Upanishads · Mahā 5.42
॥
Devanāgarī
ते स्थिता भूमिकास्वासु स्वात्मलाभपरायणाः मनःप्रशमनोपायो योग इत्यभिधीयते
Transliteration (IAST)
te sthitā bhūmikāsvāsu svātmalābhaparāyaṇāḥ manaḥpraśamanopāyo yoga ityabhidhīyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ते स्थिताः भूमिकासु आसुte sthitāḥ bhūmikāsu āsuthey stand upon these stages; they are established on these steps
स्व-आत्म-लाभ-परायणाःsva-ātma-lābha-parāyaṇāḥdevoted to the gaining of themselves; given over to the winning of their own self
मनः-प्रशमन-उपायःmanaḥ-praśamana-upāyaḥthe means of quieting the mind; the method of pacifying consciousness
योगः इति अभिधीयतेyogaḥ iti abhidhīyateis called yoga; is named yoga
Translation
“They stand on these stages, devoted to the gaining of themselves; and the means of quieting the mind is called yoga.”
Version
c24da1d017e1 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A definition of yoga, and a short one: manaḥ-praśamana-upāya — “the means of quieting the mind”.
Not union, not supernatural powers, not bodily exercises. A way to still the mind.
This agrees with Patañjali's famous definition: yoga is the cessation of the mind's fluctuations.
Note that the definition is given as if in passing, at the end of a verse about the stages — and rightly so. Yoga here is not a separate doctrine but a name for all that has been said.
Sva-ātma-lābha — “the gaining of one's own self”. The word lābha means “obtaining, a find”. Not “creation” and not “achievement”: one finds what was there.
And parāyaṇa — “having as one's highest aim, devoted”. Again a word from the vocabulary of devotion, not of technique.