Shloka 41

Adhyaya 39 — Yoga Discipline: Posture, Breath Control, Sense Withdrawal, and Signs of Attainment

Sanskrit

धारणेत्युच्यते चेयं धार्यते यन्मनो यथा ।

शब्दादिभ्यः प्रवृत्तानि यदक्षाणि यतात्मभिः ॥

Transliteration

dhāraṇety ucyate ceyaṃ dhāryate yan mano yathā / śabdādibhyaḥ pravṛttāni yad akṣāṇi yatātmabhiḥ //

Translation

Ceci est appelé dhāraṇā—la manière dont l’esprit est maintenu (stable). Les sens, qui courent vers le son et les autres objets, doivent être contenus par celui qui se maîtrise.

Word by Word

• dhāraṇā: concentration, dhāraṇā
• dhāraṇā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhāraṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā (Nominative), Ekavacana

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति-निपात)

• ucyate: is called
• ucyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; ātmanepada; passive sense ‘is said/called’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction)

• iyam: this
• iyam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Strīliṅga, Prathamā (Nominative), Ekavacana

• dhāryate: is held, is sustained
• dhāryate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dhṛ (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; ātmanepada; passive sense ‘is held/maintained’

• yat: which, that
• yat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Napuṃsakaliṅga, Prathamā/Dvitīyā (Nom/Acc), Ekavacana; relative pronoun referring to clause (‘that which’)

• manaḥ: mind
• manaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Prathamā (Nominative), Ekavacana; subject of dhāryate (in relative clause)

• yathā: as, in the manner that
• yathā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Upamā/Prakāra-avyaya (as/in the manner)

• śabda-ādibhyaḥ: from sound and the like (sense-objects)
• śabda-ādibhyaḥ: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śabda (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Pañcamī (Ablative), Bahuvacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘from sound etc.’

• pravṛttāni: engaged, set in motion
• pravṛttāni: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-√vṛt (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: Kṛdanta (past passive participle/क्त), Napuṃsakaliṅga, Prathamā (Nominative), Bahuvacana; predicate of akṣāṇi

• yat: which
• yat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Napuṃsakaliṅga, Prathamā (Nominative), Bahuvacana; relative pronoun qualifying akṣāṇi (‘which senses’)

• akṣāṇi: senses, sense-organs
• akṣāṇi: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Prathamā (Nominative), Bahuvacana

• yata-ātmabhiḥ: by the self-controlled
• yata-ātmabhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yata (कृदन्त; √yam, past participle) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā vibhakti (Instrumental/तृतीया), Bahuvacana; karmadhāraya: ‘by self-controlled (yata) persons (ātmabhiḥ)’

Speakers

• Didactic narrator voice within the Purāṇic yoga instruction

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "bhakti", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Yoga
• Dhāraṇā
• Indriya-nigraha
• Mental steadiness

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Concentration is not merely ‘thinking hard’ but the disciplined holding of mind and senses away from habitual outward dispersion toward objects like sound; ethical self-control is the practical basis of meditative stability.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

A yoga-ācāra subsection within the Purāṇa’s didactic material; it does not narrate creation or dynasties but prescribes inner discipline.

What is the esoteric significance?

When the senses are withdrawn from their objects, prāṇa ceases to leak outward; this ‘holding’ gathers consciousness into a single channel, preparing for deeper absorption.