Upaniṣads · Varāha 5.11
॥
Devanāgarī
यमश्च नियमश्चैव तथा चासनमेव च । प्राणायमस्तथा पश्चात्प्रत्याहारस्तथा परम्
Transliteración (IAST)
yamaśca niyamaścaiva tathā cāsanameva ca | prāṇāyamastathā paścātpratyāhārastathā param
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
यमः च नियमः च एवyamaḥ ca niyamaḥ ca evarestraint and observance
तथा च आसनम् एव चtathā ca āsanam eva caand likewise posture
प्राणायामः तथा पश्चात्prāṇāyāmaḥ tathā paścātthen breath control
प्रत्याहारः तथा परम्pratyāhāraḥ tathā paramthen withdrawal of the senses
Traducción
"Restraint and observance, and likewise posture; then breath control, then withdrawal of the senses…"
Versión
d842ed221e16 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The eight limbs of Patanjali's yoga are listed, discussed at length when reading the Jabala-darshana, where each was given its own section; there is no need to repeat the examination. Let us add one remark about the structure of the list, for it fits here. The order of the eight limbs runs from outside inward: first conduct toward others (yama), then toward oneself (niyama), then body, breath, senses, and only then the mind.
This construction is, in my view, the chief merit of Patanjali's system, and deserves stating. It means one does not begin with meditation, but with how a person deals with people. And anyone who has observed those who begin with concentration, skipping the first, knows where it leads: capacity grows, and character remains as before.
The Vaishnava side approves this order and holds its own correspondence, discussed when reading the Jabala-darshana (10.4): its ladder too begins not with practice, but with sadhu-sanga, "company," that is, with people. The only difference is that for Patanjali the first is abstention from bad conduct, while for it the first is entering into good company. That is, one begins with what not to do, the other with where to go; and this difference, in my view, determines the whole subsequent cast of both paths.