The Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali is a collection of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga - 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to other scholars including BKS Iyengar). The Yoga Sutra was compiled sometime between 500 BC and AD400 by the sage Patanjali in India who synthesized and organized knowledge about yoga from much older traditions.[1][2][3] The Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali was the most translated ancient Indian text in the medieval era, having been translated into about forty Indian languages and two non-Indian languages: Old Javanese and Arabic.[4] The text fell into relative obscurity for nearly 700 years from the 12th to 19th century, and made a comeback in late 19th century due to the efforts of Swami Vivekananda, the Theosophical Society and others. It gained prominence again as a comeback classic in the 20th century.[5]

2. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Commentary by Yogacharya Dr.S.Yegneshwaran

3. We will begin with a story - the greatest and most effective way of conveying knowledge.
What is Patanjali Yoga Sutras?
Once upon a time long ago, all the Munis
and Rishis approached Lord Vishnu to
tell him that even though He (incarnated
as Lord Dhanvanthari) had given them
the means to cure illnesses through
Ayurveda, people still fell sick. They
wanted to know what to do when people
got sick.
Sometimes it's not just physical illness,
but mental and emotional illness too that
needs to be dealt with. How does one
get rid of impurities like anger, lust,
greed, and jealousy? What is the
formula?
Lord Vishnu was lying on his bed of
snakes — the serpent Adishésha with
1000 heads. When the Rishis
approached Him, He gave them
Adishésha (the symbol of awareness),
who took birth in the world as Maharishi
Patanjali.
What is the real purpose of yoga?
The original context of yoga was spiritual
development practices to train the body and
mind to self observe and become aware of
their own nature. The purposes of yoga were
to cultivate discernment, awareness, self-
regulation and higher consciousness in the
individual.
Yoga is meant to be a system of increasing
awareness and decreasing disease. It was
able to enter into the American mainstream by
presenting itself as a tool with many benefits,
including reduced stress, increased relaxation
and greater flexibility. It has continued to grow
through American gyms as something that
cultivates aerobic capacity and builds
strength. But many gyms that offer yoga
emphasize the physical exercise without
teaching the essential self-awareness that
differentiates yoga from any exercise.
The 'narcissism' is the result of an emphasis on exercise that misinterprets what the real
intention of yoga practice is.
The "narcissism," which is not uncommon in many sports, is the result of an emphasis
on exercise that misinterprets what the real intention of yoga practice is. Yes, one can
increase muscle mass and decrease waist size, but that’s not the real goal. Much of the

4. Hence Patanjali came to this earth to
give this knowledge of yoga, which
came to be known as the Yoga Sutras.
Patanjali said that he was not going to
discuss the Yoga Sutras unless 1000
people got together. So, 1000 people
gathered south of the Vindhya
Mountains to listen to him.
Patanjali had another condition. He said
that he would put a screen between him
and his students, and told them that
nobody was to lift the screen or leave.
Everybody had to stay in the hall till he
had finished.
Patanjali stayed behind the curtain and
transmitted his knowledge to the 1000
people who had gathered, and each of
them absorbed this knowledge. It was
an amazing phenomenon where the
students could not believe how they
were getting this knowledge. They could
not believe how the master was making
each of them understand this
knowledge without uttering even a word
from behind the curtain.
Everybody was amazed. Each
one of them experienced such a
blast of energy and enthusiasm
that they could not contain it. But
they still had to maintain
discipline.
One little boy had to go out to
attend nature's call. So, he left
the room. He thought to himself
that he would go quietly and
return quietly. Another person
became curious, "What is the
Master doing behind the
curtain? I want to see."
Does the boy lift the curtain?
Find out in the next Patanjali
Yoga knowledge sheet.

