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What Are the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali? A Beginner's Guide

What Are the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali? A Beginner's Guide

Sahil Thakur
4 days ago
5 min read

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a short Sanskrit text, about 195 brief verses in four chapters, that is one of the most important classical works on yoga and meditation. It's not a pose manual. It's mostly about the mind. Below is a plain-language guide, told partly as a conversation between two made-up people after a class.

After class (a made-up conversation)

An invented scene for illustration. Lena and Marc are fictional characters, made up to make the ideas easy to follow.

Lena: I bought a copy of the Yoga Sutras and gave up on page two.

Marc: That's normal. It's a very compressed text. The word sutra means "thread," and each verse is like a short note meant to be unpacked with a teacher.

Lena: So who was Patanjali?

Marc: Honestly, we know very little about him as a person. And the text can't be dated exactly. Scholars place it anywhere from a few centuries BCE to about 400 CE; many say the first centuries CE. It can't be later than about the fifth century. Even the question of his identity is debated.

Lena: And what does it actually say?

Marc: The second verse of the first chapter is the heart of it. Yoga is the settling of the movements of the mind.

Lena: Settling. Not stretching.

Marc: Exactly.

Key takeaways

  • The Yoga Sutras are attributed to Patanjali and are the earliest surviving textbook on yoga, according to Britannica (Britannica).

  • The text has about 195 sutras in four chapters. The count varies slightly by source.

  • Its famous opening idea (1.2): yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.

  • Dates are uncertain. Estimates range from a few centuries BCE to the fifth century CE.

  • Posture is a very small part of the text. The Sutras focus on ethics, mind and meditation.

The text in a nutshell

The Yoga Sutras are short. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy says they contain about 1,200 words in 195 sutras. They were designed for memorization and to be used with a teacher, and later commentators explained them. The oldest surviving commentary is traditionally attributed to Vyasa, usually dated to around the 4th–5th century CE (IEP).

The IEP also stresses that Patanjali didn't invent yoga. He systematized practices that were already known, drawing on older traditions.

The four chapters

  1. Samadhi pada (on absorption). Defines yoga and describes meditative states.

  2. Sadhana pada (on practice). Describes the practices, including kriya yoga and the first five of the eight limbs. This is where the eight limbs are listed (2.29).

  3. Vibhuti pada (on powers). Discusses extraordinary abilities said to arise from deep concentration. The IEP suggests this chapter can be read as a warning against being sidetracked by them.

  4. Kaivalya pada (on liberation). Deals with freedom and the nature of consciousness.

Key ideas, in plain words

Citta vritti nirodha (1.2). Citta is the mind, vritti its movements, nirodha settling or stilling. Translators differ: some say "restriction" or "cessation" for nirodha. The IEP lists five kinds of mental movement: right knowledge, error, imagination or metaphor, deep sleep and memory.

The five kleshas. Patanjali names five sources of suffering or affliction: ignorance, ego, desire, aversion and clinging to life (IEP).

Four attitudes (1.33). The text suggests cultivating friendliness toward those who are happy, compassion toward those who suffer, joy toward the virtuous, and equanimity toward what we don't approve of. It's a simple recipe for a calmer mind, and surprisingly practical.

Ishvara and Om (1.23–1.28). Patanjali mentions devotion to Ishvara, a special, untouched Self, as one option for reaching meditative absorption. The sound Om is described as its expression, and repeating it is suggested (see our post on Om).

The eight limbs (2.29). Yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi. See our guide to the eight limbs.

Is it religious?

It depends on how you read it. The text emerges from Indian philosophy, closely related to Samkhya (Britannica), and includes a devotional thread. Many modern practitioners take the psychological and ethical teachings and leave the metaphysics aside. Others study it in its traditional context. Both can be done respectfully.

A small poem for the first line

Settling (an original poem)

Think of a glass of muddy water. Don't stir it. Don't fix it. Just set it down on the table and wait. The mud was never the water. It only needed time. The mind is a glass of muddy water. Set it down. Let it be.

How to start reading it

  1. Choose a translation with commentary. Edwin Bryant's edition is cited by the IEP; there are many others.

  2. Read a few sutras at a time. Ten minutes is plenty.

  3. Read with others, or a teacher. The IEP stresses that the text is meant to be used with commentary.

  4. Try one sutra in practice. For example, 1.33: pick one person today and practice the matching attitude.

  5. Hold your conclusions loosely. Translations differ, and so do traditions.

A gentle note: who should be careful

The Sutras describe advanced meditative states and, in places, extraordinary claims. Treat these as part of a historical philosophical text, not a promise. If meditation brings up distress, anxiety or difficult memories, it's fine to stop and talk with a trusted teacher or a health professional. Nothing in this post is medical advice.

FAQ

Is "Patanjali" one person?

The tradition treats him as one author, and some medieval commentators linked him with a grammarian of the same name. Whether those are the same person is debated (see the IEP), and many scholars today think the author of the Yoga Sutras and the grammarian of the same name were different people.

How old is the text?

Dates range widely. Britannica says around the 2nd century BCE or 5th century CE; the IEP says most scholars date it shortly after the turn of the Common Era and that it doesn't postdate the 5th century; Philipp Maas, a critical editor of the text, dates the sutras with their commentary to around 400 CE.

Is the book mostly about poses?

No. The IEP notes that Patanjali gives posture only three short sutras.

Are there 195 or 196 sutras?

It depends on how you divide them. Many sources say 195; others say 196.

Study with us

If you want to go deeper into the philosophy that sits under your practice, message us at breathe@theyogshala.org or call 514-575-0009. Our Yogshala 200-hour Hatha Teacher Training runs January 5 to April 18, 2027, in person and online. Certification is issued by Yogshala. Learn more.

Message us about the January training: the Yogshala 200-hour Hatha Teacher Training starts January 5, 2027.

With warmth,

Sahil

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