Yoga-sutra Pada 1

This is the introduction to the Yoga-sutra translation and commentary by Acharya das

1.1 अथ योगानुशासनम् atha yogānuśāsanam atha - now; yogaḥ - of yoga; anuśāsanam - instuctions, commands, precepts And now the (authoritative) instructions of yoga.

1.2 योगस्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ yogaḥ - yoga (is); citta - the consciousness; vṛtti - modifications (of the), state or condition of material consciousness, to set in motion (as a wheel); nirodhaḥ - arrest, suspend, restrain, contain, suppress; When the endless…

1.3 तदा द्रष्टुः स्वरूपे ‘वस्थानम् tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe ‘vasthānam tadā – then; draṣṭuḥ - the seer (individual self); svarūpe - one’s own form, essential nature, form; avasthānam - stands, abides, situated, resides Upon achieving the condition of yoga (samādhi), the…

1.4 वृत्तिसरुप्यमितरत्र vṛtti -sārūpyam-itaratra vṛtti - state of material consciousness, mental modifications; sārūpyam - likeness of form, similarity, resemblance; itaratra - on the other hand, elsewhere, at other times; At other times [when one is not in the state of…

1.5 वृत्तयःपञ्चातय्यः क्लिस्टाक्लिस्टाः vṛttayaḥ pañcatayyaḥ kliṣṭ-ākliṣṭāḥ vṛttayaḥ - activities of the mind, mental states; pañcatayyaḥ - fivefold (are); kliṣṭa - harmful, painful, distressful; ākliṣṭāḥ - not painful or distressful; The activities of the mind are divided into five states and…

1.7 प्रत्यक्षानुमानागमः प्रमाणानि pratyakṣānumānāgamāḥ pramāṇāni pratyakṣa - direct (sense) perception; anumāna - inference, logic; agamāḥ - scriptural testimony, authoritative texts, words of authoritative teachers, Rishis, & guru; pramāṇāni - (are the) sources of comprehension, correct understanding: The sources of correct…

1.8 विपर्ययो मिथ्याज्ञानाम् अतद्रुपप्रतिष्टम् viparyayo mithyā-jñānam-atad-rūpa-pratiṣṭham viparyayaḥ - erroneous understanding of what is, misconception; mithyā – false; jñānam – knowledge; atad - not that; rūpa - (true) form, essential nature; pratiṣṭham - based upon: Incorrect knowledge formed about something, which…

1.10 अभावप्रत्ययालम्बना वृत्तिर्निद्रा abhāva-pratyayālambanā vṛttir-nidrā abhāva - absence (of the modifications already mentioned); pratyaya - cause, basis; ālambanā - resting upon, support; vṛtti - mental state, mental modification; nidrā - deep sleep: Deep sleep is the mental state where there…

1.11 अनुभूतविषयासंप्रमोषः स्मृतिः anubhūta-viṣayāsaṁpramoṣaḥ smṛtiḥ anubhūta – experienced; viṣaya - objects, subject matter; asaṁpramoṣaḥ - not forgotten; smṛtiḥ - remembrance, memory, recollection: Memory is the recollection of an experience (previous mental impression).   1.12 अभ्यासवैराग्यभ्यां तन्निरोधः abhyāsa-vairāgyābhyāṁ tan-nirodhaḥ abhyāsa -…

1.13 तत्र स्थितौ यत्नो ‘भ्यसः tatra sthitau yatno ‘bhyāsaḥ tatra - there, of these; sthitau - steadiness, stability, tranquility; yatno - sustained effort; abhyāsaḥ - practice: Of these two, the sustained effort to be situated (fixed) in the state of…

1.15 दृष्टानुस्रविकविषयवितृष्णस्य वशीकारसंज्ञा वैराग्यम् ḍṛṣṭānuśravika-viṣaya-vitṛṣṇasya vaśīkāra-saṁjñā vairāgyam ḍṛṣṭa – seen; anuśravika - heard from the Veda; viṣaya - objects, subject matter; vitṛṣṇasya - free from desire; vaśīkāra – mastery; saṁjñā - awareness, consciousness; vairāgyam – detachment: Detachment is described as…

1.16 तत्परं पुरुसख्यातेर्गुनवैतृष्ण्यम् tat-paraṁ puruṣa-khyāter-guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam tat – that; paraṁ - supreme; puruṣaḥ - self, soul; khyāteḥ - known as, due to; guṇa - constituent principles of Nature, qualities; vaitṛṣṇyam - freedom from desire, indifference: When a person, after gaining knowledge…

1.17 वितर्कविचारानन्दास्मितारूपानुगमात् संप्रज्ञातः vitarka-vicār-ānandāsmitā-rūpānugamāt-samprajñātḥ vitarka - reasoning, deliberation (of gross objects); vicāra - discrimination, reflection (on subtle objects); ānanda – bliss; asmitā - awareness of individuality; rūpa - form, essential nature; anugamāt – following; samprajñātḥ - (is called) Samprajñāta Samādhi:…

