The ''Yogatārāvalī'' ("A String of Stars on Yoga"
) is a short yoga text of 29 verses from the 13th or 14th century, covering both
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 ...
and
rāja yoga
In Sanskrit texts, ''Rāja yoga'' (; राजयोग) was both the goal of yoga and a method to attain it. The term also became a modern name for the practice of yoga in the 19th-century when Swami Vivekananda gave his interpretation of t ...
(the yoga of
Patanjali
Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it i ...
). It mentions the yogic sleep state of
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 ...
or yoganidra. The text was used by the author of the 15th century ''
Haṭhapradīpikā''. The ''Yogatārāvalī's'' first verse is chanted by
Ashtanga vinyasa yoga students, following
Pattabhi Jois's practice, at the start of each class.
The text leads up to the teaching that yoga brings "complete transcendence of the world and mind", uninterested in gaining
siddhis (powers).
Compared to earlier yoga texts such as the 12th or 13th century ''
Dattātreyayogaśāstra'' and the 14th century ''
Amaraugha Prabodha'', the ''Yogatārāvalī'' omits mention of
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, and treats hatha yoga as the only way to practice rāja yoga. It makes use of the three
bandhas (locks) to attain
kevala 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 ...
, a spontaneous suspension of breathing and mental activity. According to the text, this supersedes all other Patanjali-style yoga practices including
dharana (concentration) and
dhyana
Dhyana may refer to:
Meditative practices in Indian religions
* Dhyana in Buddhism (Pāli: ''jhāna'')
* Dhyana in Hinduism
* Jain Dhyāna, see Jain meditation
Other
*''Dhyana'', a work by British composer John Tavener (1944-2013)
* ''Dhyana'' ...
(meditation).
Two verses discuss
kuṇḍalinī
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'' ...
(an energy visualised as a coiled snake) without naming it. Ruth Westoby states that the text mentions the awakening of ''uragāṅganā'', the snake-woman, whose awakening is induced by the three bandhas. This allows the breath to enter, and breathing is then suspended. Separately, kuṇḍalinī is named as ''kuṇḍalī''.
A detailed commentary on the ''Yogatārāvalī'', the only one on this text, is the ''Rājayogatarala'' of Rāmasvāmi paṇḍita.
References
{{Hatha yoga
Hatha yoga texts