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Sutras 2.45-48 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,

translated and with commentary by Vasyl Vernyhora


   Disruption of the sequential flow of presentation in sutras 2.45-48 and further

   2.45. The perfection/complete attainment (siddhi) of samadhi (samādhi) [is achieved] through devotion/concentration on (praṇidhānāt) to the Lord (īśvara, Ishvara).

   2.46. The sitting posture (āsanam) [for meditation should be] stable (sthira) and comfortable (sukham).

   2.47. [This is achieved by gradual] relaxation (śaithilya) of effort (prayatna) in continuous/endless (ananta) deep meditation (samāpatti).

   2.48. After this (tatas), dualities (dvandva, pairs of opposites) no longer disturb (anabhighātaḥ; "immunity to") [the yogi].

   It should be noted that the description of samadhi in sutra 2.45 before the description of asana in sutra 2.46 and pranayama in sutras 2.50-51, as well as the mention of dharana in sutra 2.53 before the description of pratyahara in sutra 2.54, violates the sequence of presentation and serves as confirmation of repeated later editing of the text of the Yoga Sutras.

   Ukrainian Indologist Andriy Safronov believes that sutra 2.46 (the Sanskrit word āsanam is given in the singular and literally means "sitting position") was added to the text of the Yoga Sutras later from the classical Samkhya text Samkhya-prakashika-sutra (aka Samkhya-darshana by Kapila, 3.34 or 22.12 in the alternative version here), in which this line clearly indicates that asana is not some complex pose, but simply (any) comfortable, stable "sitting pose" in which one can sit and meditate. At the same time, Andriy Safronov believes that sutra 2.47 was also added later to the text of the Yoga Sutras, but he associates it with the influence of Buddhism.

   Sutra 2.46 clearly deviates from the general meaning of sutras 2.45 and 2.47-48, and therefore should indeed be considered a later addition, while sutras 2.47-48 (and further) fully continue the thought of sutra 2.45. Most likely, sutra 2.46 was added to the text of the Yoga Sutras from the Samkhya Darsana text by one of the Hindu editors or scribes of the Yoga Sutras, who considered this place between two adjacent sutras the most suitable for such an insertion, in order to add "asana" as one of the limbs of Patanjali's yoga and, thus, make the teachings of Patanjali's yoga eightfold. Whether this was done in order to make such an eightfold yoga comparable to the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism can no longer be determined by linguistic analysis alone.

   It may also be noted here that the commentator on this sutra 2.46, who signed himself "Vyasa" (his commentary is called "Vyasa-bhashya" and is the most famous commentary on the Yoga Sutras), listed 13 different postures: "the lotus posture, the hero's posture, the auspicious posture, the swastika, the stick posture, the supported posture, the lying posture, the sitting crane posture, the sitting elephant [posture], the sitting camel [posture], the balanced posture, the still-and-comfortable posture, the easiest and other [postures] of this kind".

   The problem here is that Patanjali (or, more accurately, whoever copied this line from the Samkhya Darsana with the only description of asana in the Yoga Sutras) is talking about a stable and comfortable sitting posture in the context of samadhi practice. In the Sanskrit text of the Yoga Sutras, the word "asana" is mentioned in the singular ("asanam") and is derived from the root "ās"—"to sit" (āsa)—by adding the suffix -ana, which gives the original meaning the sense of action. Thus, asana means "sitting", or a sitting position.

   At the same time, the commentator Vyasa cites the seated crane pose (bakasana) as one of the "examples" of "asanas", which, in fact, is neither stable, nor comfortable, nor is it a sitting pose. Moreover, this same bakasana is first mentioned only in the 17th-century text Haṭha Ratnāvalī (The Precious Garland of Hatha), where it is listed as number 62 among the names of 84 asanas, of which only 36 are described.

   In other words, this commentator on the Yoga Sutras, who signed his name as Vyasa to lend his commentary authority, could not have written his commentary earlier than at least the 17th century, when the teachings of hatha yoga, with their extensive asanas, had already taken shape. Alternatively, his commentary was edited and expanded in the 17th century or later.

   Of course, readers can now find new meanings in sutras 2.46 and 2.47, since the latter is now linked to the later-added sutra 2.46. And, for example, yoga teachers are even finding new and new meanings in these two sutras in the context of the ongoing development of postural exercises, which they call yoga. For example, they suggest that to assume a difficult and uncomfortable body position, it is necessary to relax a certain group of muscles. But judging by the meaning of the sutras, sutra 2.47, like the following sutra 2.48, could not have been anything other than a continuation of sutra 2.45, not 2.46.

   It's worth noting that approximately two thousand years ago, in Hindustan, the word "samapatti", cited in sutra 2.47, was synonymous with and even practically equivalent to the word "samadhi", as evidenced by the frequent interchangeability of these two words, for example, in the texts of the Pali Canon. At that time, the word "samadhi" had not yet become as common and dominant among other lexemes with similar meanings as it is today. Moreover, the word "samapatti" is often used in the Pali Canon also to refer to the four rupa-jhanas and, especially, the five arupa-ayatanas.

