Shiva Samhita

Śivasaṃhitā

A hatha yoga text that joins subtle-body practice with a broadly Vedantic, non-dual view of the self.

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Tradition: Yoga (Patanjala) · Tantra · Shaivism · Vedanta
Difficulty: intermediate
Attribution: Presented as the teaching of Shiva; author unknown
Period · language: Scholars place it between roughly the 15th and 17th centuries CE; dating is debated · Sanskrit
Themes: Subtle body · Breath · Non-duality · Practice

Why read this?

It is notable for grounding hatha practice in a metaphysical frame close to Advaita, and for describing the subtle body in detail. It also states that householders can practise yoga successfully.

Questions it answers

?Can bodily yoga be joined to a non-dual philosophy?
?Is yoga only for renunciants?

Key teachings

Editorial overview

A philosophical opening

The first chapter surveys competing views and then favours a non-dual position in which the individual self is not ultimately different from the supreme. The practical chapters are set within this frame.

The body as microcosm

The body is described as containing the cosmos in miniature, with channels (nadi), centres and the central channel, through which the practice is mapped.

Practice for householders

The text holds that success in yoga depends on practice rather than on renouncing household life, a point often cited in discussions of who yoga is for.

Structure

Five chapters (patalas) in the common edition

Source not yet ingested

The text of the Shiva Samhita 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).Conceptअद्वैत / अद्वयNon-duality (advaya / advaita)The claim that reality is ultimately 'not two' — understood very differently across schools.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.Conceptब्रह्मन्BrahmanThe ultimate reality, the ground from which everything arises.

Textहठयोगप्रदीपिकाHatha Yoga PradipikaContemporary hatha manual with overlapping practices Textयोगयाज्ञवल्क्यYoga YajnavalkyaAnother text joining yoga practice to Vedantic ideas

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Traditions

योगYoga (Patanjala)तन्त्रTantra शैवShaivism वेदान्तVedanta