What do you think?
Rate this book
The Shiva Samhita: A Critical Edition and An English Translation
This affordable, authoritative edition of the Shiva Samhita contains a new introduction, the original Sanskrit, a new English translation, nine full-page photographs, and an index. It includes beautiful teachings found nowhere else. This is the first edition of this classic Yoga text to meet both high academic and literary standards, the first to be based on a truly critical study of the Sanskrit manuscripts. It’s for people who practice Yoga, and for anyone with an interest in health and fitness, philosophy, religion, spirituality, mysticism, or meditation. From the Introduction
Composed over five centuries ago, the Shiva Samhita is one of the most celebrated root texts of Hatha Yoga. It includes beautiful teachings found nowhere else. This edition contains the original Sanskrit, properly edited and printed for the first time, and a new, accurate translation thereof. It also features photographs of the asanas and mudras described therein. Excerpt
The Lord said, “There is one eternal true knowledge, without beginning or end. No other real entity exists. The diversity which is found in this world appears through the imposition of the senses on knowledge and for no other reason. Affectionate toward his devotees, the Lord, having cast aside opinions born of the ignorance of sophists, shall now pronounce a Yoga teaching that bestows liberation on the selves of all beings, so that beings whose minds are set on no other destiny may have knowledge of their selves. Some praise truth and others asceticism and purity. Some praise patience and others equanimity and honesty. Some praise charity and others ancestor worship. Some praise action and some absolute indifference. Some wise men praise the rites of the householder and some say that rites such as the fire sacrifice are the best. Some praise Mantra Yoga and pilgrimage. In this way, many means to liberation are taught.
Composed over five centuries ago, the Shiva Samhita is one of the most celebrated root texts of Hatha Yoga. It includes beautiful teachings found nowhere else. This edition contains the original Sanskrit, properly edited and printed for the first time, and a new, accurate translation thereof. It also features photographs of the asanas and mudras described therein. Excerpt
The Lord said, “There is one eternal true knowledge, without beginning or end. No other real entity exists. The diversity which is found in this world appears through the imposition of the senses on knowledge and for no other reason. Affectionate toward his devotees, the Lord, having cast aside opinions born of the ignorance of sophists, shall now pronounce a Yoga teaching that bestows liberation on the selves of all beings, so that beings whose minds are set on no other destiny may have knowledge of their selves. Some praise truth and others asceticism and purity. Some praise patience and others equanimity and honesty. Some praise charity and others ancestor worship. Some praise action and some absolute indifference. Some wise men praise the rites of the householder and some say that rites such as the fire sacrifice are the best. Some praise Mantra Yoga and pilgrimage. In this way, many means to liberation are taught.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
42 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 17, 2019
Nice contemporary translation of a famous work
With this work newly translated into English, the people at YogaVidya have completed the publication of three of the most historically important but seldom published works of yoga. The other two are Akers, Brian Dana, trans., Hatha Yoga Pradipika; and Mallinson, James, trans., The Gheranda Samhita. Mallinson, who also did the translation here, is to be commended for the clear, contemporary feel of the book and for a worthy introduction that points to the many problems facing the translator of this frankly strange and certainly corrupt work from the 14th or 15th century of the current era.
Some years ago I read a text with the standard translation by Chandra Vasu from 1914, but put it aside as something strangely jumbled and confused. The problem with the Shiva Samhita (and to a lesser extent with the Gheranda Samhita) is a bastardization of two of the traditional yogas, raja/hatha yoga and tantric yoga. (The other three traditional yogas are bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, and karma yoga.) Tantric yoga is the yoga of the left-handed path in which the practitioner attempts to find liberation from the pair of opposites and enter into samadhi by embracing desire or pleasure. This method is in most respects diametrically opposed to the "yoga of discipline" which is the raja/hatha yoga path associated with the sutras from Patanjali from two thousand years ago and mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita.
