Sūtra 2.28

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Sūtra 2.28:

योगाङ्गानुष्ठानादशुद्धिक्षये ज्ञानदीप्तिराविवेकख्यातेः ॥ २.२८ ॥

yogāṅgānuṣṭhānādaśuddhikṣaye jñānadīptirāvivekakhyāteḥ || 2.28 ||

28. On the decay of impurity through the practice of the accessories of the Yoga, there is an illumination of the understanding till discriminative knowledge (results).

The Rajamartanda commentary by King Bhoja:

[English translation of the 11th century commentary by Bhoja called the Rājamārtaṇḍa]

[Sanskrit text for commentary available]

Having described that the cause of discriminative knowledge is the cessation of conjunction, he now explains what are the means of its origin.

[Read Sūtra 2.28]

“The accessories of the Yoga” (Yogāṅga) are what will be presently described, (XXIX.) “The practice” (anuṣṭhāna) thereof is the intelligent exercise of the same till discriminative knowledge results. “On the decay of impurity,” (aśuddhi-kṣaya), i.e., on the decline of the impurity which is of the form of afflictions of the character of an envelope to the manifestation of the thinking principle, whatever “Illumination of the understanding” (jñānadipti) takes place, greater or less, by the modification of the principle of goodness till the time of the manifestation of the discriminative knowledge, the same becomes the cause of that manifestation: this is the meaning.

Notes and Extracts

[Notes and comparative extracts from other commentaries on the Yogasūtra]

[The commentary explains the aphorism in a roundabout way. The purport is that by the practice of certain exercises the impurities which surround the thinking principle are gradually destroyed, and as they are destroyed so there results a gradual enlightenment which culminates, on perfect maturity, in discriminative knowledge.]

The decay of impurity by the practice of the accessories of the Yoga having been thus described, the question arises what are those accessories? (To this question) he replies.