Yajnavalkya Teaches Yoga to Janaka

Verse 1 (12.321.1)

साङ्ख्यज्ञानं मया प्रोक्तं योगज्ञानं निबोध मे । यथाश्रुतं यथादृष्टं तत्त्वेन नृपसत्तम ॥

sāṅkhyajñānaṃ mayā proktaṃ yogajñānaṃ nibodha me | yathāśrutaṃ yathādṛṣṭaṃ tattvena nṛpasattama

I have told you the knowledge of Sankhya; now learn from me the knowledge of Yoga, as I have heard it and as I have seen it, O best of kings, in its true nature.

Verse 2 (12.321.2)

नास्ति साङ्ख्यसमं ज्ञानं नास्ति योगसमं बलम् । तावुभावेकचर्यौ तावुभावनिधनौ स्मृतौ ॥

nāsti sāṅkhyasamaṃ jñānaṃ nāsti yogasamaṃ balam | tāvubhāvekacaryau tāvubhāvanidhanau smṛtau

There is no knowledge equal to Sankhya, and no strength equal to Yoga. Both follow one course, and both are held to be without end.

Verse 3 (12.321.3)

पृथक्पृथक्प्रपश्यन्ति येऽप्यबुद्धिरता नराः । वयं तु राजन्पश्याम एकमेव तु निश्चयात् ॥

pṛthakpṛthakprapaśyanti ye'pyabuddhiratā narāḥ | vayaṃ tu rājanpaśyāma ekameva tu niścayāt

Men who take delight in what is not understanding see the two as separate, each by itself; but we, O king, see them as one alone, by firm conviction.

Note on the text: Wikisource येऽप्यबुद्धिरताः (footnote variant येऽल्पबुद्धिपरायणाः; CE ye 'lpabuddhiratāḥ) is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 4 (12.321.4)

यदेव योगाः पश्यन्ति तत्साङ्ख्यैरपि दृश्यते । एकं साङ्ख्यं च योगं च यः पश्यति स तत्त्ववित् ॥

yadeva yogāḥ paśyanti tatsāṅkhyairapi dṛśyate | ekaṃ sāṅkhyaṃ ca yogaṃ ca yaḥ paśyati sa tattvavit

What the yogins see, the followers of Sankhya see as well. He who sees Sankhya and Yoga as one is the knower of the truth.

Verse 5 (12.321.5)

रुद्रप्रधानानपरान्विद्धि योगानरिंदम् । तेनैव चाथ देहेन विचरन्ति दिशो दश ॥

rudrapradhānānaparānviddhi yogānariṃdam | tenaiva cātha dehena vicaranti diśo daśa

Know, O subduer of foes, that there are other forms of yoga with Rudra as their chief; by them the yogins range over the ten directions in that very body.

Note on the text: Line 1 ends योगानरिंदम् (CE yogān paraṃtapa), a recension variant, kept.

Verse 6 (12.321.6)

यावद्धि प्रलयस्तात सूक्ष्मेणाष्टगुणेन ह । योगेन लोकान्विचरन्सुखं संन्यस्य चानघ ॥

yāvaddhi pralayastāta sūkṣmeṇāṣṭaguṇena ha | yogena lokānvicaransukhaṃ saṃnyasya cānagha

Until the dissolution of the world, dear son, he roams through the worlds by yoga with the subtle eightfold power, having laid aside all pleasure, O sinless one.

Note on the text: Line 1 ends सूक्ष्मेणाष्टगुणेन ह (CE vai), a recension variant, kept.

Verse 7 (12.321.7)

तावदेवाष्टगुणिनं योगं प्राहुर्मनीषिणः । सूक्ष्ममष्टगुणं प्राहुर्नेतरं नृपसत्तम ॥

tāvadevāṣṭaguṇinaṃ yogaṃ prāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ | sūkṣmamaṣṭaguṇaṃ prāhurnetaraṃ nṛpasattama

For just that long the wise speak of a yoga of eight qualities; they call the subtle one the eightfold, and no other, O best of kings.

Note on the text: Corrected योगप्राहुर्मनीषिणः → योगं प्राहुर्मनीषिणः (misprint in Wikisource; the anusvara of the object योगम् is lost). Line 1 is a recension variant of CE 12.304.7a (vedeṣu cāṣṭaguṇitaṃ yogam āhur manīṣiṇaḥ), kept.

