The foundational text of classical yoga philosophy
196 sūtras across four pādas — a systematic guide to the theory and practice of yoga, from ethical disciplines through samādhi to liberation.
Sūtra 1.2
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः
yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ
Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.
The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali is the foundational text of classical yoga philosophy, composed around the 2nd century CE. In 196 concise aphorisms (sūtras), Patañjali systematizes the theory and practice of yoga — defining its purpose, describing the obstacles to inner stillness, and outlining the eight-limbed path (aṣṭāṅga yoga) that leads from ethical conduct through meditation to liberation (kaivalya).
The text is divided into four pādas (chapters): Samādhi Pāda on the nature and stages of meditative absorption; Sādhana Pāda on the practical means of yoga; Vibhūti Pāda on the extraordinary capacities arising from practice; and Kaivalya Pāda on the nature of liberation itself.
The nature of yoga, the five fluctuations of mind, practice and non-attachment, and the stages of samādhi.
51 SūtrasKriyā yoga, the five afflictions (kleśas), karma, the eight limbs of yoga from yama through dhyāna.
55 SūtrasDhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi as saṃyama — and the extraordinary powers (siddhis) that arise from its practice.
56 SūtrasThe nature of liberation — how consciousness transcends the guṇas and abides in its own true nature.
34 SūtrasA study resource worthy of the text itself.
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Sanskrit terminology with definitions, cross-references, and sūtra citations across multiple commentaries.
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