Upanishads · Varāha 5.15
॥
Devanāgarī
एकादशासनानि स्युश्चक्रादि मुनिसत्तम । चक्रं पद्मासनं कूर्मं मयूरं कुक्कुटं तथा
Transliteration (IAST)
ekādaśāsanāni syuścakrādi munisattama | cakraṃ padmāsanaṃ kūrmaṃ mayūraṃ kukkuṭaṃ tathā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एकादश आसनानि स्युःekādaśa āsanāni syuḥthere are eleven postures
चक्र-आदि मुनि-सत्तमcakra-ādi muni-sattamabeginning with the wheel, O best of silent sages
चक्रं पद्म-आसनं कूर्मंcakraṃ padma-āsanaṃ kūrmaṃwheel, lotus posture, tortoise
मयूरं कुक्कुटं तथाmayūraṃ kukkuṭaṃ tathāpeacock, likewise cock
Translation
"There are eleven postures, beginning with the wheel, O best of silent sages: wheel, lotus, tortoise, peacock, cock…"
Version
ba6f29023446 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The list of eleven bodily postures begins, and it is worth noting how small it is. Later works count eighty-four, and current practice counts hundreds. Here there are eleven; in Patanjali there is not a single one named, for he defines posture by a single rule: sthira-sukham asanam, "a posture is that which is stable and comfortable" (2.46).
This definition is, in my view, the best said on this subject, and deserves holding onto: what is required is not difficulty, but stability without torment. Let us add that the names of the postures are taken from animals: tortoise, peacock, cock; below there will be lion and cow. This detail is universal in Indian literature and speaks to an attentive eye on animals: a posture is named for what it recalls.
The Vaishnava side does not occupy itself with bodily postures and has no list of its own; and it is worth saying plainly why. Its chief activities — hearing, singing, bowing, serving — require no posture: one sings standing and walking, bows lying down, serves in motion. The only posture it has is dandavat, "like a rod," that is, full prostration; and this is not a technique of concentration, but a sign.
The difference here is telling: there the body is arranged so it does not hinder; here the body speaks.