As he explains in the introduction, Mallinson addressed numerous "variant readings" in an attempt to make as coherent as possible the incongruities of the Shiva Samhita. He writes, "Now it may simply be that we are hearing separate instructions for the two traditional types of Tantric aspirant, namely bubhukshus, those desirous of siddhis, and mumukshus, those desirous of liberation, but the unqualified juxtaposition is jarring, particularly in light of the last verses of the text, wherein the householder is said to be able to obtain siddhis and become liberated by means of the techniques of Yoga--and still have fun!" (p. xiii)
"Siddhas," by the way, are psychic powers, such as levitation and being invisible, etc., which brings us to what may be a problem in Mallinson's translation for the general reader. One of the recurring problems for those who would translate yoga texts from the Sanskrit into modern English is that of deciding which terms to find English (more or less) equivalents for and which to leave untranslated. If you read some of the earliest translations of yogic works into English from say a hundred years ago or so, even the very word "yoga" was rendered by some as "discipline." With such words as "nadis," which are subtle channels in the human body, similar to neurons, but clearly not really neurological in a scientific sense, there is no attempt to find English synonyms because frankly there are none. "Prana" is another word that can be troublesome. It can be translated as "breath" and sometimes this is entirely correct. Most often it is best to just use the term "prana." It appears that Mallinson sometimes translates prana as "wind" as winds in the body. I find this unusual and, not being able to read Sanskrit, am at a loss as to how felicitous his usage might be. (Incidentally, as in the other books published by YogaVidya, the Sanskrit verse appears on the same page along with the English translation.)
On the other hand, Mallinson leaves many Sanskrit words untranslated, and this may also present a problem to the general reader. What do words like "linga," "bhoga," "Maya," "samsara," "nada," etc., mean? In some cases, even though I am relatively familiar with yogic terms, I had to consult a dictionary to get the meaning, and in some cases found none.
The real problem confronting most readers are the contradictions and the exaggerations (!). It is claimed again and again that this practice or that practice cures all disease and even better leads the aspirant to eternal life and power over all and sundry and--in the most ludicrous hyperbole--allows the practitioner to be alive even at the dissolution of the cosmos! Also annoying are the incessant "commercials" for the guru system. Again and again we are told that we have to worship the guru, tend to his lotus feet and treat him as a god on earth (and whatever you do, do NOT sleep with the guru's wife!--that is, unless you have also performed the correct mudra or asana or entered into a sufficient meditation, in which case you are absolved of your sins, all of them).
I think it can be seen by the discerning reader that the Shiva Samhita, for all its historical and literary value, is something close to a parody of the scope and intent of yoga. The gurus for whom it was written clearly were, for the most part, not the spiritually advanced men we would hope for, but profane aspirants themselves, looking for ways to further their individual enterprise as gurus and to establish a kind of shaman-like persona. I might add that some of the practices are dangerous (there is a warning to this effect on the copyright page) and some are well nigh impossible, such as drawing up a woman's reproductive fluids with your linga!
Nonetheless I recommend this fine translation and introduction by Mallinson. The book is splendidly presented and carefully edited and proofread (aside from a couple of stray end quotes, one on page 168). There is an index and some photos of a graceful and lissome woman named Shipra demonstrating some of the asanas and mudras. What is sorely needed is a glossary.
--Dennis Littrell, author of “Yoga: Sacred and Profane (Beyond Hatha Yoga)”
With this work newly translated into English, the people at YogaVidya have completed the publication of three of the most historically important but seldom published works of yoga. The other two are Akers, Brian Dana, trans., Hatha Yoga Pradipika; and Mallinson, James, trans., The Gheranda Samhita. Mallinson, who also did the translation here, is to be commended for the clear, contemporary feel of the book and for a worthy introduction that points to the many problems facing the translator of this frankly strange and certainly corrupt work from the 14th or 15th century of the current era.
