GS 2.1

There are as many postures as there are living beings; Shiva described eighty-four lakh of them.

Written and reviewed by The Kriya Yogi · Updated 21 September 2026

Sanskrit, in transliteration

āsanāni samastāni yāvanto jīva-jantavaḥ / catur-aśīti-lakṣāṇi śivena kathitāni ca

Our own plain rendering, checked against the standard published translations.

What the verse says

Eighty-four lakh is 8.4 million — a traditional figure for "as many as there are creatures", not an inventory. The verses that follow name thirty-two as useful in this world, and the text then describes those.

In practice

Worth holding in mind when reading any claim about how many "authentic" postures exist. The text's own answer is: a symbolic infinity, of which a couple of dozen matter.

How it gets misquoted

Quoted as evidence that ancient yoga contained thousands of poses. The same passage immediately narrows the useful set to thirty-two.

This verse sits in Gheranda Samhita, chapter 2 — read our commentary on the whole chapter.