Read the image before simplifying the pose
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika relates reversal to the preservation of nectar. The Gheranda Samhita explicitly places a sun near the navel and a moon near the palate, then describes their reversed relationship. These are elements of a traditional subtle-body explanation, not statements about literal celestial bodies inside anatomy.
The sources describe more than one arrangement
The Gheranda passage translated by Mallinson describes a head-and-hands support. Sivananda gives an arrangement supported by the hands and also mentions another inverted posture under the name. That variance is a reason not to publish one generic silhouette as the uniquely correct historical form.
The scope of the mudra
Viparitakarani is the mudra of the cited hatha accounts. A modern restorative posture cannot silently stand in for the whole historical method, and the traditional claims about duration and rejuvenation make no home regimen. A teacher needs to identify the exact version being discussed. The neighboring Khechari page helps explain why nectar imagery appears in more than one mudra account.
An inversion, with a moving textual prelude
The familiar reading at 3.77 to 82 begins with the sun-and-moon explanation before describing the inverted arrangement. In the critical edition, the main passage is 3.73 to 77; the two familiar introductory verses are displayed separately at 3.77*1 to 2. A reference to the “same section” therefore needs both an edition and a range.
The opening list calls this karaṇī viparītākhyā, an action or arrangement named “inverted.” The name points toward the bodily arrangement in these passages. The comparison of different supports below remains necessary when moving from one work to another.
Where no edition is named, Hatha Yoga Pradipika verse numbers follow the Sanskrit numbering printed with Sinh’s 1914 edition.
Sources and scope
Main edition
Hatha Yoga Pradipika, chapter 3
Passage for this reading
- Haṭhapradīpikā Online: critical-edition comparison
Chapter 3, 3.73 to 77, including displayed additions where relevant. The map above explains material differences from Sinh’s Sanskrit 3.77 to 82. Comparison reviewed September 12, 2026.
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika, chapter 3
Sanskrit verses 3.77 to 82.
Svātmārāma; Sanskrit and Pancham Sinh’s 1914 translation. English paragraph numbering sometimes diverges from the Sanskrit verses.
- Gheranda Samhita, James Mallinson (2004)
3.29 to 31, printed pp. 69 to 70; SanskritDocuments 3.33 to 35.
YogaVidya.com publisher excerpt, introduction and chapter 3, printed pp. 60 to 71. The excerpt covers part of the book.
- Kundalini Yoga
“Mudras and Bandhas: 8. Viparitakarani 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.