The Hatha Yoga Texts
Key takeaways
Hatha yoga texts come from about the 11th to the 18th century.
The three classics are the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Shiva Samhita, and Gheranda Samhita.
The Hathabhyasapaddhati describes 112 asanas.
What came before the classics?
Amritasiddhi (11th century): early teaching of hatha techniques such as mahabandha and mahamudra.
Dattatreyayogashastra (about 1200 CE): the first text to combine Patanjali's eight-part system with physical techniques.
What is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika?
Svatmarama wrote it in the 15th century. It has four chapters: asana, pranayama, mudra, and samadhi. It describes about 15 postures and was compiled from earlier hatha texts.
What is the Shiva Samhita?
Its author is unknown. James Mallinson dates it to 1300-1500 CE, while others say the 17th century. It has five chapters, names 84 asanas but teaches four, and says householders can practice yoga.
What is the Gheranda Samhita?
A late 17th-century text attributed to the sage Gheranda. It has seven chapters covering 6 cleansing methods, 32 asanas, 25 mudras, and 10 pranayamas.
What is the Satchakranirupana?
Purnananda's 1577 text describing six chakras in the subtle body. The English translation of it later popularized the seven-chakra model.
What is the Hathabhyasapaddhati?
An 18th-century manual attributed to Kapalakurantaka. It describes 112 asanas in six categories and discusses the yamas and niyamas at length. One publisher claims a 14th-century date, which scholars do not accept. Some scholars say Krishnamacharya knew this text.
Is the Kamasutra a yoga text?
No. The Kamasutra, written by Vatsyayana around the 3rd century CE, is a text on love, pleasure, and relationships. It is not a yoga text, and it is not mainly about sexual positions.
Related: Ancient yoga texts | Where are the chakras? | Back to the history of yoga
Sources
James Mallinson and Mark Singleton, Roots of Yoga (2017). James Mallinson, The Shiva Samhita: A Critical Edition (2007). Mark Singleton, Yoga Body (2010). Wendy Doniger and Sudhir Kakar, Kamasutra. John Woodroffe, The Serpent Power (1919). T.K.V. Desikachar, The Heart of Yoga (1995).