Verse 8 (12.321.8)

द्विगुणं योगकृत्यं तु योगानां प्राहुरुत्तमम् । सगुणं निर्गुणं चैव यथाशास्त्रनिदर्शनम् ॥

dviguṇaṃ yogakṛtyaṃ tu yogānāṃ prāhuruttamam | saguṇaṃ nirguṇaṃ caiva yathāśāstranidarśanam

Yogic practice is said to be twofold, the best among the yogas: that with qualities and that without, as the treatises show.

Note on the text: Corrected योगत्यं → योगकृत्यं (misprint in Wikisource; the letters कृ are lost; CE yogakṛtyaṃ, and the page's own footnote cites the reading योगकृत्यम्). The CE has a star line after this verse (12.304.8d*0774_01, ataḥ paraṃ pravakṣyāmi prāṇāyāmaṃ ca pārthiva) which Wikisource does not print.

Verse 9 (12.321.9)

धारणं चैव मनसः प्राणायामश्च पार्थिव । एकाग्रता च मनसः प्राणायामस्तथैव च ॥

dhāraṇaṃ caiva manasaḥ prāṇāyāmaśca pārthiva | ekāgratā ca manasaḥ prāṇāyāmastathaiva ca

The holding of the mind steady and the control of the breath, O king; one-pointedness of the mind, and likewise the control of the breath.

Note on the text: The alignment found no match. Line 1 is CE 12.304.9a (Wikisource धारणं for CE dhāraṇā, a variant); line 2 is the CE star line 12.304.9b*0775_01 (ekāgratā ca manasaḥ prāṇāyāmas tathaiva ca), which is not in the CE's constituted text.

Verse 10 (12.321.10)

प्राणायामो हि सगुणो निर्गुणं धारयेन्मनः । यद्यदृश्यति मुञ्चन्वै प्राणान्मैथिलसत्तम । वाताधिक्यं भवत्येव तस्मात्तं न समाचरेत् ॥

prāṇāyāmo hi saguṇo nirguṇaṃ dhārayenmanaḥ | yadyadṛśyati muñcanvai prāṇānmaithilasattama | vātādhikyaṃ bhavatyeva tasmāttaṃ na samācaret

Breath-control is the one with qualities; to hold the mind steady is the one without. If it shows itself as one releases the vital breaths, O best of the men of Mithila, an excess of wind arises; therefore one should not practise that.

Note on the text: The alignment found no match. A three-line verse as the page prints it (12-321-10a–c): line 1 is CE 12.304.9c, line 2 is CE 12.304.10a, line 3 is CE 12.304.10c. Line 2 reads यद्यदृश्यति … in Wikisource (the page's footnote gives the variant दृश्यते यत्र; CE yatra dṛśyeta); kept as printed, and the sense follows the CE.

Verse 11 (12.321.11)

निशायाः प्रथमे यामे चोदना द्वादश स्मृताः । मध्ये स्वप्नात्परे यामे द्वादशैव तु चोदनाः ॥

niśāyāḥ prathame yāme codanā dvādaśa smṛtāḥ | madhye svapnātpare yāme dvādaśaiva tu codanāḥ

In the first watch of the night twelve exertions are prescribed; after sleeping in the middle of the night, in the last watch there are twelve exertions again.

Note on the text: Line 2 reads मध्ये स्वप्नात्परे यामे (CE madhye suptvā pare yāme), a recension variant, kept.

Verse 12 (12.321.12)

तदेवमुपशान्तेन दान्तेनैकान्तशीलिना । आत्मारामेण बुद्धेन योक्तव्योऽऽत्मा न संशयः ॥

tadevamupaśāntena dāntenaikāntaśīlinā | ātmārāmeṇa buddhena yoktavyo''tmā na saṃśayaḥ

So, with a calmed and self-controlled mind, delighting in solitude and in the Self, awakened, he should yoke the Self; there is no doubt of it.

Verse 13 (12.321.13)

पञ्चानामिन्द्रियाणां तु दोषानाक्षिप्य पञ्चधा । शब्दं रूपं तथा स्पर्शं रसं गन्धं तथैव च ॥

pañcānāmindriyāṇāṃ tu doṣānākṣipya pañcadhā | śabdaṃ rūpaṃ tathā sparśaṃ rasaṃ gandhaṃ tathaiva ca

Having set aside the faults of the five senses in five ways, sound, form, and likewise touch, taste and smell,

Note on the text: Line 2 lists the objects in a different order from the CE (शब्दं रूपं तथा स्पर्शं रसं गन्धम्; CE śabdaṃ sparśaṃ tathā rūpaṃ rasaṃ gandham), kept.

