Śāmbhavī mudrā, the gaze between the eyebrows

The name

Śāmbhavī is "of Śambhu". शम्भु (Śambhu), "the one who brings happiness, the benevolent", is a name of Śiva; the Monier-Williams dictionary records the adjective śāmbhava as "coming or derived from Śiva, relating or belonging or sacred to him". Śāmbhavī mudrā is the seal of Śiva, the great yogi of the tradition.

Two descriptions in the texts

The Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā: between the eyebrows

The form most people practise comes from the Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā:

The next verses praise it in extravagant terms. "The Vedas, the scriptures, the Puranas are like public women, but this Sambhavi should be guarded as if it were a lady of a respectable family"; whoever knows it is like Ādinātha, the first teacher, Śiva himself (3.65-3.67, Vasu). In its first chapter, the same text says that through trāṭaka, steady gazing, "Sambhavi Siddhis are obtained" (1.54).

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika: the gaze out, the attention in

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes śāmbhavī in its last chapter, on absorption, quite differently:

अन्तर्लक्ष्यं बहिर्दृष्टिर्निमेषोन्मेषवर्जिता । एषा सा शाम्भवी मुद्रा वेदशास्त्रेषु गोपिता ॥

antar lakṣyaṃ bahir dṛṣṭir nimeṣonmeṣa-varjitā | eṣā sā śāmbhavī mudrā veda-śāstreṣu gopitā ||

The target within, the gaze without, free of blinking: this is the śāmbhavī mudrā, kept hidden in the Vedas and the śāstras.

The next verse completes the picture: the yogi, mind and breath absorbed in the inner target, looks out with a steady pupil, "as if seeing everything while in reality seeing nothing outside, below, or above", in Pancham Sinh's 1914 words, and this is learned "by the favour of a Guru" (4.37 in GRETIL, 4.36 in Sinh). Here śāmbhavī is less a gaze at a point than a state: the eyes open, the attention entirely within.

Older still: the Bhagavad Gita

The idea of the gaze between the eyebrows is far older than the hatha texts. In the Bhagavad Gita, the sage shuts out outer contacts and sets "the eye between the eyebrows", making the in- and out-breaths even within the nostrils (5.27); at the hour of death, the yogi places the breath "between the eyebrows" (8.10).

Steps: the beginner form

1. Sit upright and close the eyes for a few slow breaths.
2. Open the eyes and look straight ahead at a point at eye level.
3. Without moving the head, raise the gaze slowly towards the point between the eyebrows. The eyes converge slightly. There must be no strain.
4. Hold ten to thirty seconds, breathing quietly. Let the attention rest at that point.
5. Close the eyes and rest, palms over the eyes if you like, for as long as you held the gaze.
6. Three to five times.

Rhythm for beginners and progression

What research shows

We found no study of śāmbhavī mudrā as described in the hatha texts, so we make no health claim. What we can say is practical: sustained convergence of the eyes is tiring for many people, which is why the holds are short and the rest periods long.

Common mistakes

• Forcing the eyes upward until they ache.
• Tilting the head back instead of moving only the eyes.
• Long holds from the first day.
• Frowning. Keep the forehead smooth.

In context

Śāmbhavī belongs to the seals of the eyes and tongue described on the mudras page, beside khechari mudra, which the Hatha Yoga Pradipika pairs with it. It grows naturally out of trataka, and leads towards dharana, dhyana and samadhi. The point between the eyebrows is also the seat of the ājñā chakra.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. Srisa Chandra Vasu (tr.), The Gheranda Samhita, Sacred Books of the Hindus vol. XV (1914-1915), lesson 3, verses 64-67, and lesson 1, verse 54, Internet Archive checked October 17, 2026
2. Svātmārāma, Haṭhayogapradīpikā, Sanskrit text, 4.35-4.38 (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 17, 2026
3. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh, Sacred Books of the Hindus vol. XV part 3 (1914), Internet Archive checked October 17, 2026
4. Bhagavadgītā, critical edition, Sanskrit text, 5.27 and 8.10 (GRETIL) checked October 17, 2026
5. Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), entries śambhu and śāmbhava, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries checked October 17, 2026

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