The ''Dattātreyayogaśāstra'', (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: दत्तात्रेययोगशास्त्र) a Vaisnava text probably composed in the 13th century CE, is the earliest text which provides a systematized form of

Haṭha yoga Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha ...

under that name, and the earliest to place its yoga techniques under the name Haṭha.

Three paths

The ''Dattātreyayogaśāstra'' is the first text to describe and teach yoga as having three types, namely

mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

yoga, laya yoga, and hatha yoga. All three lead to

samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...

, the goal of

raja yoga ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...

. Mantra yoga consists simply of repeating mantras until powers (

siddhis In Indian religions, (Sanskrit: '; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of yogic advancement through sādhanās such as meditation ...

) are obtained. Laya yoga dissolves the mind by methods such as raising

Kundalini In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...

, though neither this nor the

chakra Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...

s are named in the text.

Eightfold yoga

The work teaches an eightfold yoga identical with Patañjali's 8 limbs that it attributes to

Yajnavalkya Yajnavalkya or Yagyavalkya ( sa, याज्ञवल्क्य, ) is a Hindu Vedic sage figuring in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. 700 BCE)., Quote: "Yajnavalkya, a Vedic sage, taught..."Ben-Ami Scharfstein (1998), ''A comparative histor ...

and others, and as an alternative, ten exercises, later called mudras, that it attributes to teachers including Kapila. It claims there are 8,400,000

asana An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...

s, though it only describes one or two non-seated postures including Shavasana, corpse pose (as a method of Laya yoga), and the inverted posture of viparītakaraṇī, sometimes considered an asana, sometimes a mudra. Its account of

pranayama Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In Sanskrit, '' prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the '' prana'' ''sha ...

calls for the yogi to sit in lotus position (padmasana) and practice what it calls breath-retention (

kumbhaka ''Kumbhaka'' is the retention of the breath in the yoga practice of pranayama. It has two types, accompanied (by breathing) whether after inhalation or after exhalation, and, the ultimate aim, unaccompanied. That state is ''kevala kumbhaka'', the ...

), now called anuloma or nadi shodhana, alternate nostril breathing. It states that this gives the yogi the power of levitation, followed by a range of powers such as great strength and the ability to overcome the strongest animals, whether tigers, buffaloes,

gayal The gayal (''Bos frontalis''), also known as the Drung ox or mithun, is a large domestic cattle distributed in Northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and in Yunnan, China.Simoons, F. J. (1984). ''Gayal or mithan''. In: Mason, I. L. (ed.) ''Evolut ...

s, elephants, or lions. The text classifies meditation as being of two types, with and without attributes. Meditation with attributes gives the yogi powers such as becoming very small. That without attributes, such as by meditating on space, confers

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

Mudras

The ''Dattātreyayogaśāstra'' teaches mahāmudrā, mahābandha, khecarīmudrā, jālandharabandha, uḍḍiyāṇabandha, mūlabandha, viparītakaraṇī, vajrolī, amarolī, and sahajolī. The goal was to halt, or to put into reverse, the movement of the vital fluid bindu.

Three paths

Eightfold yoga

Mudras

References

Sources

External links