back to questions
Yoga-sūtra with Vyāsa's bhāṣya · 1.2
yogaś cittavṛttinirodhaḥ
Translation. Yoga is the stilling (nirodha) of the mind’s modifications (citta-vṛtti).
Grammar check: 2 words pass / 0 flagged / 0 beyond the checkerPāṇini-verified
Every word's claimed grammar is re-derived with vidyut-prakriya, software implementing Pāṇini's rules. Flags are shown, never hidden; some are the text taking epic or Vedic liberties the classical rules do not generate.
Word by word
| surface | lemma | grammar |
|---|
| yogaḥ | yoga | pass |
| cittavṛttinirodhaḥ | cittavṛttinirodha | pass |
How the commentary settled it
Where the verse alone is ambiguous, the reading follows Vyāsa's commentary; the deciding lines are quoted below each decision.
Construe yogaḥ as the subject and cittavṛttinirodhaḥ as its predicate in a verbless identity statement.→ The commentary itself restates the expression as a definition of yoga, supporting the subject–predicate construal.
ys [13]dvividhaḥ sa yogaś cittavṛttinirodha iti.
That yoga, [defined] as the stilling of the mind’s modifications, is twofold.
Analyze cittavṛttinirodha as a nested genitive tatpuruṣa: cittasya vṛttīnāṃ nirodhaḥ.→ Genitive tatpuruṣa, since nirodha governs what is stilled and citta specifies whose modifications they are.
ys []
The commentary does not explicitly supply a compound vigraha; the decision follows ordinary compound syntax.
Render nirodha as “stilling,” not as the necessary annihilation of every mental event without qualification.→ “Stilling” preserves the force of nirodha while allowing the commentary’s explicit inclusion of saṃprajñāta yoga: the absence of sarva means that yoga is not restricted to the total suppression of all modifications.
ys [1]sarvaśabdāgrahaṇāt saṃprajñāto 'pi yoga ity ākhyāyate.
Because the word “all” is not stated, even saṃprajñāta is designated yoga.
ys [9]atas tasyāṃ viraktaṃ cittaṃ tām api khyātiṃ niruṇaddhi.
Therefore the mind, dispassionate toward it, stills even that discriminative cognition.
ys [11, 12, 13]sa nirbījaḥ samādhiḥ. na tatra kiṃcit saṃprajñāyata ity asaṃprajñātaḥ. dvividhaḥ sa yogaś cittavṛttinirodha iti.
That is seedless samādhi. Because nothing there is consciously discerned, it is asaṃprajñāta. That yoga, [defined] as the stilling of the mind’s modifications, is twofold.
Translate citta as “mind,” not as the pure, unchanging consciousness or person (puruṣa).→ “Mind” best preserves the commentary’s distinction: citta is constituted by the three guṇas and undergoes differing conditions, whereas pure consciousness is described separately as unchanging.
ys [2]cittaṃ hi prakhyāpravṛttisthitiśīlatvāt triguṇam.
For the mind is three-guṇed, since its characteristics are illumination, activity, and stability.
ys [8]citiśaktir apariṇāminy apratisaṃkramā darśitaviṣayā śuddhā cānantā ca sattvaguṇātmikā ceyam ato viparītā vivekakhyātir iti.
The power of consciousness is unchanging, non-transmissive, has presented objects, and is pure and infinite; this discriminative discernment, being constituted by the sattva-guṇa, is therefore contrary to it.
Render vṛtti as the technical “modification.”→ “Modification” is semantically broad and does not impose a more specific motion metaphor; the Sanskrit technical expression citta-vṛtti is also retained.
ys []
The supplied commentary does not explicitly gloss vṛtti, so this choice rests on grammar and established technical usage.
Vyāsa's commentary on this unit
1sarvaśabdāgrahaṇāt saṃprajñāto 'pi yoga ity ākhyāyate.
2cittaṃ hi prakhyāpravṛttisthitiśīlatvāt triguṇam.
3prakhyārūpaṃ hi cittasattvaṃ rajastamobhyāṃ saṃsṛṣṭam aiśvaryaviṣayapriyaṃ bhavati.
4tad eva tamasānuviddham adharmājñānāvairāgyānaiśvaryopagaṃ bhavati.
5tad eva prakṣīṇamohāvaraṇaṃ sarvataḥ pradyotamānam anuviddhaṃ rajomātrayā dharmajñānavairāgyaiśvaryopagaṃ bhavati.
6tad eva rajoleśamalāpetaṃ svarūpapratiṣṭhaṃ sattvapuruṣānyatākhyātimātraṃ dharmameghadhyānopagaṃ bhavati.
7tat paraṃ prasaṃkhyānam ity ācakṣate dhyāyinaḥ.
8citiśaktir apariṇāminy apratisaṃkramā darśitaviṣayā śuddhā cānantā ca sattvaguṇātmikā ceyam ato viparītā vivekakhyātir iti.
9atas tasyāṃ viraktaṃ cittaṃ tām api khyātiṃ niruṇaddhi.
10tadavasthaṃ saṃskāropagaṃ bhavati.
11sa nirbījaḥ samādhiḥ.
12na tatra kiṃcit saṃprajñāyata ity asaṃprajñātaḥ.
13dvividhaḥ sa yogaś cittavṛttinirodha iti.
141.2
15tadavasthe cetasi viṣayābhāvād buddhibodhātmā puruṣaḥ kiṃsvabhāva iti