Yogatārāvalī

The Yogatārāvalī ("A String of Stars on Yoga"[1]) is a short yoga text of 29 verses from the 13th or 14th century, covering both haṭha yoga and rāja yoga (the yoga of Patanjali). It mentions the yogic sleep state of samadhi or yoganidra. The text was used by the author of the 15th century Haṭhapradīpikā. The Yogatārāvalī's first verse is chanted by Ashtanga vinyasa yoga students, following Pattabhi Jois's practice, at the start of each class.[2][1] The text leads up to the teaching that yoga brings "complete transcendence of the world and mind", uninterested in gaining siddhis (powers).[3]

Compared to earlier yoga texts such as the 12th or 13th century Dattātreyayogaśāstra and the 14th century Amaraugha Prabodha, the Yogatārāvalī omits mention of mantra yoga, and treats hatha yoga as the only way to practice rāja yoga. It makes use of the three bandhas (locks) to attain kevala kumbhaka, a spontaneous suspension of breathing and mental activity. According to the text, this supersedes all other Patanjali-style yoga practices including dharana (concentration) and dhyana (meditation).[1]

Two verses discuss kuṇḍalinī (an energy visualised as a coiled snake) without naming it. Ruth Westoby states that the text mentions the awakening of uragāṅganā, the snake-woman, whose awakening is induced by the three bandhas. This allows the breath to enter, and breathing is then suspended. Separately, kuṇḍalinī is named as kuṇḍalī.[4]

A detailed commentary on the Yogatārāvalī, the only one on this text, is the Rājayogatarala of Rāmasvāmi paṇḍita.[5]

References
  1. Birch, Jason (2015). "The Yogatārāvalī and the Hidden History of Yoga". Nāmarūpa (20 (Spring 2015)): 4–13.
  2. Birch, Jason; Hargreaves, Jacqueline (January 2015). "Yoganidrā". The Luminescent. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  3. Birch, Jason (2020). "The Quest for Liberation-in-Life". In Flood, Gavin (ed.). The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice. Oxford University Press. pp. 205–207. ISBN 9780191053221.
  4. Westoby, Ruth (May 2021). "Uncoiling a concept: Kuṇḍalinī in the early Haṭha corpus" (PDF). SOAS. pp. 5, 8. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  5. Mahadevan, Jayaraman (2018). "Unique insights from Rājayogatarala of Rāmasvāmipaṇḍita: An unpublished commentary on Yogatārāvalī ascribed to Śaṅkarācārya". International Journal of Yoga: Philosophy, Psychology and Parapsychology. 6 (2): 66. doi:10.4103/ijny.ijoyppp_9_18. S2CID 188022716.
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