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

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

text by

Hemachandra Hemacandra was a 12th century () Śvetāmbara Jaina acharya, ācārya, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, wikt:grammarian, grammarian, Law, law theorist, historian, Lexicography, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and Prosody ...

Śvetāmbara The Śvetāmbara (; also spelled Shwetambara, Shvetambara, Svetambara or Swetambara) is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other being the Digambara. ''Śvetāmbara'' in Sanskrit means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practi ...

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

. 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 Sadhaka. As a manual with an extensive auto-commentary called ''Svopajnavrtti'', it was instrumental to the survival and growth of

tradition in western Indian states such as

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

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 Vācaka Umāsvāti, also spelled as Vācaka Umasvati and known as Vācaka Umāsvāmī, was an Indian scholar, possibly between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE, known for his foundational writings on Jainism. He authored the Jainatext ''Tattvartha ...

, Subhachandra, and Haribhadra.

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 (Sanskrit: प्राणायाम, "Prāṇāyāma") is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In classical yoga, the breath is associated with '' prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the ''prana-shakti'', or life en ...

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 ...

found in Hatha yoga, nadis,

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

, Maitrī (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 Sir John Kenneth ...

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'' was translated into English by Olle Qvarnström in 2002.

Bibliography

*Hemacandra. ''Yogaśāstra'', ed. Muni Jambūvijaya, 3 vols, Bombay, 1977–86.

Notes

External links

Manuscript
from

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

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

Contents of the work

See also

Bibliography

Notes

External links