Bhrumadhya Drishti is fixing the eyes on an object and is
an important practice with numerous benefits in yoga. Bhru in Sanskrit means
eyebrows and Bhrumadhya means the space between eyebrows, particularly the
middle point between them. Dhrishit means sight.
In Yogic practices, Bhrumadhya Drishti indicates gaze or
fixing the eyes on an object. The object may be located inside the body too.
The two forms of Drashti are inner gaze and outer gaze.
Example – Chakras or the energy centers situated along the
spine, or it may be an external object like the tip of the nose or the
midpoint between the eyebrows.
In Yogic texts like (Hatha Yoga Pradipika: IV. 36-40) and
Advayatarak Upanishad (1-8), words like lakshya, taraka yoga or simply taraka
re used in place of Drishti.
The inner gaze is called antar lakshya or antardrishti while
the outer gaze is called bahir lakshya.
In Hatha Yoga Pradipika (I.44), the nasal gaze (nasikagra
drishti) is said to be associated with padmasana (the lotus pose), while
bhrumadhya drishti (the frontal gaze) is said to be part of Siddhasana (the
adept pose) (I.35)
Bhrumadhya, or the space between the eyebrows, is the
location of the sixth lotus in the ascending order called the ajna chakra. It
is the seat of the mind.
Benefits Of Bhrumadhya Drishti
Bhrumadhya Drishti or fixing the gaze at the space between
the eyebrows helps to arrest the movements of the mind and makes it steady in
laya – a state of tranquility.
When the mind and breath are silenced together with
pranayama, inside the vacuum in the ajna chakra called bhrum adhyaksha, the
eyes, half-open, cease to wind and see anything. This state is called shambhavi
mudra. Pranayama here refers to sustained practice of breath control.
It causes the third rudra granthi (knot of ignorance) to
open up. That makes for the state of liberation (Hatha Yoga Pradipika IV; 37; IV;
74-76)
Source - notes taken from Encyclopedia of Hinduism Volume II (IHRF) page 334
Source - notes taken from Encyclopedia of Hinduism Volume II (IHRF) page 334