Classical era (200 BCE – 500 CE)

The Indic traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were taking shape during the period
between the Mauryan and the Gupta eras (c. 200 BCE – 500 CE), and systems of yoga began to
emerge;[52] a number of texts from these traditions discussed and compiled yoga methods and
practices. Key works of the era include the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, the Yoga-
Yājñavalkya, the Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra, and the Visuddhimagga.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Traditional Hindu depiction of Patanjali as an avatar of the divine serpent Shesha

One of the best-known early expressions of Brahminical yoga thought is the Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali (early centuries CE,[17][18][note 1] the original name of which may have been
the Pātañjalayogaśāstra-sāṃkhya-pravacana (c. 325–425 CE); some scholars believe that it
included the sutras and a commentary.[141] As the name suggests, the metaphysical basis of the
text is samkhya; the school is mentioned in Kauṭilya's Arthashastra as one of the three
categories of anviksikis (philosophies), with yoga and Cārvāka.[142][143] Yoga and samkhya have
some differences; yoga accepted the concept of a personal god, and Samkhya was a rational,
non-theistic system of Hindu philosophy.[144][145][146] Patanjali's system is sometimes called
"Seshvara Samkhya", distinguishing it from Kapila's Nirivara Samkhya.[147] The parallels between
yoga and samkhya were so close that Max Müller says, "The two philosophies were in popular
parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord."[148] Karel
Werner wrote that the systematization of yoga which began in the middle and early Yoga
Upanishads culminated in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[note 14]

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali[150]

Pada (Chapter) English meaning Sutras

Samadhi Pada On being absorbed in spirit 51

 Sadhana Pada On being immersed in spirit 55

Vibhuti Pada On supernatural abilities and gifts 56

Kaivalya Pada On absolute freedom 34

The Yoga Sutras are also influenced by the Sramana traditions of Buddhism and Jainism, and
may be a further Brahmanical attempt to adopt yoga from those traditions.[141] Larson noted a
number of parallels in ancient samkhya, yoga and Abhidharma Buddhism, particularly from the
second century BCE to the first century AD.[151] Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are a synthesis of the
three traditions. From Samkhya, they adopt the "reflective discernment" (adhyavasaya)
of prakrti and purusa (dualism), their metaphysical rationalism, and their
three epistemological methods of obtaining knowledge.[151] Larson says that the Yoga
Sutras pursue an altered state of awareness from Abhidharma Buddhism's nirodhasamadhi;
unlike Buddhism's "no self or soul", however, yoga (like Samkhya) believes that each individual
has a self.[151] The third concept which the Yoga Sutras synthesize is the ascetic tradition of
meditation and introspection.[151]
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are considered the first compilation of yoga philosophy.[note 15] The verses
of the Yoga Sutras are terse. Many later Indian scholars studied them and published their
commentaries, such as the Vyasa Bhashya (c. 350–450 CE).[152] Patanjali defines the word
"yoga" in his second sutra, and his terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit
terms. I. K. Taimni translates it as "Yoga is the inhibition (nirodhaḥ) of the modifications (vṛtti) of
the mind (citta)".[153] Swami Vivekananda translates the sutra as "Yoga is restraining the mind-
stuff (Citta) from taking various forms (Vrittis)."[154] Edwin Bryant writes that to Patanjali, "Yoga
essentially consists of meditative practices culminating in attaining a state of consciousness free
from all modes of active or discursive thought, and of eventually attaining a state where
consciousness is unaware of any object external to itself, that is, is only aware of its own nature
as consciousness unmixed with any other object."[155][156][157]
Baba Hari Dass writes that if yoga is understood as nirodha (mental control), its goal is "the
unqualified state of niruddha (the perfection of that process)".[158] "Yoga (union) implies duality (as
in joining of two things or principles); the result of yoga is the nondual state ... as the union of the
lower self and higher Self. The nondual state is characterized by the absence of individuality; it
can be described as eternal peace, pure love, Self-realization, or liberation."[158]
Patanjali defined an eight-limbed yoga in Yoga Sutras 2.29:

1. Yama (The five abstentions): Ahimsa (Non-violence, non-harming other living

beings),[159] Satya (truthfulness, non-falsehood),[160] Asteya (non-
stealing),[161] Brahmacharya (celibacy, fidelity to one's
partner),[161] and Aparigraha (non-avarice, non-possessiveness).[160]
2. Niyama (The five "observances"): Śauca (purity, clearness of mind, speech and
body),[162] Santosha (contentment, acceptance of others and of one's
circumstances),[163] Tapas (persistent meditation, perseverance,
austerity),[164] Svādhyāya (study of self, self-reflection, study of
Vedas),[165] and Ishvara-Pranidhana (contemplation of God/Supreme Being/True
Self).[163]
3. Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated
position used for meditation.
4. Pranayama ("Breath exercises"): Prāna, breath, "āyāma", to "stretch, extend,
restrain, stop".
5. Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external
objects.
 6. Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object.
7. Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of
meditation.
8. Samadhi ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.
In Hindu scholasticism since the 12th century, yoga has been one of the
six orthodox philosophical schools (darsanas): traditions which accept the Vedas.[note 16][note 17][166]