हठयोग प्रदीपिका (योगी स्वात्माराम - ज्योत्स्ना टीका सहित सटीक)

THE
HATHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
OF
SVĀTMĀRĀMA
WITH THE COMMENTARY JYOTSNĀ OF
BRAHMĀNANDA
AND ENGLISH TRANSLATION
THE ADYAR LIBRARY AND RESEARCH CENTRE
PDF Creation and Uploading by:
Hari Parshad Das (HPD)
on 20 June 2014.

THE ADYAR LIBRARY
GENERAL SERIES
[4]
HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
Text, Commentary, Translation

THE HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
OF
SVĀTMĀRĀMA
WITH THE COMMENTARY JYOTSNĀ OF
BRAHMĀNANDA
AND ENGLISH TRANSLATION
चौखम्बा विश्वभारती
चौक (चित्रा सिनेमा के सामने)
वाराणसी-२२१००१
THE ADYAR LIBRARY AND RESEARCH CENTRE

The Adyar Library and Research Centre
The Theosophical Society, Adyar, Madras 20, India
1972
PRINTED IN INDIA
At the Vasanṭa Press, The Theosophical Society,
Adyar, Madras 20

PREFACE
THE Haṭhayogapradīpikā of Svātmārāma was first
published in 1893 with the commentary Jyotsnā of
Brahmānanda and the English translation of Srinivasa
Iyangar by Tookaram Tatya on behalf of the Bombay
Theosophical Publishing Fund. This was one of the
fruits of the many efforts made by members of the
Theosophical Society in the last century to bring
eastern literature and knowledge to the attention of
the public in general and of the western world in
particular.
A second edition was published in 1933 in the
Oriental Series (No. 15) of the Theosophical Publishing
House, Adyar, Madras, India. Although a number
of corrections had been carried out in preparing the
Sanskrit text and commentary for the second edition,
there were still various lacunae in the presentation.
In preparing the present edition, the errors have
been corrected as far as possible, by Prof. A. A. Rama-
nathan and Pandit S. V. Subrahmanya Sastri, after
consulting the manuscripts in the Adyar Library and
Research Centre, especially the manuscript of the
Jyotsnā commentary (No. PM 1431). They have also
seen the text through the press.

vi HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
The original English translation of Srinivasa
Iyangar has been thoroughly revised by myself and
Prof. A. A. Ramanathan, so as to conform more closely
to the text and yet be readable.
RADHA BURNIER
Director

INTRODUCTION
THE Haṭhayogapradīpikā is a well-known authoritative
treatise on Yoga which has been taken for a guide by
different classes of Yogin-s in India. Of all the existing
works on occultism, the Haṭhayogapradīpikā is perhaps
the one which stands unrivalled in its attempt to grapple
with the task of reconciling the Rāja-yoga and Haṭha-
yoga systems. Concealing a truth in every sentence,
the treatise offers, in one respect, a wealth of occult
lore to the earnest student of Yogavidyā, and, in another,
holds behind the apparent charms of a bright curtain
a venomous serpent ready to pounce upon the first strag-
gler from the right hand path who has not thoroughly
shaken off earthly impurities before launching himself
upon the forbidden path of Yoga. The pure and
unselfish alone will have the keenness and power to
extract the pure drop of immortality from the compound
mixture in which the mystic author of the treatise
has so beautifully combined the two systems of Yoga.
The word yoga means union between Jīvātman
and Paramātman. The science that teaches the way
of acquiring this occult knowledge is called Yoga-
śāstra. As this knowledge leads directly to the fusion
of the Jīvātman and the Paramātman, it is consider-
ed very sacred and sublime, and, as such, is not