1.18 विरामप्रत्ययाभ्यासपूर्वः संस्कारशेषो ‘न्यः virāma-pratyayābhyāsa-pūrvaḥ saṁskāra-śeṣo’nyaḥ virāma - cessation, stoppage; pratyaya – material-thought processes; abhyāsa - practice, repeated or permanent exercise; pūrvaḥ - earlier, before; saṁskāra - latent impressions, past memories; śeṣaḥ - remaining, traces; anyaḥ - the other (Asamprajñāta…

1.19 भवप्रत्ययो विदेहप्रकृतिलायनाम् bhava-pratyayo videha-prakṛti-layānām bhava - become (rebirth); pratyayaḥ - caused; videha - without a body; prakṛti - nature; layānām - absorbed into, merged with: Those yogis who, having not attained the highest platform, but leave their current gross…

1.21 तिव्रसंवेगानाम् आसन्नाः tīvra-saṁvegānām-āsannaḥ tīvra – keen; saṁvegānām - intense effort, enthusiasm, fervor; āsannaḥ - near, imminent; Yogis who practice with intense effort and enthusiasm achieve samādhi more quickly.   1.22 मृदुमध्याधिमात्रत्वत् ततो ‘पि विशेषः mṛdu-madhyādhimātratvāttato ‘pi viśeṣaḥ mṛdu -…

1.23 इश्वरप्रणिधनद् वा īśvara-praṇidhānād-vā īśvara - Supreme Controller (God); praṇidhānāt - devotion, supplication, bowing before; vā - or (can also denote “indeed” or “verily” placing stress on the preceding word); Asamprajñata samādhi is also[certainly] attained by devotion (complete surrender) to…

1.24 क्लेशकर्माविपाकाशयैरपरामृष्टः पुरुषविशेष ईश्वरः kleśa-karma-vipākāśayair-aparā-mṛṣṭaḥ puruṣa-viśeṣa īśvaraḥ kleśa - afflictions, miseries; karma - actions, activities; vipāka - results, fruits of actions; āśayaiḥ - seed impressions of desires lying in the mind; aparā-mṛṣṭaḥ - untouched (by); puruṣa-viśeṣa - a Purusa (Self)…

1.25 तत्र निरतिशयं सर्वज्ञबीजम् tatra nir-atiśayaṁ sarvajña-bījam tatra - there (in Him); nir-atiśayaṁ - culmination, unsurpassed, infinite; sarvajña - all-knowing, omniscient; bījam – seed; In Him the seed of omniscience is unsurpassed (infinite).   1.26 पूर्वेषामपि गुरुः कालेनानवच्छेदात् pūrveṣāmāpi guruḥ…

1.27 तस्य वाचकः प्रणवः tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ tasya - His; vācakaḥ - sound personifying (Him), representing (Him); praṇavaḥ - the sacred sound AUṀ: The transcendental sound personifying Him is AUṀ.

1.28 तज्जपस्तदर्थभावनम् taj-japas-tad-artha-bhāvanam taj-japaḥ - repeated recitation of That (AUṀ); tad - it’s, that; artha - meaning, aim, purpose; bhāvanam - contemplating, absorbing: That sound (AUṀ) should be recited repeatedly and meditated upon contemplating its meaning.

1.29 ततः प्रत्यक्चेतनाधिगमो ‘प्यन्तरायाभवाश्च tataḥ pratyak-cetanādhigamo’pyantarāyābhāvaś ca tataḥ - then, from this; pratyak - inward; cetanā - consciousness, sentience; adhigamaḥ - attainment, realization; api - too, also; antarāya - obstacles, impediments; abhāva - absence, annihilation; ca – and: Then (from…

1.30 ततः व्याधिस्त्यानसंशयप्रमादालस्याविरतिभ्रान्तिदर्शनालब्ध भूमिकत्वानवस्थितत्वानि चित्तविक्षेऽन्तरायाः vyādhi-styāna-saṁśaya-pramādālasyāvirati-bhrānti-darśanālabdha bhūmikatv ānavasthitatvāni citta-vikṣepās-te’ntarāyāḥ vyādhi - sickness, disease; styāna - mental laziness, incompetence; saṁśaya – doubt; pramāda - ignorance, carelessness, illusion; ālasya - indolence, laziness, sloth; avirati - non-abstention, sense addiction; bhrānti-darśana - false perception,…

1.31 दुःखदौर्मनस्याङ्गमेजयत्वश्वासा विक्षेपसहभुवः duḥkha-daurmansyāṇgam-ejayatva-śvāsa-praśvāsā vikṣepa-saha-bhuvaḥ duḥkha - sorrow (arising from the three-fold miseries); daur-mansya - despair, despondency of the mind; aṇgam-ejayatva - restlessness, fatigue or trembling of the body; śvāsa-praśvāsaḥ - irregular breathing; vikṣepa - distractions of the mind; saha-bhuvaḥ…

1.32 ततप्रतिषेधर्थम् एकतत्त्वाभ्यसः tat-pratiṣedhārtham-eka-tattvābhyāsaḥ tat - that, these; pratiṣedha - counteract, negating; artham - for the purpose; eka - one, single; tattva - essence, truth, reality, principle; abhyāsaḥ - practice: These distractions can be counteracted by the practice of concentration…

