Verse by verse
The verses themselves
One page per verse: the Sanskrit in transliteration, a plain English rendering, what the verse actually asks of a practitioner, and — where it matters — how the line is commonly misquoted. 71 verses so far, added as we work through the texts.
Gheranda Samhita
circa 17th century CE
Hatha Yoga Pradipika
circa 15th century CE
- HYP 1.15Overeating, over-exertion, too much talking, rigid adherence to rules, mixing with crowds and restlessness — by these six, yoga is destroyed.
- HYP 1.16Enthusiasm, courage, perseverance, knowledge of principles, resolve and stepping back from the crowd — by these six, yoga succeeds.
- HYP 1.17Posture is said to be the first limb of hatha yoga.
- HYP 1.38Lying flat on the back like a corpse is śavāsana; it removes fatigue and gives the mind rest.
- HYP 2.1Once the posture is firm, the yogi — self-controlled and eating wholesome food in moderation — should practise breath regulation as taught by a teacher.
- HYP 2.2When the breath moves, the mind moves; when the breath is still, the mind is still. So the yogi should restrain the breath.
- HYP 2.16Practised correctly, breath regulation destroys all disease; practised wrongly, it gives rise to all disease.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
circa 2nd century BCE - 4th century CE
- YS 1.51With the cessation of even that impression, because all is stilled, seedless samādhi arises.
- YS 1.46These very forms of absorption are called sabīja samādhi, samādhi with a seed.
- YS 1.1Now, the teaching of yoga.
- YS 1.48The wisdom that arises there is called ṛtambharā, truth-bearing.
- YS 1.49That wisdom has a different scope from knowledge gained by testimony and inference, because it grasps particulars directly.
- YS 1.41When the fluctuations of mind have dwindled, the mind takes on, like a flawless jewel, the color of whatever object is placed before it — knower, instrument of knowing, and known.
- YS 1.50The latent impression born of that wisdom obstructs other latent impressions.
- YS 1.22Because of mild, moderate, and intense degrees, there is a further distinction even among these.
- YS 1.26Unconditioned by time, Īśvara is the teacher even of the earliest teachers.
- YS 1.23Or, attainment comes through devoted surrender to Īśvara.
- YS 1.21For those whose practice is charged with intense urgency, attainment is near at hand.
- YS 1.20For others, this attainment is preceded by faith, energy, memory, absorption, and discernment.
- YS 1.25In that Īśvara, the seed of omniscience reaches its unsurpassed limit.
- YS 1.24Īśvara is a distinct puruṣa untouched by afflictions, actions, their fruition, or their underlying deposits.
- YS 1.42Among these absorptions, the one in which word, meaning, and knowledge remain mixed together through conceptual differentiation is called savitarka samāpatti.
- YS 1.43When memory is purified, the mind appears empty of its own nature and shines forth as the object alone; this is nirvitarka samāpatti.
- YS 1.19For the disembodied and those absorbed into primary matter, cessation occurs through birth itself as its cause.
- YS 1.27The word that expresses Īśvara is the syllable oṃ.
- YS 1.44By this same explanation, savicāra and nirvicāra samāpatti, which take subtle objects as their focus, are also accounted for.
- YS 1.45The range of subtlety in meditative objects extends all the way to the undifferentiated (aliṅga), the root nature without any distinguishing mark.
- YS 1.18The other samādhi, preceded by the practice of cultivating the cessation of mental content, leaves only latent impressions behind.
- YS 1.17Samprajñāta samādhi arises accompanied, in turn, by reasoned thought, subtle reflection, joy, and the sense of pure I-am-ness.
- YS 1.47On attaining mastery and clarity in nirvicāra samāpatti, a lucid inner tranquility of the self arises.
- YS 1.2Yoga is the settling of the movements of the mind.
- YS 1.3Then the seer rests in its own nature.
- YS 1.4At other times, the seer identifies with the fluctuations of the mind.
- YS 1.5The fluctuations of the mind are fivefold and are either painful or non-painful.
- YS 1.6These fluctuations are correct knowledge, misconception, imagination, deep sleep, and memory.
- YS 1.7Correct knowledge arises from direct perception, logical inference, and authoritative testimony.
- YS 1.8Misconception is false knowledge based on an appearance that does not correspond to the reality of the object.
- YS 1.9Imagination is a concept arising from words that lacks an actual object in reality.
- YS 1.10Deep sleep is that fluctuation of the mind which rests on the non-existence of objects.
- YS 1.11Memory is the non-loss of objects that have been previously experienced.
- YS 1.12That settling comes through practice and non-attachment.
- YS 1.13Practice is the sustained effort to maintain the stillness of the mind.
- YS 1.14Practice becomes firmly grounded when it is done for a long time, without interruption, and with care.
- YS 1.15Dispassion is the conscious mastery of one who is free from craving for seen or scriptural objects.
- YS 1.16The supreme state of dispassion is the absence of craving for the gunas, achieved through the realization of the Self.
- YS 1.28Our own plain rendering: The repetition of this sacred sound should be performed with a deep contemplation of its meaning.
- YS 1.29Our own plain rendering: From this practice, the realization of the inner consciousness is attained, and the obstacles to progress disappear.
- YS 1.30Our own plain rendering: Sickness, mental dullness, doubt, negligence, laziness, overindulgence, false vision, failure to reach a ground, and instability are the distractions of the mind and the obstacles.
- YS 1.31Our own plain rendering: Pain, despair, tremors of the body, and irregular breathing are the symptoms that accompany a distracted mind.
- YS 1.32Our own plain rendering: To counteract these obstacles and their symptoms, one should practice focus on a single principle.
- YS 1.33The mind becomes clear by cultivating friendliness towards the happy, compassion towards the suffering, gladness towards the good, and equanimity towards the bad.
- YS 1.34Or through the deliberate exhalation and retention of the breath.
- YS 1.35Our own plain rendering: Or, the development of higher sensory perception can also serve to steady the mind.
- YS 1.36Our own plain rendering: Or, stability is gained by meditating on the inner light that is free from all sorrow.
- YS 1.37Our own plain rendering: Or, the mind can be steadied by contemplating a mind that is free from all attachments.
- YS 1.38Our own plain rendering: Or, the mind can be stabilized by focusing on the insights gained during dream or deep sleep states.
- YS 1.39Our own plain rendering: Or, the mind can be steadied by meditating on whatever object one finds most helpful or pleasing.
- YS 1.40Our own plain rendering: Mastery of the mind is attained when it can focus with equal ease on everything from the smallest atom to the greatest infinity.
- YS 2.1Discipline, self-study and surrender to the divine are the yoga of action.
- YS 2.29Restraints, observances, posture, breath regulation, withdrawal of the senses, concentration, meditation and absorption are the eight limbs.
- YS 2.30Non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence and non-possessiveness are the restraints.
- YS 2.32Cleanliness, contentment, discipline, self-study and surrender to the divine are the observances.
- YS 2.46Posture is steady and comfortable.
- YS 2.47It is achieved by relaxing effort and letting attention settle on the boundless.
- YS 2.48Then one is no longer troubled by the pairs of opposites.
- YS 2.49With that established, pranayama is the interruption of the flow of inhalation and exhalation.
- YS 3.1Concentration is binding the mind to one place.
- YS 3.2Meditation is the unbroken flow of attention there.
- YS 3.3When only the object shines and the sense of oneself as separate falls away, that is absorption.
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