The ''Vasishtha Samhita'' (Sanskrit: वासिष्ठसंहिता, ''Vāsiṣṭha Saṁhitā'', Vasishtha's Collection) is a 13th-century medieval

Vaishnavite Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

text, one of the first to describe non-seated

hatha yoga Hatha yoga (; Sanskrit हठयोग, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''haṭhayoga'') is a branch of yoga that uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word ह� ...

asana An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...

s including the arm-balancing

Kukkutasana Kukkutasana (; ), Cockerel Pose, or Rooster Posture is an arm-balancing asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, derived from the seated Padmasana, lotus position. It is one of the oldest non-seated asanas. Similar hand-balancing poses k ...

, Cockerel Pose. It makes use of the 10th-century ''

Vimanarcanakalpa The ''Vimānārcanākalpa'' is a 10th to 11th century text on Hatha yoga, attributed to the sage Marichi. Text The ''Vimanarcanakalpa'' is a 10th to 11th century prose text on Hatha yoga, attributed to the sage Marichi. revised from American Ac ...

'', whose verse it paraphrases in prose to describe what may be the first non-seated asana, the arm-balancing

Mayurasana Mayūrāsana () or Peacock pose is a hand-balancing asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise with the body held horizontal over the hands. It is one of the oldest non-seated asanas, described in the 10th century. Etymology and origins ...

, Peacock Pose. These descriptions in turn were exploited by the 15th century ''

Hatha Yoga Pradipika The ''Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā'' ( or Light on Hatha Yoga) is a classic fifteenth-century Sanskrit manual on haṭha yoga, written by Svātmārāma, who connects the teaching's lineage to Matsyendranath of the Nathas. It is among the most infl ...

''. The Vasishtha Samhita shares many verses with the Yoga Yajnavalkya, some of which originate in the earlier Padma Samhita. The text, ascribed to the earlier sage

Vasishtha Vasishtha (, ) is one of the oldest and revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vasishtha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vasishtha and his family are mentioned in Rigve ...

, was compiled by an unknown author of the Vaishnavite Shakta sect. Its 45 chapters cover peace, name-chanting, offerings, sacrifices,

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

, and donation.

References

Sources

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External links

Sanskrit text of ''Vasishtha Samhita''

English prose translation by Manmatha Nath Dutt
Elysium Press, Calcutta, 1907 {{Yoga Hatha yoga texts