Muktasana, Muktāsana, Mukta-asana: 7 definitions

Introduction:

Muktasana means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit. 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)

[«previous next»] — Muktasana in Yoga glossary
Source: Google Books: The Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Muktāsana (मुक्तासन) is another name for siddhāsana: an āsana (posture) taught by Śiva and one of the first four out of 84 total, thus one of the most essential, according to Haṭhayogapradīpikā I.37-45.—Accordingly, “Press firmly the heel of the left foot against the perineum, and the right heel above the male organ. With the chin pressing on the chest, one should sit calmly, having restrained the senses, and gaze steadily the space between the eyebrows. This is called the siddhāsana, the opener of the door of salvation”.

Also, “This siddhāsana is performed also by placing the left heel on Meḍhra (above the male organ), and then placing the right one on it. Some call this siddhāsana, some vajrāsana. Others call it muktāsana or guptāsana. Out of the 84 āsanas, siddhāsana should always be practised, because it cleanses the impurities of 72,000 nāḍīs”.

The 15th-century Haṭhayogapradīpikā by Svātmārāma is one of the oldest extant texts dealing with haṭhayoga: an ancient form of meditation founded by Matsyendranātha. The first chapter of this book describes various āsanas (e.g., mukta-āsana).

Source: archive.org: Gheranda Samhita

Muktāsana (मुक्तासन) is one of the thirty-two āsanas (postures) taught in the second chapter of the Gheraṇḍasaṃhitā: “Placing the left ankle below the anus and the right one above it, one should keep the head, the neck and the spine straight. This posture is called Muktāsana which leads to success”.

Muktāsana is one of the selected 32 postures amongs 8,400,000 total mentioned by Śiva, according to Gheraṇḍasaṃhitā 2.1-2, “In all, there are as many Āsanas as species of animals. Eighty-four lacs of them are mentioned by Śiva. Out of them, 84 are regarded as important and among these 84, again 32 are good (enough) in this world of mortal beings”.

The 17th-century Gheraṇḍasaṃhitā (mentioning mukta-āsana) is one of the three classic texts of Haṭha-yoga: a major branch of Yoga, sharing similarities with the Yoga system taught by Patañjali, though claiming its own mythical founder known as Matsyendranātha. This gheraṇḍa-saṃhitā is an encyclopedic Sanskrit treatise describing thirty two such āsanas.

Yoga book cover
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).

Discover the meaning of muktasana in the context of Yoga from relevant books on Exotic India

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

[«previous next»] — Muktasana in Sanskrit glossary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Muktāsana (मुक्तासन).—a. rising from a seat.

-nam a particular position of ascetics (siddhāsana).

Muktāsana is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms mukta and āsana (आसन).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Muktāsana (मुक्तासन).—[adjective] having left a seat, risen.

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

1) Muktāsana (मुक्तासन):—[from mukta > muc] mfn. one who has risen from a seat, [Kāvya literature]

2) [v.s. ...] n. the mode in which the emancipated are said to sit, a [particular] posture of ascetics (= siddhāsana q.v.), [Catalogue(s)]

[Sanskrit to German]

Muktasana in German

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.

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