Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Haṭhayogapradīpikā

The best-known medieval manual of hatha yoga, compiling postures, cleansing practices, breath control and seals as preparation for raja yoga.

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Tradition: Yoga (Patanjala) · Tantra · Shaivism
Difficulty: intermediate
Attribution: Attributed to Svatmarama, who presents himself within a lineage of Nath teachers
Period · language: Generally dated to around the 15th century CE · Sanskrit
Themes: Body · Breath · Energy · Discipline · Meditation

Why read this?

It shows how medieval yogis understood the body as an instrument of liberation, and it is the source of much vocabulary in modern posture yoga. It also shows that hatha was framed as serving meditative absorption, not as exercise alone.

Questions it answers

?Why should the body matter to a spiritual path?
?How do breath and mind relate?
?What is the relation between hatha yoga and Patanjali's yoga?

Key teachings

Editorial overview

Hatha as a ladder to raja yoga

The text presents hatha yoga as a means to raja yoga, the state of meditative absorption. Physical practices are meant to steady the body and breath so that the mind can become absorbed.

Purification and posture

It describes a set of cleansing practices (shatkarma) and a limited number of postures, emphasising seated postures for breathwork and meditation over a large repertoire of poses.

Breath and mind move together

A recurring idea is that when breath is unsteady the mind is unsteady, and when breath is steadied the mind follows. Breath regulation (pranayama) and retention (kumbhaka) are central.

Subtle body and seals

Seals (mudra) and locks (bandha) are described in the language of the subtle body: channels (nadi), the central channel (sushumna) and the awakening of kundalini, reflecting Nath and tantric influence.

Absorption in sound

The final chapter treats samadhi and the practice of listening to inner sound (nada), describing the dissolution (laya) of the mind as the culmination.

Structure

Chapter 1Asana, conduct and diet
Chapter 2Shatkarma and pranayama
Chapter 3Mudras and bandhas
Chapter 4Samadhi, laya and nada
RecensionsThe common edition has four chapters; some manuscripts are longer and divided differently

Source not yet ingested

The text of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika is not part of this version. What you see here is an editorial overview with passage references. No verses have been reproduced or invented. The architecture is ready for the text to be added.

Concepts

ConceptयोगYogaJoining or disciplining — a path of practice toward freedom.Conceptप्राणायामPranayamaRegulation of the breath and the life-force (prana).ConceptसमाधिSamadhiComplete absorption of the mind in its object, or beyond any object.Conceptशक्तिShaktiPower, energy; in Shakta and Shaiva thought, the dynamic aspect of the divine, often worshipped as the Goddess.ConceptशरीरShariraThe body; in Vedanta, understood as gross, subtle and causal layers distinct from the Self.Conceptध्यानDhyanaMeditation: an unbroken flow of attention toward one object.

Textयोगसूत्रYoga Sutras of PatanjaliHatha texts often present themselves as serving the goal Patanjali calls samadhi Textघेरण्डसंहिताGheranda SamhitaA later hatha manual with a sevenfold scheme TextशिवसंहिताShiva SamhitaAnother medieval hatha text with a more Vedantic frame

Continue exploring

Traditions

योगYoga (Patanjala)तन्त्रTantra शैवShaivism

Learning paths

Understanding the mind

Source type: Primary source. Overview text on this page is editorial.