Yoga-sutras (with Bhoja’s Rajamartanda)
by Rajendralala Mitra | 1883 | 103,575 words
The Yoga-Sutra 2.51, English translation with Commentaries. The Yogasutra of Patanjali represents a collection of aphorisms dealing with spiritual topics such as meditation, absorption, Siddhis (yogic powers) and final liberation (Moksha). The Raja-Martanda is officialy classified as a Vritti (gloss) which means its explanatory in nature, as opposed to being a discursive commentary.
Sūtra 2.51
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Sūtra 2.51:
बाह्याभ्यन्तरविषयाक्षेपी चतुर्थः ॥ २.५१ ॥
bāhyābhyantaraviṣayākṣepī caturthaḥ || 2.51 ||
51. The fourth is dependant on the recognition of the outer and the inner spheres.
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 the three members of the regulation of breath, he, with a view to enunciate a fourth, says:
[Read Sūtra 2.51]
The outer sphere” (vāhya-viṣaya) of the breath extends far as twelve (fingers) from the nose. The “inner sphere” (ābhyantara-viṣaya) is represented by the heart, the navel and the like. That quiescence or stoppage of motion, (which ensues) on recognising or taking into consideration these two is the “fourth” regulation of breath (prāṇāyāma). Its difference from the third form, called kumbhaka, is this: The latter without taking any note of the outer and the inner spheres suddenly assumes quiescence,
like a lotas falling on a hot stone, while this is a stoppage which results from a recognition of the two spheres. This, like the preceding, should be known to be divisible according to place, time and number.
Notes and Extracts
[Notes and comparative extracts from other commentaries on the Yogasūtra]
[This is purely intellectual, and involves no change in the order of the operation. It is the same operation, bat performed intelligently.]
He now describes the fruit of the fourth kind.