The ''Vimānārcanākalpa'' is a 10th to 11th century text on

Hatha yoga Hatha yoga (; Sanskrit हठयोग, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''haṭhayoga'') is a branch of yoga that uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word ह� ...

, attributed to the sage

Marichi Marichi () or Mareechi or Marishi is the mind-born son of Brahma, and one of the Saptarishi in Hindu mythology. He is also the father of Kashyapa, and the grandfather of the ''devas'' and the ''asuras''. In Jainism, he is referred to as o ...

Text

The ''Vimanarcanakalpa'' is a 10th to 11th century prose text on

, attributed to the sage

. revised from American Academy of Religions conference, San Francisco, 19 November 2011. It states that

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

is the union of the individual with the supreme self. It is one of the earliest texts to describe a non-seated

asana An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) 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 late ...

and to call such postures asanas (the term originally and literally meaning a seat), namely

Mayurasana Mayūrāsana () or Peacock pose is a hand-balancing asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise with the body held horizontal over the hands. It is one of the oldest non-seated asanas, described in the 10th century. Etymology and origins ...

the peacock pose. In chapter 96 it describes nine asanas in all (Brahmasana,

Svastikasana Siddhasana (; ) or Accomplished Pose is an ancient seated asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise suitable for meditation. The names Muktasana (, Liberated Pose) and Burmese position are sometimes given to the same pose, sometimes to an e ...

, Padmasana, Gomukhasana,

Simhasana Simhasana (; ) or Lion Pose is an asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. Etymology and origins The name comes from the Sanskrit words (), meaning "lion", and (), meaning "posture" or "seat". The pose has also been named Narasimhasa ...

, Muktasana, Virasana, Bhadrasana, and Mayurasana), some 500 years before the ''

Hatha Yoga Pradipika The ''Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā'' ( or Light on Hatha Yoga) is a classic fifteenth-century Sanskrit manual on haṭha yoga, written by Svātmārāma, who connects the teaching's lineage to Matsyendranath of the Nathas. It is among the most infl ...

''. Its account of Mayurasana, in James Mallinson's translation, is: The text teaches a method of

pratyahara Pratyahara () or the 'gathering towards' is the fifth element among the Eight stages of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga, as mentioned in his classical work, ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'' composed in the 2nd century BCE. It is also the first stage of t ...

, withdrawal using the breath, which is raised through 18 stages called marmans, vital points. The ''Vimanarcanakalpa'' describes other topics, such as the practice of burying sacred bronze objects to protect them in times of trouble.

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* 10th-century Sanskrit literature Hindu texts Hatha yoga texts 11th-century Sanskrit literature {{Yoga-stub