The Meaning of hatha in Early Hathayoga
<p>This essay was prompted by the question of how Hathayoga, literally 'the Yoga of force', acquired its name. Many Indian and Western scholars have understood the 'force' of Haṭhayoga to refer to the effort required to practice it. Inherent in this understanding is the ass...
| मुख्य लेखक: | |
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| स्वरूप: | Journal article |
| भाषा: | English |
| प्रकाशित: |
2011
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| विषय: |
| _version_ | 1826278087066648576 |
|---|---|
| author | Birch, J |
| author_facet | Birch, J |
| author_sort | Birch, J |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>This essay was prompted by the question of how Hathayoga, literally 'the Yoga of force', acquired its name. Many Indian and Western scholars have understood the 'force' of Haṭhayoga to refer to the effort required to practice it. Inherent in this understanding is the assumption that Hathayoga techniques such as <em>praṇayama</em> (breath control) are strenuous and may even cause pain. Others eschew the notion of force altogether and favor the so-called 'esoteric' definition of Hathayoga (i.e, the union of the sun (<em>ha</em>) and moon (<em>ṭha</em>) in the body). This essay examines these interpretations in light of definitions of <em>hathayoga</em> and the adverbial uses of <em>hatha</em> (i.e, <em>hathat, hathena</em>) in Sanskrit Yoga texts that predate the fifteenth-century <em>Hathapradipika</em>.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T23:38:42Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:6e8a0b28-8c7c-489c-8d08-dff1da5e8c81 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T23:38:42Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:6e8a0b28-8c7c-489c-8d08-dff1da5e8c812022-03-26T19:25:10ZThe Meaning of hatha in Early HathayogaJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:6e8a0b28-8c7c-489c-8d08-dff1da5e8c81Literature (non-English)Oriental philosophyReligions of the Indian subcontinent.Literatures of other languagesHistoryLanguages (Medieval and Modern) and non-English literaturePhilosophy,psychology and sociology of religionSanskritHistory of Asia & Far EastEnglishOxford University Research Archive - Valet2011Birch, J<p>This essay was prompted by the question of how Hathayoga, literally 'the Yoga of force', acquired its name. Many Indian and Western scholars have understood the 'force' of Haṭhayoga to refer to the effort required to practice it. Inherent in this understanding is the assumption that Hathayoga techniques such as <em>praṇayama</em> (breath control) are strenuous and may even cause pain. Others eschew the notion of force altogether and favor the so-called 'esoteric' definition of Hathayoga (i.e, the union of the sun (<em>ha</em>) and moon (<em>ṭha</em>) in the body). This essay examines these interpretations in light of definitions of <em>hathayoga</em> and the adverbial uses of <em>hatha</em> (i.e, <em>hathat, hathena</em>) in Sanskrit Yoga texts that predate the fifteenth-century <em>Hathapradipika</em>.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Literature (non-English) Oriental philosophy Religions of the Indian subcontinent. Literatures of other languages History Languages (Medieval and Modern) and non-English literature Philosophy,psychology and sociology of religion Sanskrit History of Asia & Far East Birch, J The Meaning of hatha in Early Hathayoga |
| title | The Meaning of hatha in Early Hathayoga |
| title_full | The Meaning of hatha in Early Hathayoga |
| title_fullStr | The Meaning of hatha in Early Hathayoga |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Meaning of hatha in Early Hathayoga |
| title_short | The Meaning of hatha in Early Hathayoga |
| title_sort | meaning of hatha in early hathayoga |
| topic | Literature (non-English) Oriental philosophy Religions of the Indian subcontinent. Literatures of other languages History Languages (Medieval and Modern) and non-English literature Philosophy,psychology and sociology of religion Sanskrit History of Asia & Far East |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT birchj themeaningofhathainearlyhathayoga AT birchj meaningofhathainearlyhathayoga |