Śivasaṃhitā 4.108

The title Śivasaṃhitā designates one of the foundational texts of Haṭhayoga, presented as direct revelation from the god Śiva himself. Unlike other treatises structured as dialogues between teacher and student, this text speaks with divine authority, giving it the character of revealed scripture (āgama) rather than a technical manual.

The Sanskrit compound joins Śiva—the supreme deity of the Śaiva tradition—with saṃhitā, a term denoting an ordered ‘collection’ or ‘compendium.’ The word saṃhitā derives from the root dhā (‘to place, to hold’) prefixed by sam- (‘together’), evoking knowledge gathered and systematized under a single authoritative voice.

Scholars debate the text’s dating, placing it roughly between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Its fifth chapter, devoted to states of samādhi, distinguishes it from contemporaries like the Haṭhapradīpikā. This heading marks the opening of a section on mudrā, the energetic sealing techniques that form the heart of haṭhayogic practice.