5. What meaning have you unlocked from this story
of Patanjali Yoga Sutras?
There is a lot of depth in this story. The Puranas don't
give any explanation, but it is for us to unlock the
hidden meaning. So, what is that you all have to find
out?
How did the master convey the knowledge to
everybody without uttering a word?
What was the significance of the veil?
Patanjali Yoga Sutra
The Patanjali Yoga Sutras is the oldest known text
on the subject of Yoga. The Sutras, though deep in
their meaning, are extremely concise. In this

7. STORY OF MAHARISHI PATANJALI
Maharishi Patanjali is a saint who is believed to have lived some time during the 2nd
century BCE. Known for his treatise on Yoga, entitled “Patanjali Yoga Sutra”, he was not
only an authority on the Science of Yoga, but was also a scientist and a doctor whose
clarity and wisdom was remarkable.
Tradition says that Patanjali was also the
author of the treatise “Mahaabhaashya”
which is an exposition on Paanini’s
“Ashtaadhyaayi”, although there has been
considerable debate as to whether the two
works “Yoga Sutras” and Mahaabhaashya”
are by the same author. In addition, tradition
claims that he has to his credit, a medical text
“Charakapratisamskrtah”, which is a revision
of the medical treatise of Charaka – however
this work was lost.
Hence tradition extolls Patanjali thus, “I bow
with my hands together, to the eminent
Patanjali, who removed the impurities of the
mind through Yoga, of speech through
Grammar, and of the body through medicine”
(Translation of the verse from Bhoja
Rajamaarttaanda Commentary on the Yoga
Sutras).
But the question as to whether all the three

8. Many people today look to Patanjali, the
compiler of the Yoga Sutras, as the
father or founder of the greater system
of Yoga. While Patanjali’s work is very
important and worthy of profound
examination, a study of the ancient
literature on Yoga reveals that the Yoga
tradition is much older.
The traditional founder of Yoga
Darshana or the ‘Yoga system of
philosophy’ – which the Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali represents – is usually said to
be Hiranyagarbha. It is nowhere said to
be Patanjali. The Mahabharata (Shanti
Parva 349.65), the great ancient text in
which the Bhagavad Gita of Sri Krishna
occurs, states: “Kapila, the teacher of
Samkhya, is said to be the supreme
Rishi. Hiranyagarbha is the original
knower of Yoga. There is no one else
more ancient.”

9. Elsewhere in the Mahabharata (Shanti Parva 342.95-96), Krishna
states, identifying himself with Hiranyagarbha: “As my form,
carrying the knowledge, eternal and dwelling in the Sun, the
teachers of Samkhya, who have discerned what is important, call
me Kapila. As the brilliant Hiranyagarbha, who is lauded in the
verses of the Vedas, ever worshipped by Yoga, so I am also
remembered in the world.” Other Yoga texts like the Brihadyogi
Yajnavalkya Smriti XII.5 similarly portray Hiranyagarbha as the
original teacher of Yoga, just as Kapila is the original teacher of
the Samkhya system. So do commentaries on the Yoga Sutras.
The vast literature of the Vedas, Mahabharata and Puranas speak
of numerous great yogis but does not give importance to
Patanjali, who was of a later period. Even the Yoga literature that
is later in time than Patanjali, like that of Kashmir Shaivism or
Hatha Yoga, does not make him central to their teachings. This is
not to say that Patanjali is not honored, as his figure is found in
many temples, particularly in South India but that the idea that
Yoga begins with him at an historical level is not accurate. The
Yoga Sutras remains an important text but its place in the tradition
must also be recognized and its later date.
This earlier Yoga literature before Patanjali can be better called
the Hiranyagarbha Yoga Darshana as it is said to begin with
Hiranyagarbha. In fact, most of the Yoga taught in Vedas,
Upanishads, Gita, Mahabharata and Puranas – which is the main
ancient literature of Yoga – derives from it. Such ancient Pre-

10. Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras is only referred to as a compiler, not as an inventor of the
Yoga teachings. He himself states, “Thus is the teaching of Yoga” (Yoga Sutras I.1). This
is quite unlike Krishna, the avatar of Yoga, who states, “I taught the original Yoga to
Vivasvan” (Bhagavad Gita IV.1).
Patanjali is traditionally regarded as a devotee of Vishnu/Narayana, whose main human
avatar is Krishna. This strongly suggests that Patanjali himself was a devotee of
Krishna. Traditional Sanskrit chants to Patanjali laud him as an incarnation of Lord
Sesha, the serpent on which Lord Vishnu/Narayana resides.
This Sesha attribution subordinates Patanjali and his darshana to Krishna/Vishnu. The
depth, clarity and brevity of Patanjali’s compilation is noteworthy, but it is the mark of a
later summation, not a new beginning.
The Bhagavad Gita is the primary ancient text lauded as a Yoga Shastra or ‘definitive
Yoga teaching’. This can be carried to theMahabharata as a whole, in which
the Gita occurs. Bhishma in the Mahabharata (Shanti Parva 300.57) also speaks of a
Yoga teaching “established in many Yoga Shastras.” The Anu Gita section of
the Mahabharata (Ashvamedha Parva 19.15) has an interesting section that begins,
“Thus I will declare, the supreme and unequalled Yoga Shastra.”
Several Upanishads like the Katha are said to be Yoga Shastras, besides
numerous Yoga Upanishads that also do not emphasize Patanjali. The Puranas contain
sections on Yoga said to be authoritative in nature as well and do not give importance to
Patanjali. When such texts teach Yoga, they often do so with quotes from the
older Vedas.

11. This means that the Patanjali Yoga Darshana is a later subset of the earlier
Hiranyagarbha Yoga Darshana. It is not a new or original teaching, nor was it ever
meant to stand on its own. The topics addressed in it from yamas and niyamas to
dhyana and samadhi are already taught in detail in the older literature. In
the Mahabharata (Shanti Parva 316.7), the sage Yajnavalkya speaks of an “eightfold
Yoga taught in the Vedas.” The Shandilya Upanishad (1) refers to an eightfold or
ashtanga Yoga but does not mention Patanjali.
While no single simple Hiranyagarbha Yoga Sutras text has survived, quite a few of its
teachings have remained. In fact, the literature on the Hiranyagarbha Yoga tradition is
much larger than that on Patanjali Yoga tradition, which itself represents a branch of it.
We cannot speak of a Patanjali Yoga tradition or of a Patanjali Yoga literature apart from
this older set of Yoga teachings rooted in the Hiranyagarbha tradition. The Patanjali
Yoga teaching occurs in the context of a broader Yoga Darshana that includes other
streams. There is only one Yoga Darshana that existed long before Patanjali and was
taught in many ways. It is the Yoga Darshana attributed to Hiranyagarbha and related
Vedic teachers.
Hiranyagarbha and Vedic Yoga

12. The chief disciple of Hiranyagarbha in the ancient texts is said to be the Rishi Vasishta,
the foremost of the Vedic seers (seer of the seventh book of the Rig Veda), who passed
on the Yoga teachings to Narada (Mahabharata Shanti Parva 308.45). Vasishta teaches
the Yoga Darshana in the Mahabharata (Shanti Parva 306.26): “The Yoga Darshana has
so been declared by me according to the truth.” He also passes on his knowledge to his
son, Parashara, in whose line was born Veda Vyasa, who compiled the Vedas and wrote
the Mahabharata.
Vasishta is made into the prime early human teacher of such other Vedic disciplines as
Advaita Vedanta (the tradition of Jnana Yoga or the Yoga of Knowledge), and of carrying
on the Yoga teachings of Shiva and Vishnu as well as that of Hiranyagarbha. There are
several very important Yoga texts in the Vasistha line including the Vasishta
Samhita and Yoga Vasishta, the latter of which is often regarded as the greatest work on
both Yoga and Vedanta.
The original Yoga tradition is not the Patanjali tradition but the Hiranyagarbha tradition. It
teachings are found not only in the Yoga Sutras but in the Mahabharata, including
the Bhagavad Gita, Moksha Dharma Parva and Anu Gita, which each contain extensive
teachings on Yoga from many sides. The Hiranyagarbha Yoga tradition is the main Vedic
Yoga tradition. The Patanjali Yoga tradition is an offshoot of it or a later expression of it.
Samkhya, Yoga and Vedanta are all presented as aspects of this same tradition in
the Mahabharata. Ayurveda and Vedic astrology are important aspects of its outer
application. If we want to go back to the real roots of Yoga and restore the original
teachings of Yoga, we should return to the Hiranyagarbha Yoga Darshana. It will
also help us better understand the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