viii HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
indiscriminately imparted to all men by its custodians;
only those who have passed through the most terrible
ordeals being considered as fit to receive it. The
strict rules of discipleship and the method of their
observance are given in the Śivasaṁhitā.
The sage Patañjali, the founder of the Yoga
philosophy, has laid down in his Yoga aphorisms,
I. 23, that an untiring devotion to Īśvara (or Guru) is
one of the most essential conditions required of a
student of Yoga. Another no less essential condition as
described in aphorism 20 of the same section, is faith,
without which no knowledge is possible to the student;
half or wavering faith in this science or the Guru is
a positive disqualification.
According to the Śāstra-s, no knowledge stands
higher in importance than the Yoga-śāstra, and the
Veda-s call it the vidyā. God Śiva describes it in the
Śivasaṁhitā:
आलोक्य सर्वशास्त्राणि विचार्य च पुनः पुनः ।
इदमेकं सुनिष्पन्नं योगशास्त्रं परं मतम् ॥ I. 17.
On studying all the Śāstra-s and constantly
meditating on them, I have come to the conclusion
that no Śāstra is so worthy of study as the Yoga-śāstra.
Pythagoras, Plato and other ancient philosophers
of Greece have extolled the study of this science, and
the motto at the entrance of their lecture-hall was
‘ Know thyself ’.
Among the leaders of modern thought, Descartes,
Spinoza, Kant, Schopenhauer, Emerson and others

INTRODUCTION ix

have not been less enthusiastic in their praises of the
nobility of this science, whose object they have declared
to be the unravelling of the mystery of the being of
man and surrounding nature.
The acquisition of a knowledge of this science is
fraught with abnormal difficulties, and perfectly
qualified teachers are rare, and not communicative
except to well-tried students. Obscurities in the treat-
ment of the subject in a written work call for verbal
explanation by a Guru. No substantial gift will ever
purchase the knowledge desired, or alter the iron
rules prescribed in the Śāstra-s. The grace of the Guru
bestowed in exchange for the hard earned merit
acquired by the disciple, even at the peril of his life,
is alone the passport to the sanctuary of knowledge.
In the Bhāgavata and other Purāṇa-s, the student who
has not been able to secure a Guru, is advised to pray
and worship Īśvara (as Viṣṇu or Śiva) and strive for
perfect renunciation of every worldly desire, such
renunciation being the only way of securing a Guru
to direct the student in his further progress.
The systems of Yoga have different denominations
according to their methods, and known as Aṣṭāṅga,
Laya, Dhyāna, Mantra, Bhakti, Tāraka, Karma, etc.
All these, however, can be classed into two broad
divisions: Haṭha-yoga and Rāja-yoga. These are
interdependent, either of them being impracticable
without the other.
The venerable sage Patañjali, in his Yoga aphorisms
defines Yoga as the suspension of the modification

x HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
of the thinking principle,¹ an object attainable
through different methods, none of which is practi-
cable without controlling the prāṇa or breath, which
is intimately connected with the mind. This connec-
tion is proved by our daily experience of life; when we
are absorbed in deep thought, the process of breathing
becomes slow. The suspension of the mental activity
increases in proportion to the slowness of the breath;
and in cases of asphyxia, mental activity ceases alto-
gether until respiration is revived, and complete dis-
appearance of mental activity takes place with the
death of the body. These considerations prove that
mind and prāṇa, another term for the vital breath, are
interdependent, each unable to act independently of
the other.
It has been said in the Śivagītā that the vehicle
of mind is prāṇa, and therefore mind is present where
prāṇa is. In other words mind has been described as
the rider and prāṇa as the horse. In the Yogavāsiṣṭha
¹ When initiating Rāmacandra, his Guru Vasiṣṭha said :
चित्तं कारणमर्थानां तस्मिन् सति जगत्त्रयम् ।
तस्मिन् क्षीणे जगत् क्षीणं तच्चिकित्स्यं प्रयत्नतः ॥
एक एव मनो देवो ज्ञेयः सर्वार्थसिद्धिदः ।
अन्यत्र विफलः क्लेशः सर्वेषां तज्जयं विना ॥
The happiness and misery experienced in this world are
caused by the working of the mind. Three worlds are created
by the mind. Suspension of the mental activity will cause the
three worlds with their misery to disappear. By controlling the
mind all occult powers are acquired. If the mind is not controlled,
all else becomes useless and painful.

