The ''Yogacintamani'' (, IAST:, "The Wish-fulfilling Gem of Yoga") is an early 17th-century

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� ...

text by the Daśanāmi monk Śivānandasarasvatī, covering the eight auxiliaries of yoga. The

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 ...

section in all the manuscripts describes 34 asanas, while variations in some manuscripts add another 84, mentioning most of the non-

standing asanas The standing asanas are the yoga poses or asanas with one or both feet on the ground, and the body more or less upright. They are among the most distinctive features of modern yoga as exercise. Until the 20th century there were very few of these, ...

used in modern postural yoga. This makes it the largest asana collection from the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

Text

Eightfold yoga

The ''Yogacintamani'' (, IAST:) is a late 16th-century

text. It consists of four "rather discursive" chapters each with multiple long quotations from many yoga texts. The first half of the text, chapter 1 and part of chapter 2, introduce and define yoga. The second half consists mainly of eight sections corresponding to the

eight limbs of yoga Ashtanga yoga (, "eight limbs of yoga") is Pātañjali's classification of classical yoga, as set out in his '' Yoga Sūtras''. He defined the eight limbs as ''yama'' (abstinences), '' niyama'' (observances), '' āsana'' (postures), '' prāṇ� ...

(''Yama, Niyama, Āsana, Prāṇāyāma, Pratyāhāra, Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna, Samādhi'') described in

Patanjali Patanjali (, , ; also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra) was the name of one or more author(s), mystic(s) and philosopher(s) in ancient India. His name is recorded as an author and compiler of a number of Sanskrit works. The greatest of these a ...

's ''

Yoga Sutras The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' (IAST: Patañjali yoga-sūtra) is a compilation "from a variety of sources" of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyasa, Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sut ...

''. The text ends with a section on signs of death and how the yogi can use those to cheat death, and a concluding section that lists the sources used and summarises the text's scope, noting that it omits teachings found only in the

Upanishads The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...

and those of the

Kapalika The Kāpālika (Sanskrit : कापालिक) tradition was a Tantric, non- Puranic form of Shaivism which originated in Medieval India between the 4th and 8th century CE. The word is derived from the Sanskrit term '' kapāla'', meaning ...

s which are described as non-Vedic., which cites The text quotes 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 ...

'' extensively. The text is known from multiple manuscripts.

Asanas

The

section in all the manuscripts of the ''Yogacintamani'' describes 34 asanas including

kukkutasana Kukkutasana (; ), Cockerel Pose, or Rooster Posture is an arm-balancing asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, derived from the seated Padmasana, lotus position. It is one of the oldest non-seated asanas. Similar hand-balancing poses k ...

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 ...

, and

siddhasana 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 ...

, while handwritten annotations in the Ujjain manuscript and variations in other manuscripts add another 84, mentioning most of the non-standing asanas used in modern postural yoga, including forward bends like

paschimottanasana Pashchimottanasana (), Seated Forward Bend, or Intense Dorsal Stretch is a seated forward-bending asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. Janusirsasana is a variant with one knee bent out to the side; Upavishthakonasana has the legs stra ...

, backbends such as

ustrasana Ustrasana (; ), Ushtrasana, or Camel Pose is a kneeling back-bending asana in modern yoga as exercise. Etymology and origins The name comes from the Sanskrit words , meaning "camel", and , meaning "posture" or "seat". A different (standing ...

, twists like

matsyendrasana Matsyendrasana (; ), Matsyendra's Pose or Lord of the Fishes Pose is a seated twisting asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. The full form is the difficult Paripurna Matsyendrasana. A common and easier variant is Ardha Matsyendrasana. T ...

, and arm balances like

. The asanas match those in the 1602 Persian textbook ''

Bahr al-Hayat The ''Bahr al-Hayāt'' or ''Ocean of Life'' is an illustrated Persian book, published c. 1602 by Muhammad Ghawth, which covers topics including asanas used for meditation. It is probably the first illustrated textbook of yoga. Book Origins A lo ...

''. Kukkutasana is described in the same way as in the ''

Vasishtha Samhita The ''Vasishtha Samhita'' (Sanskrit: वासिष्ठसंहिता, ''Vāsiṣṭha Saṁhitā'', Vasishtha's Collection) is a 13th-century medieval Vaishnavite text, one of the first to describe non-seated hatha yoga asanas including th ...

'' and the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'', but in the Ujjain manuscript someone in the second half of the 17th century has added a note that the pose "is effective for cleaning the

channels Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Australia in Queensland and pa ...

"; this is a benefit ascribed to

in the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika''. The yoga scholar

Jason Birch Jason Birch is a scholar of medieval haṭha yoga and a founding member of SOAS University of London, SOAS's Centre for Yoga Studies. His research includes locating and translating early yoga manuscripts, and preparing critical editions, such as ...

comments that the manuscript shows that yogis at that time were "willing to combine yoga techniques from

Śaiva Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...

and

Vaiṣṇava Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Sh ...

traditions".

References

Sources

* {{Hatha yoga Hatha yoga texts

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Eightfold yoga

Asanas

See also

References

Sources