Upaniṣads · Jābāladarśana 3.6
॥
Devanāgarī
दक्षिणेतरपादं तु दक्षिणोरुणि विन्यसेत् । ऋजुकायः समासीनो वीरासनमुदाहृतम्
Transliteración (IAST)
dakṣiṇetarapādaṃ tu dakṣiṇoruṇi vinyaset | ṛjukāyaḥ samāsīno vīrāsanamudāhṛtam
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
दक्षिण-इतर-पादं तुdakṣiṇa-itara-pādaṃ tuthe left foot, however
दक्षिण-ऊरुणि विन्यसेत्dakṣiṇa-ūruṇi vinyaseton the right thigh let him place
ऋजु-कायः समासीनःṛju-kāyaḥ samāsīnaḥwith straight body, sitting evenly
वीर-आसनम् उदाहृतम्vīra-āsanam udāhṛtamthe hero's sitting-posture is declared
Traducción
"The left foot, however, let him place on the right thigh; with straight body, sitting evenly — that is declared the hero's sitting-posture."
Versión
ed3b245ee137 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Vira-asana, "the hero's sitting-posture," is so named, apparently, because warriors sat this way by the fire: one leg drawn in, the other bent — able to rise quickly. The word vira, "hero," occurs often in books on yoga, and it is worth saying why exactly this word. Yoga constantly describes itself as a war: against the senses, against the mind, against habits. The Gita uses the same language: the mind is called "restless, powerful, and obstinate," and its subjugation is compared to the subjugation of the wind (6.34).
This language has its own merits and its own danger, and both deserve naming. The merit is that it does not deceive. It warns that it will not be easy and that the task will demand persistence — and anyone who began with a picture of untroubled calm is soon convinced the warning was accurate.
The danger is that the war is waged against oneself; and every such war tends to split a person in two and make him merciless toward himself. People who have long warred with themselves are rarely kind to others. The Vaishnava side uses the language of war more rarely, and prefers to it the language of service and attachment. The ground here is not gentleness of temperament, but what has already been said: the mind is conquered not by siege, but by occupation with something better; and where something better has appeared, there is no one left to fight.
Hence, in its books, the hero is called not one who has subdued himself, but one who is devoted; and the Gita, having listed every exercise, ends its sixth chapter with exactly this (6.47).