Hathayoga, Haṭhayoga, Hatha-yoga: 14 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
1. Yoga
2. Shaivism
3. Vaishnavism
4. Shaktism
In Buddhism
1. Tibetan Buddhism
Languages
1. Marathi
2. Sanskrit
3. Kannada
4. Nepali
See also
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Introduction:

Hathayoga means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

In Hinduism

Yoga (school of philosophy)

Source: Wisdom Library: Yoga

Hatha-yoga is the physical aspect of the practice of yoga. There are 3 main factors involving practice of hatha-yoga:

asanas (practice of postures),
pranayama (breathing techniques)
and dhyana (meditation).

Source: archive.org: Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali with Bhoja Vritti

Haṭhayoga (हठयोग) is the name of a work dealing with the Yoga system of Philosophy. It deals with—On the performance of Haṭha-yoga. By Ādinātha. Cf. Buhler’s Guzarat Catalogue. IV., Cf. Kielhorn’s Central Provinces Catalogue.

Source: DSpace at Pondicherry: Siddha Cult in Tamilnadu (yoga)

Haṭhayoga (हठयोग) pays particular attention to the acquisition of supernatural powers and the conquest of disease and death. Majority of the extant texts of Haṭhayoga are associated with the Nāth siddhas. The Tamil Siddhas of about the 10th to 15th century also wrote poems on the concepts of Haṭhayoga.

context information

Yoga is originally considered a branch of Hindu philosophy (astika), but both ancient and modern Yoga combine the physical, mental and spiritual. Yoga teaches various physical techniques also known as āsanas (postures), used for various purposes (eg., meditation, contemplation, relaxation).

Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)

Source: Himalayan Academy: Dancing with Siva

Haṭhayoga (हठयोग, “forceful yoga”) is a system of physical and mental exercise developed in ancient times as a means of rejuvenation by ṛṣis and tapasvins who meditated for long hours, and used today in preparing the body and mind for meditation.

Its elements are:

postures (āsana),
cleansing practices (dhauti or shodhana),
breath control (prāṇāyāma),
locks (bandha, which temporarily restrict local flows of prāṇa),
hand gestures (mudrā),

All of which regulate the flow of prāṇa and purify the inner and outer bodies. Haṭha-yoga is broadly practiced in many traditions. It is the third limb (aṅga) of Patanjali’s rāja-yoga. It is integral to the Śaiva and Śākta-tantra traditions, and part of modern āyurveda treatment.

context information

Shaiva (शैव, śaiva) or Shaivism (śaivism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshiping Shiva as the supreme being. Closely related to Shaktism, Shaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including Tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas.

Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)

Source: Pure Bhakti: Bhagavad-gita (4th edition)

Haṭhayoga (हठयोग) refers to “the yoga process of practising different bodily postures in order to render the body supple. It is the third portion of the process of aṣṭāṅga-yoga”. (cf. Glossary page from Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā).

context information

Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).

Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

Source: Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts: Volume 12 (1898) (shak)

Haṭhayoga (हठयोग) refers to one of the topics discussed in the Rudrayāmalatantra, a Sanskrit manuscript collected in volume 1 of the catalogue “Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (first series)” by Rajendralal Mitra (1822–1891), who was one of the first English-writing historians dealing with Indian culture and heritage.— The Rudrayāmala-tantra is an elaborate and original Tantra, including the whole range of Śākta knowledge about religion, social orders, castes, sacred places, modes of adoration, forms of ceremonies, etc. It contains roughly 9,000 verses divided into 67 sections.—The catalogue includes the term—Haṭayoga in its ‘subject-matter list’ or Viṣaya (which lists topics, chapters and technical terms). The complete entry reads—[chapter 55: haṭayogakathanaṃ].

context information

Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.

In Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (tantric Buddhism)

Haṭhayoga (हठयोग) refers to a type of Yoga, according to the Vimalaprabhā: an eleventh-century commentary on the Kālacakratantra.—The Vimalaprabhā explains the term haṭhayoga as the name of a type of yoga that forces prāṇa (‘vitality’) into the central channel through a practice involving nāda (‘internal resonance’) and retention of bindu (‘generative fluids’).

context information

Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.

Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

haṭhayōga (हठयोग).—m (S) A mode of Yog or abstract contemplation whilst suspending the breath. 2 Applied generally to modes of austere devotion (as to the standing upon one leg, holding up the arms, inhaling smoke with the head inverted &c.) Opp. to rājayōga.

context information

Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Haṭhayoga (हठयोग).—a particular mode of Yoga or practising abstract meditation, (so called, as distinguished from rājayoga q.v., because it is very difficult to practise; it may be performed in various ways, such as by standing on one leg, holding up the arms, inhaling smoke with the head inverted &c.).

Derivable forms: haṭhayogaḥ (हठयोगः).

Haṭhayoga is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms haṭha and yoga (योग).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Haṭhayoga (हठयोग).—m.

(-gaḥ) A particular mode of Yoga, or abstract contemplation difficult to practise, and as such distinguished from Raja-Yoga, which is an easy mode of abstraction. It is performed in various ways, such as standing on one leg, holding up the arms, inhaling smoke with the head inverted, &c.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus Catalogorum

Haṭhayoga (हठयोग) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—H. 138. Pheh. 5.
—by Ādinātha. B. 4, 6.
—by Gorakṣanātha. Quoted by Sundaradeva Hall. p. 17.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Haṭhayoga (हठयोग):—[=haṭha-yoga] [from haṭha > haṭh] m. a kind of forced Yoga or abstract meditation (forcing the mind to withdraw from external objects; treated of in the Haṭha-pradīpikā by Svātmārāma and performed with much self-torture, such as standing on one leg, holding up the arms, inhaling smoke with the head inverted etc.)

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Haṭhayōga (ಹಠಯೋಗ):—[noun] a particular mode of abstract conemplation, forcing the mind to abstain from external objects.

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

Nepali dictionary

Source: unoes: Nepali-English Dictionary

Haṭhayoga (हठयोग):—n. yoga of the physical body;

context information

Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.

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