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Shiva Samhita (IAST: śivasaṃhitā, alsoSiva Samhita, meaning "Shiva's Compendium") is aSanskrit text onyoga, written by an unknown author. The text is addressed by theHindu asceticShiva to his consortParvati. The text consists of five chapters, with the first chapter a treatise that summarizes nondual Vedanta (Advaita Vedanta) philosophy with influences from theSri Vidya school of South India.[1][2] The remaining chapters discuss yoga, the importance of aguru (teacher) to a student, variousasanas,mudras andtantra.[1]
TheShiva Samhita is one of three major surviving classical treatises onhatha yoga, the other two beingGheranda Samhita andHatha Yoga Pradipika. It is considered the most comprehensive treatise on hatha yoga, one that recommends that all householders practice and benefit from yoga.[3] Over a dozen variant manuscripts of the text are known, and acritical edition of the text was published in 1999 by Kaivalya Dham Yoga Research Institute.[4]
Shiva Samhita has been dated by some scholars to the 17th-century,[5][6] while others such asJames Mallinson – a scholar of Sanskrit and Oriental Studies known for hisHatha Yoga publications, dates the text to be pre-1500CE, probably between 1300 and 1500 CE.[7] Based on statements contained within the text, Mallinson also believes that theShiva Samhita was composed in or aroundVaranasi.[8]
The gods and everything else in the entire universe
are totally pervaded by the self (atman).
It is one,
it is truth, consciousness and bliss (satcitananda),
and it is whole and free of duality.
Shiva Samhita declares itself to be ayoga text, but also calls itself as atantra in its five chapters.[8] The first chapter starts with the statement, states Mallinson, that "there is one eternal true knowledge", then discusses various doctrines of self liberation (moksha) followed by asserting that Yoga is the highest path. The opening chapter largely presents the Advaita Vedanta philosophy, but in the Sri Vidya tantra format and style.[1][10]
The second chapter describes how the external observable macro-phenomenon are internalized and have equivalents within one's body, how the outside world is within in the form ofnadis (rivers, channels), fire, jiva and others.[1] The third chapter explains the importance of aguru (teacher, advisor), its various physiological theories including five elements that constitute the body, stages of yoga practice and a theory ofasanas (postures).[1]
Microcosm
In this body, the mount Meru – i.e., the vertebral column –
is surrounded by seven islands;
there are rivers, seas, mountains, fields;
and lords of the fields too.
The fourth chapter presentsmudras and states that yoga practice can lead to special siddhis (powers) and awakening of thekundalini (inner dormant energy). The fifth chapter is the longest of five chapters in the text. It discusses what prevents an individual's self-liberation, types of students, inner energies and sounds, a theory and description ofchakras andmantras.[1][13]
TheShiva Samhita talks about the complex yoga physiology and names 84 different asanas.[3] It teaches only four of the asanas:siddhasana,padmasana,paschimottanasana, andsvastikasana. Mallinson states that it is the first text to describe paschimottanasana, a pose resemblingdandasana as taught in thePatanjalayayogashastra, but with the body folded forward and the hands grasping the feet.[14] It describes five specific types ofprana, and provides techniques to regulate them.[3] It also deals with abstractyogic philosophy,mudras,tantric practices, andmeditation.[15] The text states that a householder can practice yoga and benefit from it.[3]
Many English translations ofShiva Samhita have been made. The earliest known English translation is by Shri Chandra Vasu (1884, Lahore) in the series known as "The Sacred Books of the Hindus" The translation by Rai Bahadur andSrisa Chandra Vasu in 1914, also in the series known as "The Sacred Books of the Hindus", was the first translation to find a global audience. However, it omits certain sections (such asvajroli mudra) and is considered inaccurate by some.[8] In 2007, Mallinson made a new translation to address these issues. The new translation is based on the only available critical edition of the text — the one published in 1999 by theKaivalyadhama Health and Yoga Research Center.
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