Yogatattva Upanishad | |
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Padmasana, a Yoga posture
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Devanagari | योगतत्त्व |
Title means | Yoga and truth |
Date | 150 AD |
Linked Veda | Atharvaveda |
Verses | 143 |
Philosophy | Vedanta |
Main postures discussed for pranayama practice
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The Yogatattva Upanishad (Sanskrit: योगतत्त्व उपनिषत्, IAST: Yogatattva Upaniṣhad), also called as Yogatattvopanishad (योगतत्त्वोपनिषत्), is one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism. A Sanskrit text, it is one of eleven Yoga Upanishads attached to the Atharvaveda, and one of twenty Yoga Upanishads in the four Vedas. It is listed at number 41 in the serial order of the Muktika enumerated by Rama to Hanuman in the modern era anthology of 108 Upanishads. It is, as an Upanishad, a part of the corpus of Vedanta literature collection that present the philosophical concepts of Hinduism.
Two major versions of its manuscripts are known. One has fifteen verses but attached to Atharvaveda, while another very different and augmented manuscript exists in the Telugu language which has one hundred and forty two verses and is attached to the Krishna Yajurveda. The text is notable for describing Yoga in the Vaishnavism tradition.
The Yogatattva Upanishad shares ideas with the Yogasutra, Hatha Yoga, and Kundalini Yoga. It includes a discussion of four styles of yoga: Mantra, Laya, Hatha yoga and Raja. As an expounder of Vedanta philosophy, the Upanishad is devoted to the elaboration of the meaning of Atman (Soul, Self) through the process of yoga, starting with the syllable Om. According to Yogatattva Upanishad, "jnana (knowledge) without yoga cannot secure moksha (emancipation, salvation), nor can yoga without knowledge secure moksha", and that "those who seek emancipation should pursue both yoga and knowledge".