Patañjali
c. 2nd century BCE – 4th century CE · Yoga darśana
Patañjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sūtra, the classic text of the Yoga school of philosophy. In about 196 short aphorisms in four chapters (pādas), it defines yoga as “the stilling of the movements of the mind” (yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ) and sets out the eight limbs (aṣṭāṅga) — yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi.
Scholars date the text variously between the 2nd century BCE and the 4th century CE. Tradition also identifies him with the author of the Mahābhāṣya on Pāṇini’s grammar, and honours him as an incarnation of Ādiśeṣa, shown as half-human, half-serpent.
Yoga Sūtra · Aṣṭāṅga yoga · c. 196 sūtras, 4 pādas