Patanjali

The perennial guide for seekers of truth

Patanjali @ Amrutha Bindu Yoga

If you have ever been to a yoga class, you would’ve heard of Patanjali. Renowned world over as the “Father of Yoga” (not just now, but in medieval times, too), Patanjali is a figure whose fame reached mythical proportions. His teachings have been the foundation of almost all yoga stalwarts and his contributions to psychology, metaphysics and just the idea of how to live a better life are unparalleled. He demystified the elements of consciousness and created a systemic practice to free it from its own bounds. There are many Sanskrit texts that are attributed to him including those on grammar, ayurveda and yoga. Out of this the Yoga Sutras is one of the most translated ancient texts in medieval times, having been translated into about 40 Indian languages and 2 foreign languages: Old Javanese and Arabic.

Patanjali’s mystique is as substantial as his contribution to yoga. There are many stories as to who he was and where he came from. Some say he was from the Naga tribe, and lived in Chittoor, Rajasthan, over 2500 years ago. Other accounts place him in different spaces at different points in time including Nepal, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, and various locations across India. Some texts suggest that Patanjali lived around the same time as Vyasa and Panini. Since there is no accurate historical data to know for sure, most scholars estimate that he lived between 500 BCE and 200 BCE. Some also believe that he is the avatar of Adishesha - the divine serpent on which Vishnu rests for all eternity. 

There's an interesting story about Patanjali in connection to Chidambaram Nataraja Temple situated in Tillai. One day when the Rishis were conducting a maha-yajna (penance) in the forest of Darukavana , Vishnu in the disguise of Mohini and Shiva as Bhikshatana descended on the earth. The rishis were enraptured by Mohini, while their wives were mesmerized by Bhikshatana. They began to  follow him away from the mahayajna that was being conducted.  Enraged and threatened, the rishis began to attack Bhikshatana with weapons that they manifested from the sacrificial fire. Bhikshatana turned these weapons into ornaments and began to decorate himself. Realising that this was none other than Lord Shiva, the Rishis surrendered to him and Shiva performed his Ananda Tandava, the dance of life. 

Patanjali watching the Ananda Tandava of Nataraja (shiva)

Vishnu, who had accompanied Shiva in this mischief narrated the incident and the dance to Lord Adishesha, the king of the Serpents. Curious and keen to watch this dance in-person, Adishesh began a rigorous tapas to please Shiva. After a period of time, Shiva appeared before Adishesha and promised him that he would be performing the Tandava at the Tillai forest on a certain day. It is said that Patanjali took the form of Gonika’s son to watch Shiva’s dance in the Chidambaram Temple at Tillai. 

Gonika was an ascetic and a yogini of great insight, who yearned for a worthy son to whom she could impart her wisdom. She undertook tapas (penance) for this and when it came to an end, she took a handful of water, as a final oblation to the Sun God to answer his prayers. She was pleasantly surprised when she found a tiny snake moving in her palms who soon took on a human form. This little boy bowed to Yogini Gonika and asked her to accept him as her son. Therefore, she named him Patanjali - the one who descended when her hands were in prayer. Patanjali then went .While his upper body was Human, his lower half of the body remained as a serpent. 

For us, practitioners, these stories help us make Patanjali personable. But what did he do to yoga to give him the reverence he garners? Most scholars say that yoga was practiced much before Patanjali, but he was the person who compiled, organised and systematised the thought and practice of yoga. Here’s an overview of his legacy:

1. Patanjali organised all of the pre-existing yogic traditions from the Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana & Mahabharata and compiled them in sutra form (aphorisms). In fact, all the wisdom can now be captured into a single page of 196 single- sentence philosophy formulae (sutras). These sutras are accessible and simple, but contain the seeds of wisdom of all scriptures. This is why yoga is called a darshana, a way to see the truth. With no bias to age, gender, religion, race, country, or intellectual status, his sutras are highly relevant and acclaimed as such by asana practitioners, commoners and even scholars of great merit. 

2. He laid out the sankalpa or purpose for the practice: “chitta vritti nirodhah” - the practice done to stop the endless and uncontrolled meandering of the mind.

3. The Yoga Sutras merge elements of Samkhya philosophy with practical methods for meditation and liberation. Patanjali presented a systematic path where theory and practice of freedom are inseparable. Thus, his system is both intellectually rigorous and practically accessible.

4. His understanding of the mind is unparalleled. He detailed states of consciousness and also states of samadhi (absorption of the mind). He explained how the mind is constructed, the root causes of suffering and how to overcome suffering by steadily tuning the mind. He even laid out qualifications to measure progress in the process of tuning the mind towards infinity. His framework of the mind continues to inform modern therapeutic approaches to stress, addiction, and mental health.

5. Beyond yoga, Patanjali was a master grammarian. His Mahabhashya is a celebrated commentary on Panini’s Ashtadhyayi. It refined Sanskrit grammar into a precise, scientific discipline. The Mahabhashya not only explained grammatical rules but also explored philosophy of language, semantics, and usage.

6. He is said to have been an accomplished healer and Ayurvedic practitioner. Some scholars believe that he wrote a treatise on Ayurveda on therapeutics and disease management.

   
   

Patanjali through his work presents us with a clear and inspiring view of human potential. Each time we chant the Guru Mantra, we resonate with our boundless capacity for freedom. This is why we start our yoga classes at Amrutha Bindu Yoga with a mantra in his honour. This mantra was composed by Bhojaraja, a 11th-century king, patron of arts, literature, and science, and a scholar who has written a commentary on the Yoga Sutras. Here’s the meaning of the mantra:

Guru Mantra, written by Bhojaraja in the 11th Century

Yogena Chittasya Padena Vacha

Yoga is to the mind how grammar is to speech (organisation, giving order)

Malam Sharirasya Cha Vaidya Kena

(Yoga is also to the mind) how a doctor is to an impure body (healing)

Yopakarotham Pravaram Muninam

To He, who has given us yoga for the sanctity of mind,

grammar for clarity and medicine for perfection of health

Patanjalim Pranjaliraanatosmi ||

I bow down to you, Patanjali

Abahu Purushakaram

The great sage adorning a strong human body (he is said to have the lower body of a snake)

Shanka Chakrasi Dharinam

Holding a conch and wheel in hand (*conch to indicate that his wisdom is true from the beginning of time, and wheel to indicate that his wisdom holds true with the eternal passage of time)

Sahasra Shirasam Svetam

The one who has the consciousness of a 1000 heads and is pure

Pranamami Patanjalim II 

I bow down to you, Patanjali