   The content of sutra 2.48 actually points to the attainment corresponding to the third arupa-ayatana ("seventh jhana/dhyana"), which in turn requires mastering hours-long samadhi and subsequent years of daily practice of such hours-long samadhi, which is spoken of in the subsequent sutras on pranayama, as well as in sutras 3.1-3. Thus, sutra 2.48 also disrupts the sequence of Patanjali's presentation of yoga practice, and this serves as further confirmation of later editing and insertions into the text.

   Depending on one's point of view, the content of sutra 2.48 may refer either to a state of samadhi proper, in which there are no dualities, or to an attainment corresponding to at least the third arupa-ayatana ("seventh jhana/dhyana" – the stage of absolute nothingness, ākiṃcanyāyatana), which, in turn, requires mastering a multi-hour samadhi and subsequent many years of daily practice of such multi-hour samadhi, which is discussed in the subsequent sutras on pranayama, as well as in sutras 3.1-3. In favor of the second interpretation, one can point to the use of the word "samapatti" in the previous sutra, which during the same historical period – the writing of the Yoga Sutras and the formation of the Pali Canon on the general Indian territory – was comparatively often used to denote arupa-ayatanas, and not only as one of the synonyms for samadhi. Thus, sutra 2.48, taking into account the content of the following sutras, which re-describe the preparatory stages of the practice of meditation, also disrupts the sequence of presentation of the practice of Patanjali's yoga, and this serves as further confirmation of later editing of the text and insertions into it.

   In the context of sutras 2.45 and 2.48, and given the apparent late insertion of sutra 2.46, sutra 2.47 should be understood precisely as it is cited above. It will be explained in more detail below.

   The watchful efforts of smriti-"remembering" and samprajnata-"vigilant awareness", which are intended to maintain the mind single-mindedly focused, gradually weaken as samadhi practice improves, so much so that they are considered to have virtually disappeared after entering the second rupa-dhyana of Buddhism. This stage of practice, like the first rupa-dhyana, is achieved after passing the stage of "attained" three-hour shamatha/samadhi. The issue of this three-hour limit will be discussed in more detail later in the section "Methods for countering obstacles in the practice of samadhi". Here, it can be briefly noted that until this three-hour limit is reached, each subsequent percentage increase in the duration of uninterrupted samadhi will be difficult. But then, after bringing the duration of samadhi to 3 hours, the yogi will easily be able to meditate for as long as he wishes. Moreover, the energetic effect of samadhi practice, which will be discussed in the next section when reviewing sutras 2.49-53 and 1.41, can enable the yogi to dispense with food, sleep, and even the need for physical breathing (due to its replacement with pranic breathing), thereby removing the limitations on the duration of his stay in samadhi, allowing him to meditate virtually endlessly. It is in this context that sutra 2.47 should be understood.

   Sutra 2.45 can be interpreted in the context of the commentary (about Ramakrishna) to sutra 1.36, which will be given later in the section "Methods for countering obstacles in the practice of samadhi, given in sutras 1.32-39, 1.12-14, 1.21-23".

   With this translation of sutras 2.45, 2.47 and 2.48, they look logical and consistent—the first of them talks about training for a three-hour duration of "achieved" samadhi, the second—about entering rupa-dhyanas, the third—about entering arupa-ayatanas. It is noteworthy that essentially the same thing, albeit in different words, is also said in sutras 3.1-3.

   It's possible that the "Buddhist" sutras 2.47-48 were added to the Yoga Sutras during the period of recording and formation of the future Pali Canon, that is, from the 1st century BCE to the 5th century CE. This most likely occurred sometime in the 3rd-5th centuries, when the teachings of yoga and Buddhism were actively interpenetrating. An example of this is the Brahmin brothers Asanga and Vasubandhu, who converted to Buddhism and even became the founders of the Yogacara school of Buddhism (also known as Vijñānavāda, Cittamatra, and Vijñaptimatra; this is one of the two main philosophical systems of Mahayana Buddhism, along with Madhyamaka).

   At the same time, sutra 2.46 was most likely added even later—during the early development of the Hatha Yoga doctrine or the first texts with postural exercises, which much later were retroactively attributed to the teachings of Patanjali. Thus, the text of the Yoga Sutras resembles a letter written by several authors, each of whom had their own vision of the goals of yoga and, most importantly, the methods for achieving them.

   It's worth noting here that Ukrainian Indologist Andriy Safronov identifies five fragments from various Hindu schools in the Yoga Sutras: “the tradition of drashtar”/"intellectual empirical yoga" (the original text), "the tradition of Purusha"/"substantial mysticism" (similar to Sankhya), "eight-limbed yoga", "shaman-and-hero fragment" ("victory" over the elements, etc.), "the tradition of ekagrata" (which he associates with Buddhism), as well as various Buddhist insertions consisting of one or two sutras. However, for example, he does not classify sutra 2.48 as a Buddhist sutra, believing it to belong to "eight-limbed yoga". He, like many other Indologists, considers the entire fourth chapter to be a separate, late addition.

     The full version of the book "The True Practical Essence of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" with a translation of all 196 sutras of the Yoga Sutras with commentaries on all important and/or complex sutras: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G6GT6M8B.