Kuṇḍalinī, sound-matter and dissolution in premodern yoga

Kuṇḍalinī has a key explanatory role in the technique of haṭha yoga in Sanskrit textual sources from the first half of the second millennium. This role increases throughout the corpus: unnamed in the c. 11th century CE Amṛtasiddhi, 'she' (grammatically feminine though perhaps not essentially so) is the foundation of all yoga teachings by the c. 15th century Haṭhapradīpikā. Genealogically-derived from a tantric śaiva context kuṇḍalinī retains sonic and cosmogonic features, creatively reworked within the embodied, 'forceful' rationale of haṭha yoga. Kuṇḍalinī is adapted as the 'key of force' (kuñcika haṭha) while retaining features of sonic and material dissolution. As such kuṇḍalinī is a nexus for haṭha (forceful) yoga and laya (dissolution) yoga. This paper sets out the mantric and sonic nature and practice of kuṇḍalinī in premodern yoga to highlight the tensions and possibilities of kuṇḍalinī as force and dissolution.