INTRODUCTION xi
the relation between the mind and the prāṇa has
been described thus:
शरीरशकटानां हि कर्षणे परमात्मना ।
मनःप्राणोद्यौ ब्रह्मन् कृतौ कर्मकृतौ दृढौ ॥
प्राणेनेदं देहगेहं परिस्फुरति यन्त्रवत् ।
प्राणहीनं परिस्पन्दं त्यक्त्वा तिष्ठति मूकवत् ॥
मनसः स्पन्दनं प्राणः प्राणस्य स्पन्दनं मनः ।
एतौ विहरतौ नित्यमन्योन्यं रथसारथी ॥
यः प्राणपवनस्पन्दश्चित्तस्पन्दः स एव हि ।
प्राणस्पन्दजये यत्नः कर्तव्यो धीमतोच्चकैः ॥
राज्यादिमोक्षपर्यन्ताः समस्ता एव संपदः ।
देहानिलविधेयत्वात् साध्याः सर्वस्य राघव ॥
बहुनात्र किमुक्तेन सर्वमेव शरीरके ।
करोति भगवान् वायूर्यन्त्रेहामिव यान्त्रिकः ॥
Oh Rāma! For the motion of the chariot which
is the body, Īśvara has created the mind and prāṇa,
without which the body cannot function. When the
prāṇa departs, the mechanism of the body stops; when
the mind works, prāṇa moves. The relation between
these is like that between the driver and the chariot.
These exert motion, one upon the other. Therefore
the wise should study the regulation of prāṇa if they
desire to suspend the activity of the mind or concentrate
will upon the achievement of Yoga. The regulation
of prāṇa brings all happiness, worldly and spiritual,
from the acquisition of kingdoms to mokṣa or supreme

xii HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
bliss. Wherefore, O Rāma! study the science of
breath or prāṇa.
Prāṇa is the chief principle of motion in the Sthūla
(gross), Sūkṣma (subtle) and Kāraṇa (causal) bodies.
We shall now attempt an examination of the
Haṭha and the Rāja-yoga somewhat more minutely
and see the difference that exists between the two.
Haṭha is considered to be a compound word
formed of two syllables: ha, means the moon, and
ṭha, means the sun. These correspond to the breath
which flows through the left and right nostrils. The
regulation of breath for the purpose of checking the
modification of the thinking principle is called Haṭha-
yoga, under which the Aṣṭāṅga-yoga, Mantra-yoga,
etc. as above enumerated, naturally fall. Rāja-yoga
begins where Haṭha-yoga, properly followed, ends.
It would therefore be unwise to consider the Haṭha-
yoga as nothing more than a dangerous gymnastic
feat, for a moderate exercise of it has been found by
experience to be both conducive to health and longevity.
It brings in its train the power to prevent or remove
diseases, bodily or mental, for its practice regulates
the action of the heart, the lungs and the circulation
of the blood. It even bestows the gift of putting off
death indefinitely, although this privilege is seldom
exercised by the true Yogin who knows the consequences
of interfering with the laws of nature.
As the Rāja- and the Haṭha-yoga-s are the
necessary counterparts of each other, the limbs as it
were of the same body, either of them cannot be

INTRODUCTION xiii
successfully followed to the exclusion of the other,
nor their benefits secured without the directions of a
competent Guru, and no one can be a perfect Yogin
without a knowledge of the practices of both.
The born Rāja-yogin has the natural power of
concentrating the mind without effort. This con-
centration which is the chief characteristic of Rāja-
yoga, is the natural result of the force of will acting
powerfully to check the erratic mind and bring it
into a union with the Jīvātman and Paramātman by
a natural or unconscious suspension of the breath.
We have already said that the Rāja-yoga begins
where the Haṭha-yoga ends. Every Yoga, the Laya,
Tāraka, Dhyāna, etc. has its beginning in Haṭha-
yoga, consciously or unconsciously, and ends in the
Rāja-yoga. The practice of Rāja-yoga is not easy
for everyone who commences it for the first time in
the present life if he had not accustomed himself to
it in his past incarnations. And as knowledge stored
in the previous lives comes to fruition in the present,
the disciple will easily attain to Rāja-yoga through
the inevitable initial steps of Haṭha-yoga in which a
beginning in every incarnation is made. It should
therefore be safe to begin with Haṭha-yoga, as this
irresistibly tends to the purification of man's body and
moral nature.
Students of the Yoga-vidyā have been classed
under three categories: the Uttama Adhikārin-s, the
highest; the Madhyama Adhikārin-s, the intermediate;
and the Kaniṣṭha Adhikārin-s, the lowest. Students