1.33 मैत्रीकरुणामुदितोपेक्षनां सुखदुःखपुण्यापुन्यविषयाणां भवनातश्चित्तप्रसादनम् maitrī-karuṇā-muditopekṣāṇāṁ sukha-duḥkha-puṇyāpuṇya-viṣayāṇāṁ bhāvanātaś-citta-prasādanam maitrī - friendship; karuṇā - compassion; mudita - joy, delight; upekṣāṇāṁ - indifference, disregard; sukha - happy; duḥkha - suffering, unhappy; puṇya - virtuous; apuṇya - wicked; viṣayāṇāṁ - with regards to; bhāvanātaḥ…

1.34 प्रच्छर्दनविभ्यां वा प्राणस्य pracchardana-vidhāraṇābhyām va prāṇasya pracchardana - exhalation; vidhāraṇābhyām - retention, restraining; va - or; prāṇasya - (of) prana: The mind is also calmed (steadied) by expelling and restraining the breath through prāṇāyāma.   1.35 विषयवती वा प्रवृत्तिरुत्पन्ना…

1.36 विशोका वा ज्योतिष्मती viśokā vā jyotiṣmatī viśokā - devoid of sorrow, blissful; vā - or; jyotiṣmatī - brilliant, shining: Stability of the mind can also be produced by perception that is beyond all sorrow (blissful) and is radiant (shining).

1.37 वितरगविषयं वा चित्तम् vīta-rāga-viṣayaṁ vā cittam vīta - free from, absence; raga - desire, attachment; viṣayaṁ - for sense objects; vā - or; cittam – mind: Stability is also attained by contemplation upon a saintly yogi whose mind is…

1.38 स्वप्नानिद्रज्ञानालम्बनं वा svapna-nidra-jñānālambanaṁ vā svapna - dream state; nidra - sleep, dreamless sleep; jñāna - knowledge, idea; ālambanaṁ - object of (or support for) meditation; vā - or Or, (the mind can be stabilized) by using the knowledge acquired…

1.39 वितरगविषयं वा चित्तम् yathā-bhimata-dhyanād-vā yathā - as, in that way; bhimata - desired, of choice; dhyanāt - meditation; vā – or: Or by meditation (fixing the mind) upon anything suitable for yoga, according to one’s choice the mind becomes…

1.40 परमाणुपरममत्त्वान्तोऽस्य वशीकारः paramāṇu -parama-mahattvānto’sya vaśīkāraḥ paramāṇu - smallest of the small; parama-mahattva - infinitely large; antaḥ - limit, end; asya - his; vaśīkāraḥ - mastery: When the yogi develops the power of steadily contemplating on the smallest [the atomic…

1.41 क्षीणनवृत्तेरभिजातस्येव मणेर्ग्रहीतृग्रहणग्राह्येषु तत्स्थतदञ्जनता समापत्तिः kṣīṇa-vṛtter abhijātasyeva maṇer grāhītṛ-grahaṇa-grahyeṣu tat-stha-tad-añjanatā samāpattiḥ kṣīṇa-vṛtteḥ - one whose mental modifications are diminishing (greatly); abhijātasya - naturally pure; iva - like; maṇeḥ - jewel, gem; grāhītṛ - (towards) the knower; grahaṇa - knowable; grahyeṣu…

1.42 तत्र शब्दर्थज्ञानविकल्पैः संकीर्ण सवितर्का समापत्तिः tatra śabdārtha-jñāna-vikalpaiḥ saṅkīrṇā sa-vitarkā samāpattiḥ tatra - in that; śabda - sound, word; artha - object; jñāna - knowledge; vikalpaiḥ - conception; saṅkīrṇā - mixed; sa-vitarkā - with gross thought; samāpattiḥ - (to become)…

1.43 स्मृतिपरिशुद्धौ स्वरुपशून्येवर्थमात्रनिर्भसा निर्वितर्का smṛti pariśuddhau svarūpa-śūnyevārtha-mātra-nirbhāsā nir-vitarkā smṛti - memory; pariśuddhau - complete purification; svarūpa-śūnya - devoid of its own form/nature; iva - as though; artha-mātra - sole purpose; nirbhāsā - illuminating; nir-vitarkā - without gross thought: When the…

1.44 एतयैव सविचारा निर्विचारा च सुक्ष्मविषया व्याख्याता etayaiva savicārā nirvicārā ca sūkṣma-viṣayā vyākhātā etayā - by this; eva - only; savicārā - with subtle thought; nirvicārā - without subtle thought; ca - also; sūkṣma-viṣayā - subtle sense objects; vyākhātā –…

1.45 सूक्ष्मविषयत्वं चालिङ्गपर्यवसानम् sūkṣma-viṣayatvaṁ cāliṅga-paryavasānam sūkṣma-viṣayatvaṁ - of having subtle sense objects; ca - and; aliṅga - not manifest, unmanifest Prakṛti; paryavasānam - ending at: This subtleness (pertaining to material objects) extends all the way to material nature in its…