They say “laya, laya”, but what is the characteristic of laya?Laya is the forgetting of sensory objects because latent impressions do not arise.

This verse defines laya with technical precision:

Layo laya iti prāhuḥ — “they say laya, laya.”Svātmārāma notes with some irony that many repeat the term without understanding its real meaning.

Kīdṛśaṃ laya-lakṣaṇam — “what is the characteristic of laya?”A rhetorical question that introduces the definition.

Viṣaya-vismṛti — forgetfulness of objects.The viṣayas (sense objects) cease to attract attention.It is not repression but genuine disinterest.

Saṃskārodaya-varjanāt — because saṃskāras (latent impressions) do not arise (udaya) or are avoided (varjana).

This is the crucial point: objects attract us because they awaken stored impressions.If these impressions are not activated, objects lose their power of attraction.

The Bihar School explains that laya is not an effort of will but a natural consequence of purification.When saṃskāras are exhausted or purified through practices, the mind naturally withdraws from external objects.

Mallinson points out that this definition connects haṭha yoga with the psychology of the Yoga-Sūtra, where vāsanās and saṃskāras are the mechanisms of conditioning.