xiv HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
of different degrees of merit acquired in past lives
come under the first two categories. We shall now
speak of the Kaniṣṭha Adhikārin-s who have to begin
their Yoga in the present life. For these no course
of Yoga is possible save the Haṭha-yoga, which they
should patiently follow, guided by a competent Guru.
For, says Śrī Śaṃkarācārya in his treatise on Rāja-
yoga, called Aparokṣānubhūti: ‘The practice of Haṭha-
yoga is intended for those whose nature requires to
be purged of all impurities.’ Now, since the majority
of men are not free from the infirmities of their lower
nature, it follows that the majority of students are in
need of a first training which would fit them for the
pursuit of the higher system of Rāja-yoga: a training
which no system is so well adapted to secure as Haṭha-
yoga.
The misconceptions produced in the minds of
some who, not having impartially viewed the philo-
sophies of Sāṃkhya and Yoga—terms synonymous
with Rāja- and Haṭha-Yoga-s—jump to the conclusion
that the two are distinct sciences, each having a dis-
tinct bearing upon the knowledge of Self, has been
made evident in the Bhagavadgītā, (V. 4 and 5), where
Śrī Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna:
सांख्ययोगौ पृथग्बालाः प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः ।
एकमप्यास्थितः सम्यगुभयोर्विन्दते फलम् ॥
यत्सांख्यैः प्राप्यते स्थानं तद्योगैरपि गम्यते ।
एकं सांख्यं च योगं च यः पश्यति स पश्यति ॥

INTRODUCTION xv
meaning that only the ignorant consider Sāṁkhya
and Yoga to be different, not the enlightened. By
the practice of the one the results of both are obtained.
The goal attained by the followers of Sāṁkhya is
also reached by the Yogin. He that sees no difference
between Sāṁkhya and Yoga possesses the intuitive
power of knowledge.
The great sage, Vasiṣṭha, the Guru of Rāma-
candra, throws further light on the point in the Yoga-
vāsiṣṭha, in which, addressing his worthy disciple, he
says:
द्वौ क्रमौ चित्तनाशाय योगो ज्ञानं च राघव ।
योगो वृत्तिनिरोधो हि ज्ञानं सम्यगवेक्षणम् ॥
असाध्यः कस्यचिद्योगो ज्ञानं कस्यचिदेव च ।
प्रकारौ द्वौ ततः साक्षाज्जगाद परमः शिवः ॥
‘Oh Rāma! For the destruction (quiescence) of
mind only two ways are prescribed: Yoga and
jñāna (knowledge). Yoga is secured by suppressing
the working of the mind, and knowledge by right
vision, i.e. tracing the cause from the effect. To
some, Yoga is difficult, to others jñāna (knowledge) is
difficult. For this reason it is that the supreme Śiva
has revealed the two ways.’
Similar sentiments are breathed in the Kūrma-
purāṇa where in the chapters of the Īśvaragītā we read
that ‘the only certain means of acquiring this knowl-
edge is by an adherence to the Sāṁkhya and Yoga
doctrines, for they are the same; but he who sedulously

xvi HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
devotes himself to them will undoubtedly become
acquainted with the real nature of the deity.’
The Bhagavadgītā is written in eighteen chapters,
each describing a system of Yoga; and in the eighth
chapter Śrī Kṛṣṇa advises Arjuna to become a Yogin
that he may avoid falling into errors in virtue of the
superior knowledge of Self which Yoga offers to its
votaries.
We hope we have clearly demonstrated by the
accumulated experience of authorities and the Śāstra-s
that the Haṭha- and Rāja-yoga-s far from being anta-
gonistic to each other, are, on the contrary, inter-
dependent, and that the pursuit of the Rāja-yoga
cannot be successfully accomplished without the co-
operation of the sister Haṭha-yoga. It has also been
shown that it is safer to begin with the Haṭha-yoga.
The founders of the Haṭha- and the Rāja-yoga-s
are respectively the Gods Śiva and Viṣṇu. To
demonstrate to the world the fundamental unity of
those two systems which have only an apparently
different outward garb, the founders worshipped each
as his Guru unceasingly with the object of securing
emancipation as expressed in the following maxim:
शिवस्य हृदयं विष्णुर्विष्णोश्च हृदयं शिवः ॥
‘The heart of Śiva is Viṣṇu, and the heart of
Viṣṇu, Śiva.’
In order to illustrate more forcibly the unity of
these two systems (identical in their founders, the
Gods Śiva and Viṣṇu), Īśvara addressed the sages

INTRODUCTION xvii
exhorting them in the last chapter of the Īśvaragītā:
‘I have now fully explained the different subjects
respecting which your minds were perplexed with
doubt; but know further, that this Nārāyaṇa and myself
are one and the same, and that there is no difference
between us. He, like me, is incorporeal, imperishable,
the supreme and universal soul. Those, however,
who behold diversity in this universe, consider us
to be distinct deities, naming him Viṣṇu, and me
Maheśvara; but those who know that we are in essence
one and the same shall be free from the pains of re-
birth.’
As a further illustration of the excellence of the
Haṭha-yoga, which we have attempted to establish
by the above few quotations drawn out of an over-
whelming number of ancient authorities, we would
invite the reader’s attention to the familiar, but never-
theless undeniable, analogy introduced in a work of
very ancient repute, known as Śaivāgama, in which
Ādinātha (the God Śiva) urges even the most perfect
Yogin not to give up his practice of Āsana, Prāṇāyāma,
Kumbhaka, etc. for the purpose of keeping his body in
perfect good health even as all human beings are
required to keep their dwelling houses in perfect sanitary
condition.
In view of the combined advantage of the two
systems, and for the enlightenment of men thirsting
for knowledge, the great Yogin Svātmārāma compiled
the Haṭhayogapradīpikā, of which we have in these
pages attempted to give, with the original text and its

xviii HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ
commentary, an English translation for the benefit
of students unacquainted with Sanskrit. We shall be
best rewarded if the fruits of the labours of the great
author be appreciated at their true worth, and the
reader, imperfectly acquainted with the subject, be
enabled to remove the confusion and error which at
present seem to prevail in respect of the science of Yoga.
TOOKARAM TATYA

श्रीः
हठयोगप्रदीपिका
ज्योत्स्नायुता
प्रथमोपदेशः
श्रीआदिनाथाय नमोऽस्तु तस्मै येनोपदिष्टा हठयोगविद्या ।
विभ्राजते प्रोन्नतराजयोगमारोढुमिच्छोरधिरोहिणीव ॥ १ ॥
श्रीगणेशाय नमः ॥
गुरुं नत्वा शिवं साक्षाद्ब्रह्मानन्देन तन्यते ।
हठप्रदीपिकाज्योत्स्ना योगमार्गप्रकाशिका ॥
इदानींतनानां सुबोधार्थमस्याः सुविज्ञाय गोरक्षसिद्धान्तहार्दम् ।
मया मेरुशास्त्रिप्रमुख्याभियोगात् स्फुटं कथ्यतेऽत्यन्तगूढोऽपि भावः ॥
मुमुक्षुजनहितार्थं राजयोगद्वारा कैवल्यफलां हठप्रदीपिकां विधित्सुः
परमकारुणिकः स्वात्मारामयोगीन्द्रस्तत्प्रत्यूहनिवृत्तये हठयोगप्रवर्तक.श्रीमदादिनाथ-
नमस्कारलक्षणं मङ्गलं तावदाचरति—श्रीआदिनाथायेत्यादिना । तस्मै श्रीआदि-
नाथाय नमोऽस्त्वित्यन्वयः । आदिश्चासौ नाथश्च आदिनाथः सर्वेश्वरः । शिव
इत्यर्थः । श्रीमानादिनाथः तस्मै श्रीआदिनाथाय । श्रीशब्द आदिर्यस्य सः

२ हठयोगप्रदीपिका
श्रीआदिः, श्रीआदिश्चासौ नाथश्च श्रीआदिनाथः, तस्मै श्रीआदिनाथाय ।
श्रीनाथाय विष्णव इति वार्थः । श्रीआदिनाथायेत्यत्र यणभावस्तु, ‘अपि माषं
मषं कुर्याच्छन्दोभङ्गं त्यजेद्गिराम्’ इति छन्दोविदां संप्रदायादुच्चारणसौष्ठवाच्चेति
बोध्यम् । वस्तुतस्तु असंहितपाठस्वीकारापेक्षया श्रीआदिनाथायेति पाठस्वीकारेऽप्र-
वृत्तनित्यविध्युद्देश्यतावच्छेदकानाक्रान्तत्वेन परिनिष्ठितत्वसंभवात् संप्रत्युदाहृत-
दृष्टान्तद्वयस्यापीदृग्विषयवैषम्यात्, नित्यसाहित्यभङ्गजनितदोषस्य शाब्दिकाननुमत-
त्वाच्चासंमृष्टविधेयांशतारूपदोषस्य साहित्यकारैरुक्तत्वेऽपि क्वचित् तैरप्यस्वीकृत-
त्वेन शाब्दिकाचार्यैरेकाजित्यादौ कर्मधारयस्वीकारेण सर्वथानादृतत्वाच्च लाघ-
वातिशय इति सुधियो विभावयन्तु । नमः प्रह्लीभावोऽस्तु । प्रार्थनायां
लोट् । तस्मै; कस्मै इत्यपेक्षायामाह—येनेति । येन आदिनाथेन उपदिष्टा
गिरिजायै हठयोगविद्या हश्च ठश्च हठौ सूर्यचन्द्रौ तयोर्योगो हठयोगः, एतेन
हठशब्दवाच्ययोः सूर्यचन्द्राख्ययोः प्राणापानयोरैक्यलक्षणः प्राणायामो हठयोग
इति हठयोगस्य लक्षणं सिद्धम् । तथा चोक्तं गोरक्षनाथेन सिद्धसिद्धान्तपद्धतौ—
‘हकारः कीर्तितः सूर्यष्ठकारश्चन्द्र उच्यते ।
सूर्याचन्द्रमसोर्योगाद्धठयोगो निगद्यते ॥’
इति । तत्प्रतिपादिका विद्या हठयोगविद्या, हठयोगशास्त्रमिति यावत् ।
गिरिजायै आदिनाथकृतो हठविद्योपदेशो महाकालयोगशास्त्रादौ प्रसिद्धः ।
प्रकर्षेण उन्नतः प्रोन्नतः । मन्त्रयोगहठयोगादीनामधरभूमीनामुत्तरभूमित्वाद्वाजयोगस्य
प्रोन्नतत्वम् । राजयोगश्च सर्ववृत्तिनिरोधलक्षणोऽसंप्रज्ञातयोगः । तमिच्छोर्मुमुक्षो-
रधिरोहिणीव, अधिरुह्यतेऽनयेत्यधिरोहिणी निःश्रेणीव विभ्राजते विशेषेण आजते
शोभते । यथा प्रोन्नतसौधमारोढुमिच्छोरधिरोहिण्यनायासेन सौधप्रापिका भवति,
एवं हठदीपिकापि प्रोन्नतराजयोगमारोढुमिच्छोरनायासेन राजयोगप्रापिका भवती-
ति । उपमालंकारः । इन्द्रवज्राख्यं वृत्तम् ॥ १ ॥