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Founder
of the system of yoga and author of the Yoga
Sutras, the ancient text that establishes
the practice and philosophy of yoga.
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Almost
everything about Patañjali is unknown. Even his
most basic biographical details are disputed.
And of the little that is known, much is mired
in myth.
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The
dates proposed for Patañjali's birth and life
vary by a millennium. Some authorities suggest
that he lived and flourished in the 4th century
BCE, while others insist that he must have lived
in the 6th century CE. A part of the reason for
this wide divergence in possible dates is the
tradition, common at the time (it existed also
in contemporary Greek society and still causes
endless problems for historians), to ascribe anything
worth saying to someone already acknowledged as
a great exponent.
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In
order to make their contributions more acceptable, and to give
them some cachet and an air of authority, later thinkers were
frequently content to concede authorship of their contributions
to one or another of their more illustrious predecessors. Those
predecessors thus acquired an exaggerated longevity. In the
face of the conflicting evidence the best that can now be done
is to come up with a consensus for the most likely dates for
Patañjali's birth and death.
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that the knowledge in Patañjali's most widely recognized work,
the Yoga Sutras, is presented through a series of terse aphorisms,
a date for him of somewhere between the fourth and second centuries
BCE becomes highly likely. It was over that period that the aphorism
style not only gained extensive acceptance, but reached probably
its greatest stylistic peak. Patañjali's work is widely regarded
as the finest example extant of the sutra method of presentation. |
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Give or take a century, therefore, somewhere around 250 BCE seems
the best bet. |
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Trying
to determine Patañjali's parentage poses further problems. According
to one legend he was the son of Angiras, one of the ten sons
of Brahma, the Creator; and of Sati, the consort of Siva. If
so, this would make him not only the grandson of the Creator
of the universe, but also the brother of Brhaspati, god of wisdom
and eloquence and chief offerer of sacrifices.
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According
to another legend, shortly before Patañjali was born the Lord
Vishnu was seated on his serpent, Adisesa. (Adisesa is in fact
one of the many incarnations of Vishnu). While seated on his
serpent carriage Vishnu was enraptured by the dancing of Lord
Siva. Vishnu was so affected that his body began to vibrate
causing him to pound down heavily on Adisesa -- who consequently
suffered great discomfort. When the dance ended the weight was
instantaneously lifted.
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Adisesa
asked Vishnu what had happened. On hearing about the dance Adisesa
wanted to learn it so he could personally dance it for the pleasure
of Vishnu, his lord. Vishnu was impressed and predicted to Adisesa
that one day Lord Siva would bless him for his understanding
and devotion and that he would be incarnated so that he could
both shower humanity with blessings and fulfill his own desire
to master dance. Adisesa immediately began to ponder on the
question of who his mother would be.
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At
the same time a virtuous woman named Gonika, who was totally
devoted to yoga, was praying and seeking for someone to be a
worthy son to her. She wanted to pass on the knowledge and understanding
she had gained through yoga. Concerned that, with her days on
earth now severely numbered, she had not yet found a candidate,
she prostrated herself before the Sun, the earthly manifestation
of the light and presence of God. She scooped up the only gift
she could find -- a handful of water -- and beseeched him to
bestow her with a son. She then meditated upon the Sun and prepared
herself to present her simple but sincere offering.
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seeing all this Adisesa -- the bearer of Vishnu -- knew that he
had found the mother he was looking for. Just as Gonika was about
to offer her handful of water to the Sun, she glanced down at
her hands and was astonished to see a tiny serpent moving in her
hands. She was even more astonished when, within a few moments,
that serpent had assumed a human form. Adisesa, who it was, in
his turn prostrated before Gonika and pleaded with her to accept
him as her son. |
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