inner workings of the body, understanding its balance, disorders, and constitution.

The knowledge obtained through such meditation goes beyond mere physiological understanding. The insight gained here includes an awareness of the subtle energies that govern the body’s systems, the distribution of prana (life force), and the harmony or disharmony within these systems. This profound awareness enables the practitioner to maintain or restore the body’s health and vitality. The nābhicakra is often seen as the hub from which life force spreads throughout the body, so mastering this center gives the yogi mastery over the physical form.

In this context, Patanjali emphasizes the significance of meditation not just as a means of transcending the physical but also as a method to gain control over and understand the physical body. This Sutra highlights the holistic approach of yoga, where mind, body, and spirit are interconnected, and mastery of one aspect leads to insights into the others. By gaining knowledge of the body, the yogi can progress toward greater self-mastery and eventually transcendence.

Comparative Context in Vedic Texts

Taittiriya Upanishad (2.1.1)

 अन्नं ब्रह्मेति व्यजानात् । अन्नाद्ध्येव खल्विमानि भूतानि जायन्ते । अन्नेन जातानि जीवन्ति । अन्नं प्रयन्त्यभिसंविशन्ति ।

"Food is Brahman," they said. From food, indeed, are born all beings; by food they live; into food they enter at their death."

This verse from the Taittiriya Upanishad emphasizes the importance of annam (food) as the sustainer of life. Just as Patanjali’s focus on the nābhicakra connects to the life force and the body's physical structure, this Upanishadic verse highlights how food (which sustains the physical body) is a manifestation of the divine. Both texts link physical sustenance and bodily awareness to higher spiritual understanding, recognizing that bodily health and vitality are essential for spiritual progress.

Yoga Vashishta (6.1.19)

 सर्वं शरीरं मम नाग्रतोऽस्ति यथात्मना ज्ञायते नाभिचक्रम्। तथा विलीयेत जनस्य जन्म तथावगम्येह हि बोधिनोऽयम्॥

"Just as one becomes aware of the navel center through deep meditation, the body and the concept of birth are dissolved into nothingness for the enlightened one."

The Yoga Vashishta reflects on the dissolution of physical identity through meditation, drawing a parallel to the awareness of the nābhicakra. 

This resonates with Patanjali's teaching that concentrated awareness on the navel center can reveal deep knowledge about the body. However, in the Yoga Vashishta, this knowledge is taken a step further, leading to the dissolution of identification with the physical body, thereby transcending birth and rebirth.

Mundaka Upanishad (2.1.9)

 यस्य ज्ञानमयं तपः। यस्य ब्रह्मा च क्षत्रं च उभे भवतः ओदनः॥ मृत्युर्यस्योपसेचनं क इत्था वेद यत्र सः॥

"For whom knowledge and austerity are the food, for whom Brahman and Kshatra are the sustenance, and death itself is but a condiment - who can understand where such a one exists?"

This verse underscores the yogi's transcendence of the physical plane. While Patanjali’s sutra focuses on the navel center to understand the body, this verse from the Mundaka Upanishad suggests that the true seeker feeds on knowledge and transcends death itself. The reference to food, sustenance, and death mirrors the themes in Patanjali’s text about mastery over the body’s physical nature, pointing toward higher spiritual goals.

These verses from the Upanishads and Yoga Vashishta complement the idea in Patanjali’s Sutra that meditation on specific energy centers like the nābhicakra can yield profound knowledge about both the physical and spiritual dimensions of existence.