घेरण्ड संहिता (महर्षि घेरण्ड - सप्ताङ्ग हठयोग सटीक)

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The asanas in this book should not be attempted without the supervision of an
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Printed on acid-free paper
First edition
Manufactured in the United States of America
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mallinson, James.
The Gheranda Samhita: the original Sanskrit / and an English translation [by]
James Mallinson.
Woodstock, NY : YogaVidya.com, 2004.
xvi, [128] p. : ill. ; cm.
Includes Sanskrit and English.
ISBN 0-9716466-2-7 (hardcover)
ISBN 0-9716466-3-5 (paperback)

1. Hatha Yoga. 2. Kundalini. I. Title. II. Mallinson, James, 1970-, tr.
   RA781.7.G43 2004
   613.7'046—dc21 2004112200
   Loretta made this whole deal possible.

For Sri Ram Balak Das Ji Yogiraj

Contents
Introduction ix
Purification 1
Asanas 16
Mudras 60
Pratyahara 86
Pranayama 89
Dhyana 113
Samadhi 119
Contributors 127
vii

Introduction
THE BOOK you are about to read, a manual of Yoga taught by
Gheranda to Chanda, is the most encyclopedic of all the root
texts of Hatha Yoga. At the beginning of the book, Chanda
asks Gheranda to tell him about the Yoga of the body, which
is the cause of knowledge of the Ultimate Reality. Gheranda
assents and the book is thus called the Gheranda Samhita, or
“The Collection [of Verses] of Gheranda.”
It sets itself apart from other books on Hatha Yoga in
two notable ways. Firstly, it calls its Yoga “ghata Yoga” or
“ghatastha Yoga” and not Hatha Yoga. The usual meaning
of ghata is “pot,” but here it refers to the body, or rather
the person, since the techniques taught by Gheranda work
on both the body and the mind. Secondly, it is unique in
teaching a sevenfold path to perfection of the person. A few
Hatha Yoga texts replicate Patanjali’s classical description of
Yoga as ashtanga, or “eight limbed,” but there are numerous
other classifications. For example, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika’s
four chapters correspond to the four stages of its Yoga, while
the Goraksha Samhita, echoing several earlier Tantric texts,
describes its Yoga as six limbed.
ix

x INTRODUCTION
The seven chapters correspond to the seven means
of perfecting the person. Each chapter teaches a group
of techniques that, when mastered, will lead to one of
the seven means listed in verse 1.9. The first chapter
describes six types of cleansing techniques by which puri-
fication, the first means to perfecting the person, can be
achieved. The second chapter describes thirty-two asanas
by which strength, the second means, is attained. In the
third chapter Gheranda teaches twenty-five mudras, which
lead to steadiness, the third means. The fourth chapter
describes five techniques for pratyahara, which brings
about calmness, the fourth means. The fifth chapter starts
with instructions on where the yogi should live, what he
or she should eat, and at what time of year yogic practice
should be started. It then lists ten kinds of pranayama, the
practice of which leads to lightness, the fifth means. The
sixth chapter describes three types of dhyana, using which
the yogi can achieve realization of the self, the sixth means.
Finally, in the seventh chapter, Gheranda teaches six types
of samadhi, which lead to abstraction, the ultimate means
of perfecting the person.¹
Like the other root texts of Hatha Yoga, the Gheranda
Samhita does not concern itself with yama and niyama, the
restraints and observances that make up the first two limbs
of classical Yoga. It is unique in devoting an entire chapter
¹In verse 7.6, it is said that Raja Yoga is of six types. Many commentators equate
Raja Yoga with the classical Yoga of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, but in texts on Hatha
Yoga it means samadhi, rather than a separate type of Yoga.