The Meaning of haṭha in Early Haṭhayoga

Journal article

This essay was prompted by the question of how Haṭhayoga, literally 'the Yoga of force', acquired its name. Many Indian and Western scholars have understood the 'force' of Haṭhayoga to refer to the effort required to practice it. Inherent in this understanding is the assumption that Haṭhayoga techniques such as prāṇāyāma (breath control) are strenuous and may even cause pain. Others eschew the notion of force altogether and favor the so-called 'esoteric' definition of Haṭhayoga (i.e, the union of the sun (ha) and moon (ṭha) in the body). This essay examines these interpretations in light of definitions of haṭhayoga and the adverbial uses of haṭha (i.e, haṭhāt, haṭhena) in Sanskrit Yoga texts that predate the fifteenth-century Haṭhapradīpikā.

Authors: Birch, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Journal: Journal of the American Oriental Society
• Volume: 131
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 527-554
• Publication date: 2011-12-01
• Edition: Publisher's version
• ISSN: 0003-0279
• Language: English
• Subjects: Oriental philosophy; Literature (non-English); Languages (Medieval and Modern) and non-English literature; History; Literatures of other languages; Sanskrit; History of Asia & Far East; Religions of the Indian subcontinent.; Philosophy,psychology and sociology of religion