13. Distortions of the Yoga Sutras
Much of modern Yoga rests upon a misinterpretation and misunderstanding of the Yoga
Sutras. The first problem is that many people try to look at the Yoga Sutras as an
original text that stands in itself, when it is only a later compilation that requires
examining its background in order to make sense of it. This causes them to separate
Yoga from the earlier Vedic tradition that forms the greater context of Patanjali’s
teachings.
Second, the Yoga Sutras, as a sutra work consisting of short aphorisms, can be easily
slanted in different directions according to the inclinations of the interpreter. The
teachings of the Hiranyagarbha Yoga Darshana, on the other hand, are more complete
and can be cross referenced to avoid such distortions.
Third, the Yoga Sutra tradition has been made sectarian, notably opposing Yoga and
Samkhya to Vedanta. This is not something of the modern age only, but occurred in old
debates between these philosophical systems going back to the Middle Ages and
before. The original Hiranyagarbha Yoga Shastra, however, is presented as in harmony
with Samkhya and Vedanta, such as we find it in the Mahabharata. The synthesis of
these three systems is in fact as old as Krishna, if not older.
This older integral Yoga is the same general type of Yoga-Vedanta taught by great
modern Yoga gurus of India like Vivekananda, Yogananda, Aurobindo, Shivananda, and
his many disciples, and many others, the very teachers who first brought Yoga to the
West in the last century. They have taught the Yoga Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita and
the Upanishads together as part of the same broader tradition.

14. So how do we approach the Yoga Sutras then? It is best to do so in the context of the
older Yoga Darshana. There is only one Yoga Darshana through all the texts and tradition.
There is no Patanjali Yoga Darshana as an entity in itself apart from the older
Hiranyagarbha Yoga Darshana. If we want to understand the meaning of the technical
terms in the Yoga Sutras, we should do so with recourse to the older literature, not by
inventing our own meanings or trying to make these terms unique to the Yoga Sutras.
Whether it is the yamas and niyamas, the different types of samadhi, or the different
aspects of Yoga practice, all such terms often alluded to only briefly in the Sutras can be
found explained clearly and in detail in the older literature.
In addition, we should look at the Yoga Sutras in light of Vedanta, not only the Bhagavad
Gita but also the Upanishads. While Patanjali emphasizes the Purusha rather than
Brahman (the Absolute), we must remember that the Hiranyagarbha tradition gives
Brahman its place. We can also look to Vedanta for a greater description of Ishvara or
God, which Patanjali does not examine in detail, but which Vedantic texts examine in
great detail.
This means that we should delink Yoga per se from Patanjali and restore its meaning at
a broader level. We should look at Yoga beyond the Yoga Sutras, not only the ancient
Yoga literature before Patanjali but the later Yoga literature apart from him, the various
traditions of Vaishnava, Shaivite, Shakta and Vedantic Yoga. Once we do this we can
understand why different aspects of Yoga have been used by different philosophical
systems in India, including those who may not agree with Patanjali on certain
philosophical issues. Yoga as a general tradition is something more than Patanjali,
however great his compilation may be. Most of that broader Yoga can be found in the
earlier Hiranyagarbha formulation, particularly in the Mahabharata.

15. Besides looking at Patanjali in a new light, we should work to restore the teachings of
the Hiranyagarbha Yoga Darshana. Many of these can easily be compiled from
the Mahabharata, Upanishads, and other ancient Vedic teachings. Through it we can
gradually reclaim the older Vedic Yoga it was based upon. In this way, we can restore
the spiritual heritage of the Himalayan rishis. This is an important task for the next
generation of Yoga aspirants, if they want to really reclaim the origin and depths of the
teaching.