Some years ago I read a text with the standard translation by Chandra Vasu from 1914, but put it aside as something strangely jumbled and confused. The problem with the Shiva Samhita (and to a lesser extent with the Gheranda Samhita) is a bastardization of two of the traditional yogas, raja/hatha yoga and tantric yoga. (The other three traditional yogas are bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, and karma yoga.) Tantric yoga is the yoga of the left-handed path in which the practitioner attempts to find liberation from the pair of opposites and enter into samadhi by embracing desire or pleasure. This method is in most respects diametrically opposed to the "yoga of discipline" which is the raja/hatha yoga path associated with the sutras from Patanjali from two thousand years ago and mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita.
As he explains in the introduction, Mallinson addressed numerous "variant readings" in an attempt to make as coherent as possible the incongruities of the Shiva Samhita. He writes, "Now it may simply be that we are hearing separate instructions for the two traditional types of Tantric aspirant, namely bubhukshus, those desirous of siddhis, and mumukshus, those desirous of liberation, but the unqualified juxtaposition is jarring, particularly in light of the last verses of the text, wherein the householder is said to be able to obtain siddhis and become liberated by means of the techniques of Yoga--and still have fun!" (p. xiii)
"Siddhas," by the way, are psychic powers, such as levitation and being invisible, etc., which brings us to what may be a problem in Mallinson's translation for the general reader. One of the recurring problems for those who would translate yoga texts from the Sanskrit into modern English is that of deciding which terms to find English (more or less) equivalents for and which to leave untranslated. If you read some of the earliest translations of yogic works into English from say a hundred years ago or so, even the very word "yoga" was rendered by some as "discipline." With such words as "nadis," which are subtle channels in the human body, similar to neurons, but clearly not really neurological in a scientific sense, there is no attempt to find English synonyms because frankly there are none. "Prana" is another word that can be troublesome. It can be translated as "breath" and sometimes this is entirely correct. Most often it is best to just use the term "prana." It appears that Mallinson sometimes translates prana as "wind" as winds in the body. I find this unusual and, not being able to read Sanskrit, am at a loss as to how felicitous his usage might be. (Incidentally, as in the other books published by YogaVidya, the Sanskrit verse appears on the same page along with the English translation.)
On the other hand, Mallinson leaves many Sanskrit words untranslated, and this may also present a problem to the general reader. What do words like "linga," "bhoga," "Maya," "samsara," "nada," etc., mean? In some cases, even though I am relatively familiar with yogic terms, I had to consult a dictionary to get the meaning, and in some cases found none.
The real problem confronting most readers are the contradictions and the exaggerations (!). It is claimed again and again that this practice or that practice cures all disease and even better leads the aspirant to eternal life and power over all and sundry and--in the most ludicrous hyperbole--allows the practitioner to be alive even at the dissolution of the cosmos! Also annoying are the incessant "commercials" for the guru system. Again and again we are told that we have to worship the guru, tend to his lotus feet and treat him as a god on earth (and whatever you do, do NOT sleep with the guru's wife!--that is, unless you have also performed the correct mudra or asana or entered into a sufficient meditation, in which case you are absolved of your sins, all of them).
I think it can be seen by the discerning reader that the Shiva Samhita, for all its historical and literary value, is something close to a parody of the scope and intent of yoga. The gurus for whom it was written clearly were, for the most part, not the spiritually advanced men we would hope for, but profane aspirants themselves, looking for ways to further their individual enterprise as gurus and to establish a kind of shaman-like persona. I might add that some of the practices are dangerous (there is a warning to this effect on the copyright page) and some are well nigh impossible, such as drawing up a woman's reproductive fluids with your linga!
Nonetheless I recommend this fine translation and introduction by Mallinson. The book is splendidly presented and carefully edited and proofread (aside from a couple of stray end quotes, one on page 168). There is an index and some photos of a graceful and lissome woman named Shipra demonstrating some of the asanas and mudras. What is sorely needed is a glossary.
--Dennis Littrell, author of “Yoga: Sacred and Profane (Beyond Hatha Yoga)”
Want to read
August 4, 2011my translation is by SRISCHANDRA BASU (not in goodreads)
May 29, 2019
This is one of the root texts of all of yoga (meaning anything else you read or learn on yoga came originally from one such text but perhaps have been modernized).
