Yogabῑja: a Critical Transcription of a Text on a Haṭhayoga (original) (raw)

Disentangling the Persian Translations of Sanskrit Works on Yoga

One of the most complicated cases of translation from Sanskrit to Persian is the cluster of texts claiming to transmit Sanskrit works on yoga. The principal sources named in the Persian translations are the Amr̥ takuṇḍa (The Pool of Nectar), a collection of yogic and tantric practices including divination by breath (svara) and summoning goddesses, and a parallel text entitled Kāmarūpančāšikā (The 50 Verses of Kāmarūpa). 1 Neither of these sources has yet come to light exactly as described in the translations. These teachings were initially assembled in an Arabic version entitled Mir'āt al-ma'ānī (The Mirror of Meanings), which served as the basis for several competing Persian translations. This following sketch summarizes the contents and relationships of these four Persian texts, along with a few summaries and redactions. The aim is to demonstrate the broad circulation of portions of the Kāmarūpančāšikā, particularly in Persia, and to clarify the process by which the Arabic version of the Amr̥ takuṇḍa was then conveyed into three Persian translations: first the anonymous Ḥawż al-ḥayāt (The Pool of Life), then a revision entitled 'Ayn al-ḥayāt (The Source of Life), and finally the Baḥr al-ḥayāt (The Ocean of Life), the latter being much expanded by the Shattari Sufi master Muḥammad Ġawṯ, The persistent interest of Muslim authors in these esoteric practices is a testimony to eclecticism in practical matters, but selective omissions and arbitrary theological equivalences also reveal a careful translation strategy that balanced ambivalence with opportunity.

Haṭhayoga's Philosophy: A Fortuitous Union of Non-Dualities

In its classical formulation as found in Svātmārāma’s Haṭhapradīpikā, haṭhayoga is a Śaiva appropriation of an older extra-Vedic soteriological method. But this appropriation was not accompanied by an imposition of Śaiva philosophy. In general, the texts of haṭhayoga reveal, if not a disdain for, at least an insouciance towards metaphysics. Yoga is a soteriology that works regardless of the yogin’s philosophy. But the various texts that were used to compile the Haṭhapradīpikā (a table identifying these borrowings is given at the end of the article) were not composed in metaphysical vacua. Analysis of their allusions to doctrine shows that the texts from which Svātmārāma borrowed most were products of a Vedantic milieu - bearing testament to Vedānta’s newfound interest in yoga as a complement to jñāna - but that many others were Śaiva non-dual works. Because of the lack of importance given to the niceties of philosophy in haṭhayogic works, these two non-dualities were able to combine happily and thus the Śaiva tenets incorporated within haṭhayoga survived the demise of Śaivism as part of what was to become in the medieval period the dominant soteriological method in scholarly religious discourse in India.

Hathayogapradipika - A Compact Treatise on Hathayoga -An overview

Indica Yoga , 2021

Among the various treatises Hathayoga - Hathayogapradipika by Svatmarama is respected, accepted and studied widely for its compact and the same time comprehensive approach to all aspects of Hathayoga.There are four chapters in the text - Hathayogapradipika. There are about 389 verses in the entire treatise. The chapters are - 1) Asana and other prerequisites for Yoga 2) Pranayama 3) Mudras 4) Samadhi- Nadanusandhana An overview of Hathayogapradipika which is an integral part of Yoga teaching and learning in contemporary times is presented in this write up.

Subtle, hidden, and far-off: The intertextuality of the Yogasūtras

Journal of Hindu Studies, 2023

Modern scholarship discusses 'Buddhist influences' on the Patañjali's Yogasūtras (YS). Indeed, Patañjali borrowed key Buddhist concepts, particularly from Yogācāra. But this borrowing does not evince that the YS is just 'crypto-Buddhism'. In fact, during the first millennium CE, the YS was equally influential on Buddhist thinkers. I make this argument by focusing on YS 3.25, which discusses the yogic ability to see subtle (sūkṣma), hidden (vyavahita), and far-off (viprakṛṣṭa) objects. Tracing textual occurrences of these three words, I use this stable mimetic trope to demonstrate the influence of YS on Buddhist, Nyāya, and Vaiśeṣika writings. This influence is all the more interesting given that Buddhists explicitly disagree with many of the theoretical suppositions latent in YS 3.25. I demonstrate that despite this theoretical disagreement, Buddhists make ample use of YS 3.25. This paper thus complicates any clear direction of influence between Buddhist and Hindu traditions, and further questions the cogency of strict delineations between different philosophical schools. I also offer the method used in this paper as a novel approach to textual exegesis. By focusing on stable textual memes and tracing their occurrences across sources, we gain a powerful method to more deeply plumb India's rich intertextual intellectual history.

Dr. Zahorulko, Boris. "The main sources of errors in translations of the texts of Indian Philosophy"

The main sources of errors in translations of the texts of Indian Philosophy

Amīcus Plato, sed magis amīca veritas «»«» Introduction The purpose of this article is the analysis of the main sources of errors in translations of the texts of Indian philosophy into Russian and English, as well as suggestions on correction of such type of errors, their prevention and improvement of translations in general. In recent years, there has appeared a great number of translated literature on yoga, Indian culture and philosophy. The main body of this translated literature comprises written in prose mostly in English different texts expounding Indian philosophical systems and teachings (Buddhist, Jain or Sikh texts were not taken for analysis). To a lesser extent, we can include here philosophic texts in poetical form, as well as a number of other manuscripts translated directly from Sanskrit or from other Indian languages (like Tamil). Besides, we can add here numerous dictionaries and encyclopedias on Indian culture, mythology, philosophy and yoga. Although the majority of these works (even those which claim to have been translated directly from Sanskrit originals) are indeed translations from English, they are replete with Indian, mostly Sanskrit philosophical terms such as samādhi, sādhana, viveka, vairāgya, manas, buddhi, suṣupti, saṃsāra, jñāna, bhakti, śānti, siddhi, māyā etc. Due to the specificity of the subject, the translation of such type of literature faces many difficulties, and correctness of the translation primarily depends on the competence and individual aptitude of the translator. Some scholars think that an adequate translation from one language into another is not at all possible; others reckon that in such translations we have to ascribe the authorship to the translator himself. However, with all the difficulties, the majority of linguists hold that regardless of language restrictions and partial loss of information the translation is possible from any language. The most important thing here is that the content of the translated text must be equivalent to the content of the original. Considering the difficulties which confront the translator, the Russian linguist, academician G.V. Stepanov writes that such a work often turns out to be deciphering and can be undertaken only by those who know well the culture of the nation including customs, habits, socio-political organization of the society, religion, arts, science, etiquette and many other things 1 .

The Yoga of the Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati: Haṭhayoga on the Cusp of Modernity

Journal of Yoga Studies, 2019

The Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati is a Sanskrit text on the practice of Haṭhayoga, probably composed in the eighteenth century in Maharashtra. This article discusses, among other things, the dating, authorship, sectarian affiliation, and unique features of the text, its relationship to other yoga texts, and its significance for the history of modern yoga. The most remarkable feature of this text is its section on āsana (yogic posture), which contains six groups of postures, many of which are unusual or unique among yoga texts. Another unique feature of this section is that the postures appear to be arranged into sequences intended to be practised in order. A manuscript of the text exists in the Mysore Palace; this (possibly along with other texts) was the basis for the illustrated āsana descriptions in Mysore’s famous book, the Śrītattvanidhi. As we discuss, it is highly likely that the Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati was known to the most influential teacher of ‘modern postural yoga,’ T. Krishnamacharya, and therefore has a special significance for certain schools of transnational yoga.