Verse 14 (12.321.14)

प्रतिभामपवर्गं च प्रतिसंहृत्य मैथिल । इन्द्रियग्राममखिलं मनस्यभिनिवेश्य ह ॥

pratibhāmapavargaṃ ca pratisaṃhṛtya maithila | indriyagrāmamakhilaṃ manasyabhiniveśya ha

and having drawn back inspiration and release, O king of Mithila, and having placed the whole host of the senses in the mind,

Verse 15 (12.321.15)

मनस्तथैवाहंकारे प्रतिष्ठाप्य नराधिप । अहंकारं तथा बुद्धौ बुद्धिं च प्रकृतावपि ॥

manastathaivāhaṃkāre pratiṣṭhāpya narādhipa | ahaṃkāraṃ tathā buddhau buddhiṃ ca prakṛtāvapi

and likewise the mind in the sense of I, O lord of men, the sense of I in the intellect, and the intellect in Prakriti as well,

Verse 16 (12.321.16)

एवं हि परिसंख्याय ततो ध्यायन्ति केवलम् । विरजस्कमलं नित्यमनन्तं शुद्धमव्रणम् ॥

evaṃ hi parisaṃkhyāya tato dhyāyanti kevalam | virajaskamalaṃ nityamanantaṃ śuddhamavraṇam

having thus reckoned them up, they then meditate on the One alone, free from dust and stain, eternal, endless, pure and without blemish,

Note on the text: Line 1 ends ततो ध्यायन्ति केवलम् (CE tato dhyāyeta kevalam), a recension variant, kept.

Verse 17 (12.321.17)

तस्थुषं पुरुषं नित्यमभेद्यमजरामरम् । शाश्वतं चाव्ययं चैव ईशानं ब्रह्म चाव्ययम् ॥

tasthuṣaṃ puruṣaṃ nityamabhedyamajarāmaram | śāśvataṃ cāvyayaṃ caiva īśānaṃ brahma cāvyayam

the abiding Purusha, eternal, indivisible, ageless and deathless, everlasting and imperishable, the Lord, Brahman, the changeless.

Note on the text: Corrected ब्रह्म चाख्यम् → ब्रह्म चाव्ययम् (misprint in Wikisource; व्य lost and ख substituted; the critical edition reads brahma cāvyayam). Line 1 has नित्यम् where CE has sattvam (variant), kept.

Verse 18 (12.321.18)

युक्तस्य तु महाराज लक्षणान्युपधारयेत् । लक्षणं तु प्रसादस्य यथा तृप्तः सुखं स्वपेत् ॥

yuktasya tu mahārāja lakṣaṇānyupadhārayet | lakṣaṇaṃ tu prasādasya yathā tṛptaḥ sukhaṃ svapet

Now mark, great king, the signs of one who is yoked. The sign of his serenity is that he sleeps happily, like one who is wholly satisfied.

Note on the text: Corrected लक्षणान्युपधारम् → लक्षणान्युपधारयेत् and सुखं स्वयेत् → सुखं स्वपेत् (misprints in Wikisource; the final -येत् is lost in the first and प is replaced by य in the second; the critical edition reads upadhārayet and svapet).

Verse 19 (12.321.19)

निर्वाते तु यथा दीपो ज्वलेत्स्नेहसमन्वितः । निश्चलोर्ध्वशिखस्तद्वद्युक्तमाहुर्मनीषिणः ॥

nirvāte tu yathā dīpo jvaletsnehasamanvitaḥ | niścalordhvaśikhastadvadyuktamāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ

As a lamp full of oil burns in a place without wind, unmoving, with its flame standing straight up, so, the wise say, is the one who is yoked.

Note on the text: Wikisource prints a dash where letters are lost (स्नेहस—धतः); restored from the critical edition (12.304.19a: snehasamanvitaḥ) as स्नेहसमन्वितः. Also corrected मनीषिण → मनीषिणः (misprint in Wikisource; the visarga is lost; CE manīṣiṇaḥ).

Verse 20 (12.321.20)

पाषाण इव मेघोत्थैर्यथा बिन्दुभिराहतः । नालं चालयितुं शक्यस्तथा युक्तस्य लक्षणम् ॥

pāṣāṇa iva meghotthairyathā bindubhirāhataḥ | nālaṃ cālayituṃ śakyastathā yuktasya lakṣaṇam

As a rock struck by drops from the clouds cannot be moved, so is the sign of one who is yoked.

Verse 21 (12.321.21)

शङ्खदुन्दुभिनिर्घोषैर्विविधैर्गीतवादितैः । क्रियमाणैर्न कम्पेत युक्तस्यैतन्निदर्शनम् ॥

śaṅkhadundubhinirghoṣairvividhairgītavāditaiḥ | kriyamāṇairna kampeta yuktasyaitannidarśanam

Though conches and drums sound about him and songs and music of many kinds are performed, he does not tremble; this is the mark of one who is yoked.

