Abstract
Though scholarship on diverse methods of yoga in the Indian traditions abounds, there has not been sufficient research that examines the traditions of yoga in the purāṇas. The present paper explores yoga articulated in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (fourth century CE) and argues that what seems like a unified teaching is a composite of an eight-limbed yoga embedded within an instruction on proto-Sāṃkhya. An evaluation of the key elements of yoga as developed in this text as a whole, clarifies our understanding of the emergence of yoga and its relationship to epic formulations on the one hand and to the Classical System of the Yogasūtras of Patañjali on the other.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Abbreviations
- BhG:
-
Bhagavadgītā with Eleven Commentaries, ed. G.S. Sadhale. 3 Vols. Bombay: Gujarati Printing Press, 1935
- MBh:
-
Mahābhārata: Śāntiparvan. Mokṣadharma, Vol 16 (A & B), ed. S. K. Belvalkar. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1954
- VP:
-
The Critical Edition of the Viṣṇupurāṇa, Vols I–II, ed. M.M. Pathak. Vadodara: Oriental Institute, 1997
- YS:
-
Yogasūtras of Patañjali with Bhāṣya of Vyāsa, Ṭīkā of Vācaspati Miśra and Nāgoji Bhaṭṭa. Bombay Sanskrit and Prakrit Series. Pune: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1917
References
Bailey, G. (1985). Materials for the study of ancient Indian ideologies: Pravṛtti and Nivṛtti. Torino: Pubblicazioni Di Indologica Taurinensia.
Brockington, J. (2003). Yoga in the Mahābhārata. In I. Whicher & D. Carpenter (Eds.), Yoga, the Indian tradition (pp. 13–24). London: Routledge Curzon.
Carpenter, D. (2003). Practice makes perfect: The role of practice (abhyāsa) in Pātañjala Yoga. In I. Whicher & D. Carpenter (Eds.), Yoga, the Indian tradition (pp. 25–50). London: Routledge Curzon.
Edgerton, F. (1965). The beginnings of Indian philosophy. London: George Allen and Unwin.
Fitzgerald, J. (2002). Nun befuddles King, shows karmayoga does not work: Sulabhā’s refutation of King janaka in MBh 12.308. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 30, 641–677.
Frauwallner, E. (2008). History of Indian philosophy (Vol I–II) (Translated from the German by V. M. Bedekar). New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Gonda, J. (1966). Loka: World and heaven in the Veda. Amsterdam: Noord-Hollandsche Uitgevers Maatschappij.
Goudriaan, T. (1978). Māyā divine and human. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Hacker, P. (1995). Relations of early Advaitins to Vaiṣṇavism. In W. Halbfass (Ed.), Philology and confrontation (pp. 33–39). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Johnston, E. H. (1974). Early Sāṃkhya: An essay on its historical development according to the texts (reprint). Motilal Banarsidass: New Delhi.
Larson, G. (1998). Classical Sāṃkhya: An interpretation of its history and meaning ( 2nd revised edition, reprint). New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Malinar, A. (2007). The Bhagavadgītā: Doctrines and contexts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Oberhammer, G. (1977). Strukturen Yogischer Meditation: Untersuchungen zur Spiritualität des Yoga. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
Olivelle, P. (1993). The Āśrama system. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Olivelle, P. (1998). The early Upaniṣads: Annotated text and translation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pflueger, L. W. (2005). Person, purity, and power in the Yogasūtra. In K. A. Jacobsen (Ed.), Theory and practice of yoga (pp. 29–59). Leiden: Brill.
Rastelli, M. (2009). Perceiving God and becoming like him: Yogic perception and its implications in the Viṣṇuitic tradition of Pāñcarātra. In E. Franco (Ed.), Yogic perception, meditation and altered states of consciousness (pp. 283–298). Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
Rocher, L. (1986). A history of Indian literature: Purāṇas. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
Schrader, O. F. (1995). Introduction to the Pāñcarātra and the Ahirbudhnya Saṃhitā (reprint). Madras: Adyar Library and Research Center.
Van Buitenen, J. A. B. (1988). The Śubhāśraya Prakaraṇa (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.7) and the meaning of Bhāvanā. In L. Rocher (Ed.), Studies in Indian literature and philosophy, collected articles of J.A.B van Buitenen (pp. 13–24). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Wilson, H. H. (2003). The Vishnu Purana: A system of Hindu mythology and tradition, Vol I–II (reprint). New Delhi: Nag Publishers.
Woods, J. H. (1966). The Yoga-system of Patañjali (reprint). New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Adluri, S. Yoga in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa. J Indian Philos 45, 381–402 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-017-9313-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-017-9313-7