Its fruits and flowers are visible across the entire continent and are much desired by its inhabitants. One version relates that in order to teach yoga on earth, he fell from heaven in the form of a little snake, into the upturned plans (a gesture known as … Patañjali's work is widely regarded as the finest example extant of the sutra method of presentation. So Patañjali could just as well have been trying to bring order to a system with widely divergent methods. Given that the knowledge in Patañjali's most widely recognized work, the Yoga Sutras , is presented through a series of terse aphorisms, a date for him of somewhere between the fourth and second centuries BCE becomes highly likely. The Patañjali who wrote it took Panini's work a great deal further. BKS Iyengar | For one thing, it is exceptionally short. To this day dancers in India working in the classical traditions invoke him and pay him their respects. He was a great grammarian and his Mahabhashya or Great Commentary on Panini's grammar (the first great grammar written for any language) was magisterial. Just as Gonika was about to offer her handful of water to the Sun, she glanced down at her hands and was astonished to see a tiny serpent moving in her hands. But the Mahabhashya was a lot more than just a commentary. As for where Patañjali was born—this, also, is far from clear. Clearly, it is important to settle whether the first three chapters, which both sides use as their measuring stick, are indisputable as Patañjali originals. It also assures them that those labours will eventually bear fruit. But—it is unclear if Patañjali actually said it, or if Vyasa merely says he did. While the Yoga Sutras initially appears to be a dry and theoretical text, it explains human nature and psychology while also being an intensely practical manual for spiritual advancement. He was rather born in Ilavritavarsha. She was even more astonished when, within a few moments, that serpent had assumed a human form. All these are mentioned in the Yoga Sutras. It is surely not to be wondered at, then, if ideas that show themselves to best advantage in the one field are not in any way efficacious—and, indeed, cause great difficulties—when carried over to another. When the dance ended the weight was instantaneously lifted. At another moment he seems to be saying that a particular sentence he is elucidating is in any case something Patañjali said. There is one coil each for the earth, the atmosphere and the heavens. Mount Meru stands at the centre of the universe ... and is generally taken as an allegory for the human spine. The word ‘sutra’ comes from the word ‘a thread’ and so the 195 Yoga Sutras are known as threads of wisdom. These ideas differ from the mainstream, at that time, in both Sankhya and Yoga. Svayambhus—divine beings who bring about their own causeless existences, who are without karma, and who manifest themselves as evolved and highly spiritual beings for the betterment of humanity—are in no way obliged to respect historical facts. According to another legend, shortly before Patañjali was born the Lord Vishnu was seated on his serpent, Adisesa. This authenticity debate is not one that can really be resolved. Unsurprisingly, given his lineage, he had no ordinary childhood. Those seven hoods symblize his mastery and conquest of the five elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether, along with the attainment of moksha and samadhi, liberation and enlightenment. A part of the reason for this wide divergence in possible dates is the tradition, common at the time (it existed also in contemporary Greek society and still causes endless problems for historians), to ascribe anything worth saying to someone already acknowledged as a great exponent. Another bone of contention is that, unlike the first two chapters, the third ends with 'iti'. Give or take a century, therefore, somewhere around 250 BCE seems the best bet. The first three chapters seem to develop their themes in a leisurely and non-dogmatic manner. And of the little that is known, much is mired in myth. Added to this is some internal evidence. This is made out by Patanjali in a very few expressions. In order to make their contributions more acceptable, and to give them some cachet and an air of authority, later thinkers were frequently content to concede authorship of their contributions to one or another of their more illustrious predecessors. From death, lead me to immortality. His human torso emerges from the coils of the all-powerful serpent, who is awakening in the moment of creation. And ... it is surely beyond coincidence that the second sutra of the Yoga Sutras defines yoga in terms of nirodha. But yoga was strongly associated with the shramana tradition, these being wandering forest mendicants and seekers. The cut and thrust of his eye, mind and mouth were of such intensity that on one occasion, when the inhabitants of Bhotabhandra chose to disturb him in the middle of his religious austerities and ridiculed him, he reduced them to ashes with nothing more than the fire of his mouth and speech. If so, this would make him not only the grandson of the Creator of the universe, but also the brother of Brhaspati, god of wisdom and eloquence and chief offerer of sacrifices. Thus in Vibhuti Pada (Powers section) of Yoga Sutras, Patanjali talks about how ... For example, Patanjali describes God as a special entity beyond time and space (Section I) and is identified by the original word or sound. Only Bharatavarsha, therefore, allows for a 'proper' passage of time and the due working out of karma. Yoga & Sanskrit | Adisesa asked Vishnu what had happened. These nine are Bharata, Ilavrita, Hari, Kuru, Hiranmaya, Ramyaka, Ketumala, Bhadrasva and Kimnara. It, also, say the critics, seems to be a later interpolation in that it disturbs an otherwise smooth flow. Furthermore, a work of grammar is a very different animal from a book on yoga. Unfortunately, the confusion about Patañjali's life permeates the very thing for which he is the most famous: the Yoga Sutras. As for what precise contribution Patañjali made, this is also hard to settle. The two immediately in front of him create the blessings of the añjali while the other two are raised. Clearly, the question of the moment is whether the Patañjali who wrote the Mahabhashya was (a) the same as the Patañjali who wrote on ayurveda; and/or (b) the same as the Patañjali who wrote on yoga (never mind (c) the same as the one who was a founding father of dance). It was over that period that the aphorism style not only gained extensive acceptance, but reached probably its greatest stylistic peak. The lord is generally depicted in a meditative trance. And of the little that is known, much is mired in myth. In the face of the conflicting evidence the best that can now be done is to come up with a consensus for the most likely dates for Patañjali's birth and death. He promptly married her, thus indissolubly joining himself to the fruits of his spiritual quest, and lived to a ripe and happy old age. It is true that it would be neat if it were otherwise but, at the end of the day, there is no reason why the one work is obliged to make reference to, or be 100% compatible with, the other. She scooped up the only gift she could find—a handful of water—and beseeched him to bestow her with a son. Those who prefer to affirm the unity of the Yoga Sutras are unconvinced by the above arguments. Just as Gonika was about to offer her handful of water to the Sun, she glanced down at her hands and was astonished to see a tiny serpent moving in her hands. She then meditated upon the Sun and prepared herself to present her simple but sincere offering. This is surely exactly what they should be. It is inhabited only by gods and those few spiritual beings who embody supreme spirituality and transcendence. from the cycle of birth and death. In the face of the conflicting evidence the best that can now be done is to come up with a consensus for the most likely dates for Patañjali's birth and death.