The Amaraugha and Amaraughaprabodha of Goraksanatha: the genesis of Hatha and Rajayoga, a critical edition and annotated tr. by Jason Birch

Book Details

• ISBN 13: 9788184702507

• ISBN 10: 8184702507

• Edition: Pondicherry

• Year: 2024

• Language: Sanskrit, English

• Subject: Literature

About the Book
The Lineage of Immortals (Sanskrit Amaraugha) is the earliest known account of a fourfold system of yoga, where a physical practice known as Hatha Yoga is taught as the means to achieve a profound meditative state called Rajayoga. Composed in Sanskrit during the twelfth century and attributed to the author Goraksanatha, the Amaraugha presents a system that blends physical practices with spiritual goals. While the physical yoga practices have roots in a tantric Buddhist environment, they were adapted here for a Saiva audience. The treatise explains how Saiva yogis awaken the kundalini energy, unite Sakti with Siva, and attain Rajayoga.

Three centuries later, the Hathapradipika author incorporated many of the Amaraugha's verses on Hatha Yoga into his own work, which became a definitive guide for physical yoga. This book presents the first critical edition and annotated translation of the Amaraugha, as well as a later recension called the Amaraughaprabodha. The introduction explores the profound significance of both works in the history and development of yoga, marking the genesis of Hatha and Rajayoga.