''Yogaśāstra'' (''lit.'' "Yoga treatise") is a 12th-century

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 ...

text by

Hemachandra Hemachandra was a 12th century () Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gain ...

on Svetambara

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

. It is a treatise on the "rules of conduct for laymen and ascetics", wherein "yoga" means "ratna-traya" (three jewels), i.e. right belief, right knowledge and right conduct for a Svetambara Jain. As a manual with an extensive auto-commentary called ''Svopajnavrtti'', it was instrumental to the survival and growth of Svetambara tradition in western Indian states such as Gujarat and the spread of Sanskrit culture in Jainism.Olle Qvarnström: Translator (2002), Hemchandra (Author)
The Yogasastra of Hemacandra: A Twelfth Century Handbook on Svetambara Jainism
Harvard University Press, , Quote: "The Yogasastra and its voluminous auto-commentary, the Svopajnavrtti, is the most comprehensive treatise on Svetambara Jainism. Written in the twelfth century by the polymath Hemacandra, it was instrumental in the survival and growth of Jainism in India as well as in the spreading of Sanskrit culture within Jaina circles. Its influence extended far beyond confessional and geographical borders and it came to serve as a handbook for the Jain community in Gujarat and overseas." The ''Yogasastra'' is unlike the conventional much older yoga texts found in Buddhism and Hinduism, but shows their influence. Probably titled "yoga" because its royal patron was attached to yogic traditions of 12th-century India, the ''Yogasastra'' treatise is a systematic exposition of Jain doctrine using the Svetambara scriptures (') and tradition (''sampradaya''), as well as the teachings of many prior Jain scholars such as

Umasvati Umaswati, also spelled as Umasvati and known as Umaswami, was an Indian scholar, possibly between 2nd-century and 5th-century CE, known for his foundational writings on Jainism. He authored the Jain text ''Tattvartha Sutra'' (literally '"All Tha ...

, Subhachandra, and

Haribhadra Aacharya Haribhadra Suri was a Svetambara mendicant Jain leader, philosopher , doxographer, and author. There are multiple contradictory dates assigned to his birth. According to tradition, he lived c. 459–529 CE. However, in 1919, a Jain m ...

Contents of the work

The first three chapters are on the Jain "three jewels", the

Ratnatraya Jainism emphasises that ratnatraya (triple gems of Jainism) — the right faith (''Samyak Darshana''), right knowledge (''Samyak Gyana'') and right conduct (''Samyak Charitra'') — constitutes the path to liberation. These are known as the tripl ...

. These include within its scope the Svetambara's equivalent to the ''sravakacara'' – also called ''upasaka dhyayana'' – of the Digambara tradition of Jainism. The text is far more extensive, and incorporates various forms of Jain yoga in an eightfold scheme similar to Patanjali, as well as Jain ethics and philosophy. Hemachandra includes and discusses topics such as

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'' ''sh ...

, asana found in Hatha yoga,

nadis ( sa, नाडी, lit=tube, pipe, nerve, blood vessel, pulse) is a term for the channels through which, in traditional Indian medicine and spiritual theory, the energies such as prana of the physical body, the subtle body and the causal body ...

, divination,

Maitrī ''Maitrī'' (Sanskrit; Pali: ''mettā'') means benevolence, loving-kindness,Warder (2004), pp. 63, 94. friendliness,Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 540, entry for "Mettā," retrieved 2008-04-29 from "U. Chicago" a amity, good will,Richard G ...

(friendship to all beings), ''Sadhana'' found in Buddhist yoga,

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'' ...

as well as forms of Jain tantric meditation. The treatise also discusses ''pratima'' (''murti''), ''puja'' (devotional worship), ''vrata'' (fasting), ''sraddha'' (reverence to distant ancestors) and ''sangha seva'' (service to the Jain community). The ''Yogaśāstra'' and the commentary by Hemacandra himself were translated into English by Olle Quarnström in 2002.

Notes

{{Indian Philosophy Ancient Indian literature Hatha yoga texts Jain texts

Contents of the work

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