A brilliant cross-cultural interpretation of a key text of yoga philosophy
The Yoga Sutras
of Patañjali
is the foundational text of yoga philosophy, used by millions of yoga practitioners and students worldwide. Written in a question-and-answer format,
The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali
deals with the theory and practice of yoga and the psychological question of the liberation of the soul from attachments.
This book is a new rendering into English of the Arabic translation and commentary of this text by the brilliant eleventh-century polymath al-Bīrūnī. Given the many historical variants of the
Yoga Sutras
, his
Kitāb Bātanjali
is important for yoga studies as the earliest translation of the Sanskrit. It is also of unique value as an Arabic text within Islamic studies, given the intellectual and philosophical challenges that faced the medieval Muslim reader when presented with the intricacy of composition, interpretation, and allusion that permeates this translation.
An English-only edition.