The difference cannot be hidden
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika treats Vajroli within a discussion of sexual fluids and their preservation. The Gheranda Samhita’s named Vajroli passage describes a supported bodily arrangement instead. Mallinson draws attention to this unusual difference in his introduction. A single neutral “pelvic exercise” label would conceal the disagreement.
Why a source-specific page matters
Sivananda’s account follows the bodily-fluid strand and includes invasive practices. That is evidence about a particular teaching tradition, not a procedure reproduced here. The collection keeps the historical subject visible while identifying the edition being discussed. It does not merge the accounts, nor present the invasive material as a beginner technique.
What to take from the comparison
A familiar Sanskrit name may preserve continuity while the described practice changes substantially. When reading Vajroli, keep the passage open beside its title. This page provides the distinct witnesses and their scope; it supplies no instrumentation, fluid-handling instruction, sexual procedure, or clinical claim. The broader mudra index explains why reference entries and simple hand-gesture pages occupy different groups.
Sources and scope
Main edition
Hatha Yoga Pradipika, chapter 3
Passage for this reading
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika, chapter 3
Sanskrit verses 3.83–103; English numbering diverges after omitted lines.
Svātmārāma; Sanskrit and Pancham Sinh’s 1914 translation. English paragraph numbering sometimes diverges from the Sanskrit verses.
- Gheranda Samhita, Sanskrit
3.45–48.
SanskritDocuments transcription. Coordinates refer to this transcription; Mallinson’s edition uses different numbering in chapter 3.
- Gheranda Samhita, James Mallinson (2004)
Introduction, printed p. xiii: Vajroli at 3.39 in Mallinson’s edition.
YogaVidya.com publisher excerpt, introduction and chapter 3, printed pp. 60–71. This is a sample, not the entire book.
- Kundalini Yoga
“Mudras and Bandhas: 10. Vajroli Mudra”.
Swami Sivananda; Divine Life Society, tenth edition 1994, authorized web edition 1999. Traditional teaching, not clinical evidence.
What this edition covers
An original reference essay comparing the traditional descriptions. It is not a translation of the entire source chapter.
Limits and differences
The prose above identifies material differences. Traditional explanations and promised attainments are attributed to their sources; they are not clinical evidence. Review date: September 11, 2026.