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The Patanjali Sloka

Tribute is made to Patanjali in this sloka (verse) written by the poet and grammarian Bhartrihari in about the 7th century A.D. It is often used as a prayer during yoga practice, and has been adopted as a standard beginning to many Iyengar Yoga classes.

Yogena cittasya padena vacam
Through Yoga, serenity of mind,
Malam sarirasya ca vaidyakena
Through Grammar, clarity of speech,
Yopa karottam pravaram muninam
Through Medicine, purity of body,
Patanjalim pranjalir anato'smi
Patanjali, I honour you.

Abahu purusa karam
Whose upper body has a human form,
Sankha cakrasi dharinam
Who holds a conch and discus,
Sahasra sirasam svetam
Who is crowned by a thousand headed cobra,
Pranamami Patanjalim
I salute the sage and scholar Patanjali.

The first half of the sloka is from Sushruta, an authority on Ayurveda. The second half describes Patanjali's symbolic form:
  • the seven headed serpent represent infinity,
  • the conch calls us to Yoga practice,
  • the disc symbolises the wheel of time and the law of cause and effect.
In reciting the sloka, respect is paid to the three aspects of Patanjali's work: Yoga, grammar and medicine, and to Patanjali himself.