Note on the text: Corrected शक्तदुन्दुभि → शङ्खदुन्दुभि and विधिधैः → विविधैः (misprints in Wikisource; शक्त for शङ्ख and a doubled ध for व; the critical edition reads śaṅkhadundubhi- and vividhaiḥ). The page's footnote also cites the variant हियमाणैः.

Verse 22 (12.321.22)

तैलपात्रं यथा पूर्णं कराभ्यां गृह्य पूरुषः । सोपानमारुहेद्भीतस्तर्ज्यमानोऽसिपाणिभिः ॥

tailapātraṃ yathā pūrṇaṃ karābhyāṃ gṛhya pūruṣaḥ | sopānamāruhedbhītastarjyamāno'sipāṇibhiḥ

As a man holds a vessel full of oil in both hands and climbs a stair in fear, threatened by men with swords in their hands,

Note on the text: Corrected असिषणिभिः → असिपाणिभिः (misprint in Wikisource; the long ā is lost and ष stands for प; the critical edition reads 'sipāṇibhiḥ).

Verse 23 (12.321.23)

संयतात्मा भयात्तेषां न पात्राद्बिन्दुमुत्सृजेत् । तथैवोत्तरमागम्य एकाग्रमनसस्तथा ॥

saṃyatātmā bhayātteṣāṃ na pātrādbindumutsṛjet | tathaivottaramāgamya ekāgramanasastathā

and, with a controlled self, out of fear of them lets not one drop fall from the vessel; and so too on reaching the higher steps, with a mind fixed on one point,

Note on the text: Line 2 reads तथैवोत्तरमागम्य एकाग्रमनसस्तथा (CE tathaivottaramāṇasya ekāgramanasas tathā), a recension variant, kept.

Verse 24 (12.321.24)

स्थिरत्वादिन्द्रियाणां तु निश्चलस्तथैव च । एवं युक्तस्य तु मुनेर्लक्षणान्युपलक्षयेत् ॥

sthiratvādindriyāṇāṃ tu niścalastathaiva ca | evaṃ yuktasya tu munerlakṣaṇānyupalakṣayet

steady through the steadiness of his senses, and unshaken as well. In this way should the signs of a yoked sage be discerned.

Note on the text: Wikisource prints four dashes where letters are lost (एवं युक्तस्य तु मुनेर्लक्षणान्युपल----); completed as उपलक्षयेत्, keeping the visible letters उपल (the critical edition reads upadhārayet, with the same sense: "should discern"). Line 1 reads निश्चलस्तथैव च (CE niścalatvāt tathaiva ca), a variant, kept.

Verse 25 (12.321.25)

स्वयुक्तः पश्यते ब्रह्म यत्तत्परममव्ययम् । महतस्तमसो मध्ये स्थितं ज्वलनसंनिभम् ॥

svayuktaḥ paśyate brahma yattatparamamavyayam | mahatastamaso madhye sthitaṃ jvalanasaṃnibham

The self-yoked man sees Brahman, that supreme and imperishable one, standing in the midst of the great darkness, shining like fire.

Note on the text: Wikisource prints dashes where letters are lost (परम----यम् and ज्व नसा--भम्, the latter also with a stray space); restored from the critical edition (12.304.25: paramam avyayam; jvalanasaṃnibham) as परममव्ययम् and ज्वलनसंनिभम्. Line 1 begins स्वयुक्तः (CE sa yuktaḥ), a variant, kept.

Verse 26 (12.321.26)

एतेन केवलं याति त्यक्त्वा देहमसाक्षिकम् । कालेन महता राजञ्श्रुतिरेषा सनातनी ॥

etena kevalaṃ yāti tyaktvā dehamasākṣikam | kālena mahatā rājañśrutireṣā sanātanī

By this he reaches the Alone, leaving behind the body that has no witness in itself, after a long time, O king; this is the eternal Shruti.

Verse 27 (12.321.27)

एतद्धि योगं योगानां किमन्यद्योगलक्षणम् । विज्ञाय तद्धि मन्यन्ते कृतकृत्या मनीषिणः ॥

etaddhi yogaṃ yogānāṃ kimanyadyogalakṣaṇam | vijñāya taddhi manyante kṛtakṛtyā manīṣiṇaḥ

This indeed is the yoga of yogas; what other mark of yoga is there? Having understood it, the wise count themselves as having done all that was to be done.