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Haṃsamiṭṭhu: “Pātañjalayoga is Nonsense”

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Abstract

The ninth chapter of the Haṃsavilāsa of the Gujarati Śaiva author Haṃsamiṭṭhu (born 1738 ad) argues that Pātañjalayoga, conceived of as a conflation of Aṣṭāṅgayoga and Haṭhayoga, cannot be valid soteriology. Pātañjalayoga is presented as a paradoxical and painful attempt to achieve quiescence by forcibly eliminating karma. Haṃsamiṭṭhu, conversely, views ‘euphoria’ (ullāsa) as a prerequisite for liberation, and therefore advocates a painless method of Rājayoga. This is taught as a Śaiva form of the Rāsalīlā involving transgressive substances and behaviour. A frame story establishes Haṃsamiṭṭhu’s authority to teach such practices by revealing his secret identity as Haṃsa, a favored companion of Śiva who incarnates for a single life to promulgate esoteric teachings. The purity of this Rāsalīlā is defended by challenging the validity of a conventional morality that seeks to portray it as abhorrent.

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  1. Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University, 311 Knox Hall, MC9628, 606 West 122nd Street, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    Som Dev Vasudeva

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Vasudeva, S.D. Haṃsamiṭṭhu: “Pātañjalayoga is Nonsense”. J Indian Philos 39, 123–145 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-010-9107-7

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