Yoga Sūtras

“Aphorisms of Yoga.” Work by Patañjali (approx. 2nd century BCE), composed of 195 sūtras organized in four chapters: samādhi, sādhana, vibhūti, and kaivalya. It is the foundational text of rāja yoga.

Not a manual of techniques but a cartography of the mind: defines yoga as citta-vṛtti-nirodha (cessation of mental fluctuations), describes obstacles (kleśa), steps (aṣṭāṅga), powers (siddhi), and liberation (kaivalya). Its influence transcends all schools of yoga. See yoga-sutra.