From the preface, what it seems like it James to the degree he can offered the most authentic version of translation possible (explicitly recognizing discrepancies between different chapters of the text and areas where the text itself made little sense).
Shiva Samhita is a collection of texts and the various manuscripts that have been passed down also share discrepancies. I believe this is the most rigorous effort ever done on sorting through all available manuscripts to offer the most credible Sanskrit and translation.
Note this is not a commentary on the Shiva Samhita but the text itself. I found it a jewel among jewels. But if you do not have a lot of the background on yoga and and history/mythology around the Hindu/yogic metaphysics and deities, you might not really understand the text or be able to get much from it. Or in other words, you may need to read a few commentaries.
The other feeling I had reading is I’m not sure how anyone who reads it would at least not want to try the yogic methods prescribed in the book.
From the preface, what it seems like it James to the degree he can offered the most authentic version of translation possible (explicitly recognizing discrepancies between different chapters of the text and areas where the text itself made little sense).
Shiva Samhita is a collection of texts and the various manuscripts that have been passed down also share discrepancies. I believe this is the most rigorous effort ever done on sorting through all available manuscripts to offer the most credible Sanskrit and translation.
Note this is not a commentary on the Shiva Samhita but the text itself. I found it a jewel among jewels. But if you do not have a lot of the background on yoga and and history/mythology around the Hindu/yogic metaphysics and deities, you might not really understand the text or be able to get much from it. Or in other words, you may need to read a few commentaries.
The other feeling I had reading is I’m not sure how anyone who reads it would at least not want to try the yogic methods prescribed in the book.
April 17, 2018
This sounded intriguing--a 'dialogue' between Shiva and Parvati. There is no dialogue however, only a one-sided pretentious sounding Shiva who doesn't sound like he even likes women or anything at all, and is quick to condemn those who do not practice every far out practice he describes. Perhaps this text would help one who is serious about leaving behind every worldly thing and embittering one's self to life. See page 104: "'Listen, O Goddess! I shall tell you the obstacles that are always present. The greatest hindrance to liberation for people is enjoyment. Women...kissing on the mouth...fragrant aloe wood, cows, scholarship, Vedic treatises, dancing, singing, jewelry...children, and sensuality: these are said to be obstacles.'"
I love ancient Indian texts and Hinduism, and I love Shiva, but dang, this esoteric oddity gave me no insights at all.
I love ancient Indian texts and Hinduism, and I love Shiva, but dang, this esoteric oddity gave me no insights at all.
March 29, 2024
Solid but with a few quirky translation choices
Honesty great to have a critical edition available. Admittedly, some passages must be quite obscure, either to deliberately obfuscate the meaning for the uninitiated or due to garbling passages borrowed from older texts. Malinson deals with some of these well, perhaps even brilliantly, but at other times he makes some rather odd translation choices. We will probably see his critical edition of the Sanskrit used as a source for several retranslations suited to various schools of yoga over the coming years.
Honesty great to have a critical edition available. Admittedly, some passages must be quite obscure, either to deliberately obfuscate the meaning for the uninitiated or due to garbling passages borrowed from older texts. Malinson deals with some of these well, perhaps even brilliantly, but at other times he makes some rather odd translation choices. We will probably see his critical edition of the Sanskrit used as a source for several retranslations suited to various schools of yoga over the coming years.
January 9, 2023
A good translation of the Sanskrit text in simple and easy English. The anonymous author had added some more information to the Hatha Yoga literature. It contains more information on specific asana, mudra and bandha, especially the beneficial aspects. But those who search for details of different postures of the 84 asanas has to search elsewhere. I felt some sutras had overlap with Gheranda Samhita.
May 8, 2011
Excellent English translation of classical Sanskrit text on Hathta Yoga practices, especially mudras. Good, clear descriptions, along with photographs.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews