Aṣṭāṅga Yoga in the Vāyavīya Saṃhitā

Aṣṭāṅga yoga means “yoga with eight limbs”: an eight-step path of discipline, breath control and meditation. The Vāyavīya Saṃhitā, the last book of the Śiva Purāṇa, teaches it in its Uttara Khaṇḍa (Chapters 37–39) as part of the Śaiva Pāśupata way. Here the final goal is not only to still the mind, but to reach union with Śiva through dhyāna (meditation).

The text describes five kinds of yoga, ten obstacles, the working of prāṇāyāma (breath control) in the body, six lotus-centres (padmas) for meditation, the siddhis (special powers) linked with each element, and the inner states that come with progress. It ends with samādhi, in which the difference between the meditator (dhyātā), the act of meditation (dhyāna) and the one meditated on (dhyeya) melts away completely in awareness of Śiva.

Five Kinds of Yoga

Chapter 37 opens with Upamanyu’s definition of yoga: “the unmoving fixing of the mind on Śiva after all other movements of the mind (vṛttis) are held back.” He then names five kinds of yoga:

Of these five, Mahāyoga is the highest. The seeker should practise them in rising order, and should not try a higher one until the lower one is firm.

The Eight Limbs

The full form of this yoga has eight limbs:

The Vāyavīya also accepts a short (saṃkṣepa) form that leaves out yama and niyama and counts six limbs, from āsana to samādhi. These six are the limbs that belong to yoga proper.

Prāṇāyāma in Detail

The Three Movements

• Recaka: breathing out. One nostril is closed and the other breathes out completely
• Pūraka: breathing in fully through the other nostril
• Kumbhaka: holding the breath, neither breathing in nor out; the state of a full kumbha (pot)

The Four Grades of Prāṇāyāma

The grades are measured in mātrās. One mātrā is the time it takes to turn the wrist briskly and snap the fingers.

The fourth grade of prāṇāyāma is the doorway to samādhi. The Vāyavīya adds a practical warning: “Do not attempt the higher grades without a guru’s supervision.”

The Ten Prāṇas

When prāṇāyāma is mastered, it gives the yogī control over the ten prāṇas (vital airs) in the body:

Signs That Prāṇāyāma Is Working

The Vāyavīya tells the practitioner to watch for these signs that prāṇāyāma is bearing fruit:

• Less phlegm and waste
• The ability to eat more (surprisingly, as the body works better)
• Slower breathing, subtle and deep
• Lightness of body
• Speed in walking
• More enthusiasm
• A sweet voice
• Freedom from disease
• Beauty and radiance of body (brahmavarcas)
• Courage, good memory and youthfulness

These outer signs show inner mastery of prāṇa.

Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna and Samādhi

Dhāraṇā (Concentration)

The mind is held to a single point for a set time without slipping. The length of twelve prāṇāyāmas makes one dhāraṇā. The Vāyavīya says the point of focus must in the end be Śiva alone, because fixing the mind on any other object brings the limits of that object with it.

Dhyāna (Meditation)

Twelve dhāraṇās held without a break make one dhyāna. Dhyāna is defined as the unbroken flow of awareness towards Śiva, like oil poured in a steady stream. The definition draws on Pāṇini’s verb root dhyai (“to think, to contemplate”). True dhyāna of Śiva includes both Śiva (as nirguṇa, beyond qualities) and Pārvatī (as saguṇa śakti, divine power with qualities). The Vāyavīya insists that Pārvatī should always be meditated on together with Śiva.

Six Lotuses for Dhyāna

Chapter 38 describes six lotus-centres (padmas or cakras) in the subtle body for dhyāna, from the base to the crown. Each lotus has a set number of petals, each bearing a Sanskrit letter:

The meditator may place Śiva and Pārvatī in whichever lotus the mind settles in most steadily.

Forms of Śiva for Dhyāna

The Vāyavīya gives several forms in which Śiva may be pictured during dhyāna:

• A being the size of a thumb (aṅguṣṭha-mātra), blazing with his own light
• Like a pure lamp flame
• Like the crescent moon
• Like a star
• Like a fine thread inside a lotus stalk
• Like a mustard seed (round and white)
• Like a dewdrop

For beginners a sthūla (gross, visible) form is advised. As the mind grows steady, the meditator moves on to sūkṣma (subtle) dhyāna.

Samādhi

Twelve dhyānas make one samādhi. The Vāyavīya defines samādhi as the state in which:

• The dhyeya (Śiva) alone shines
• The dhyātā (meditator) disappears as a separate being
• Dhyāna (the act of meditating) disappears as a separate activity
• Only pure awareness remains, like a still flame where no wind blows

A person in samādhi does not hear sounds, cannot smell or taste, cannot speak or see, and is as still as a log, with no inner movement. Yet he is fully alive in the awareness of Śiva.

Ten Obstacles to Yoga

Chapter 38 lists ten vighnas (obstacles) that stop the sādhaka (practitioner) from moving forward:

1. Ālasya: laziness of body and mind
2. Vyādhi: illness from imbalance of diet and body
3. Pramāda: carelessness; not paying attention to practice
4. Sthānasaṃśaya: doubt about whether this practice is the right one
5. Anavasthita: the mind cannot stay in one place
6. Aśraddhā: lack of sincere faith in the path
7. Bhrāntidarśana: confusion; taking one thing for another
8. Duḥkha: suffering (from other beings, from divine forces, and from within oneself)
9. Daurmanasya: low spirits from desires not fulfilled
10. Lolatā: the restless mind caught up in sense-pleasures

These ten are overcome by steady practice. When they clear, the first siddhis of yoga appear as signs of progress.

The Siddhis of Yoga

Chapter 38 also describes the siddhis (special powers) that arise naturally from the practice of yoga, grouped by tattva (element):

• Paiśāca-pada (8 powers from mastery of the earth element): taking on different bodily forms and sizes; spreading fragrance everywhere
• Jala-aiśvarya (16 powers from mastery of the water element): living in water; drawing water out of the earth; drinking up oceans; changing tastes
• Taijasa-aiśvarya (24 powers from mastery of the fire element): making fire; not being burned; burning the world; cooking in the mouth; fire in water
• Māruta-aiśvarya (32 powers from mastery of the air element): moving at the speed of the mind; entering the bodies of others; lifting mountains; controlling weight
• Aindra or Āmbara-aiśvarya (40 powers from mastery of the space element): becoming invisible; flying through space; becoming bodiless; mastery over sound

The Vāyavīya carefully warns that these siddhis become obstacles to mokṣa (liberation) if one clings to them. They are signs of progress, not goals. The true Śaiva yogī uses whatever siddhis arise for the good of all beings and keeps going towards samādhi.

The Highest Fruits of Yoga

• Dhyāna burns up all karma, both puṇya (merit) and pāpa, like a great fire that consumes both dry and wet wood
• Even a moment of sincere dhyāna on Śiva brings endless merit
• A yogī who dies before finishing the path is born in a family of yogīs and takes up the practice again
• No amount of outer ritual, tapas or dāna (giving) is worth even one sixteenth of prāṇāyāma

“There is no tīrtha equal to dhyāna, no tapas equal to it, no yajña equal to it — therefore let the wise person meditate well.”

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Vāyavīya Saṃhitā (Book 7), Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 37–39