Prakaraṇa

Chapter or section of a text; in the Yoga Yājñavalkya, the twelve prakaraṇas correspond to the fundamental topics of yoga: yama, niyama, āsana, nāḍī-śuddhi, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi, karma-yoga, upadeśa-saṃgraha and kuṇḍalinī.

The word derives from the root kṛ (“to do”) with the prefix pra- (“forward”), literally meaning “production, treatise, exposition.” Each prakaraṇa of the Yoga Yājñavalkya constitutes a complete thematic unit that can be studied independently, though the whole follows a logical progression from ethics to realization.

The term differs from adhyāya (“chapter”) in that prakaraṇa emphasizes the thematic and autonomous character of the section, whereas adhyāya refers simply to the numerical division of the text.