Reflective Asana & Pranayama
The Invocation to Patanjali
These comments and discussion accompany the class “Reflective Asana & Pranayama.” For translation and commentary from a widely-circulated interview with Geeta Iyengar, see the “The Invocation to Patanjali: Translation and Comments from Geeta Iyengar.”
The Invocation to Patanjali is centuries old and is chanted in many yoga traditions including that of B. K. S. Iyengar. It is not a prayer, but an “invocation” that honors the Patanjali who codified the practice of yoga in 196 aphorisms or sutras. As Bryant points out, Patanjali produced the “first systematized treatment” on yoga (The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 2009: xxiv)
There is debate as to whether the sutras are theistic and invoke a particular deity, but most translations allow the use of a non-specific “higher power” rather than a particular entity. As Bryant says, Patanjali’s sutras do not constitute “an overtly sectarian text in the sense of prioritizing a specific deity or promoting a particular type of worship…therefore…it can be and has been appropriate and reconfigured by followers of different schools and traditions…” (p. xviii)
Regardless of the various meanings that may be given by different yoga traditions, many primarily see the invocation as a secular invocation of the spirit of yoga, a commitment to practice, and an affirmation of the yoga community.
Text of the Invocation
The transliteration: the Sanskrit sounds in English
Yogena cittasya padena vacam
Malam sarirasya ca vaidyakena
Yopakarottam pravaram muninam
Patanjalim
Pranjalir anato’smi
Abahu purusakam
Sankhacakrasi dharinam
Sahasra sirasam svetam
Pranamami patanjalim
Hari Om
The first verse or stanza (sloka in Sanskrit) describes the contributions of sage Patanjali to the art and science of yoga, including the yoga sutras which codify in 196 aphorisms (sutras) the practice of classic yoga.
The second sloka is a statement of the symbolic appearance of Patanjali as portrayed in statues in Mr. Iyengars Pune center and elsewhere — holding a conch shell and disc, sheltered by a cobra of a thousand hoods. Practitioners for whom this imagery does not resonate may wish to focus simply on the sounds and resonance of the invocation.
The sutras do not constitute a religious text but a concise presentation of the practice of yoga. Its origins are understood to be 2000 to 2500 years ago often estimated to be about 150-200 BCE), as much as a half century before the origins of Christianity and about the same time as the origins of Buddhism.
According to Kofi Busia (www.kofibusia.com/ptanjali/patanjali.php), Patanjali may have lived as early as the 4th century BCE or as late as the 6th century CE. He estimates that around 250 BCE seems the most likely period of the life of the historical Patanjali, but that other contributors may have made additions later in the tradition of Patanjali’s name.
The invocation has different meanings for all of us. To me it is a reminder of the statue in the Iyengar center in Pune, and of the tradition of practice as we sang the invocation in Mr. Iyengar’s studio. It links me to the tradition of yoga as taught by Mr. Iyengar and based in the sutras of Panjali.
Above all, the invocation provides a
Moment of centering and expression of community
A time to prepare the mind for practice
An expression of gratitude for the art and science of yoga