Verse by verse · Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
YS 3.3
When only the object shines and the sense of oneself as separate falls away, that is absorption.
Written and reviewed by The Kriya Yogi · Updated 21 September 2026
Sanskrit, in transliteration
tad eva artha-mātra-nirbhāsaṃ svarūpa-śūnyam iva samādhiḥ
Our own plain rendering, checked against the standard published translations.
What the verse says
Samādhi is described, carefully, as iva — "as if" empty of self. Patanjali does not overclaim. Something drops away; the text declines to make it sound like a spectacle.
In practice
Together with 3.1 and 3.2 this forms one continuous movement — concentration, meditation, absorption — which the tradition calls samyama.
This verse sits in Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, chapter 3 — read our commentary on the whole chapter.