Yoga - Sara - Samgraha of Vijnanbhiksu

Yogasarasamgraha is an original work of Vijanabhiksu. It is the form of collected theories of Yogasutras or Yoga treatise. When deities and demons had churned the ocean they used Sumeru mountain as the churning rod in the process. From that churning, nectar came out and lord Visnu kept it in a jar. Likewise, Vijnanbhiksu has accepted Yoga as an ocean and the commentary Yogavarttika as the churning rod. He kept the originating of nectar (subject-matter), which resulted from the process of rumination and study in the shape of a book (Yogasarasamgraha) as if it were in a jar. The verse quoted indicates that in order to obtain the thorough knowledge of Yoga-sutras and the bhasya on them Vijnanabhiksu wrote a commentary named Yogavarttika. On the basis of that very commentary, the essence of Yoga has been collected, which is known by the name of Yogasarasamgraha.

The present work is revised edition of earlier one. This contains Sanskrit Text and English translation by a learned scholar, Pt. Ganganath Jha. This study embodies the essence of Yoga-vartika by Vyasabhasya which is a commentary to the Yogasutras of Patanjali. The sutras that were systematically presented by Patanjali have been elucidated by Vijnanabhiksu in this study in a language and style that is easily understandable. A number of extracts that has been quoted here from Smriti, Sruti, and Puranas reveals the depth of knowledge in Vijnanabhiksu.