Yājñavalkya

Legendary Vedic sage, protagonist of the Yoga Yājñavalkya and of the dialogues in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. He is presented as the supreme master who expounds the doctrine of yoga to his wife Gārgī before an assembly of ṛṣis.

In this text, Yājñavalkya plays a dual role: on one hand, he acts as a disciple who received the teaching of yoga directly from Brahmā; on the other, he transmits that knowledge to Gārgī and those present. The conjugal dialogue — rare in Sanskrit technical literature — gives the text an intimate and accessible tone without sacrificing doctrinal rigor.

His teaching articulates karma and [[jnana|jñāna]] as complementary paths, describes the eight limbs of [[ashtanga|aṣṭāṅga-yoga]] and details the advanced practices of [[pranayama|prāṇāyāma]], [[pratyahara|pratyāhāra]], [[dharana|dhāraṇā]], [[dhyana|dhyāna]] and [[samadhi|samādhi]].