An Examination of Haribhadra’s Aphoristic Text on Jain Yoga, the Yogaviṁśikā, and its Illumination in the Commentary of Yaśovijaya

Abstract

This thesis examines the eighth-century Śvetāmbara mendicant Haribhadra’s distinctive conception of yoga in his Prakrit text in verse, the Yogaviṁśikā, with an emphasis on the Sanskrit commentary of Yaśovijaya, the renowned Śvetāmbara mendicant who flourished in the seventeenth century. The focus is on nine of the twenty verses which constitute the Yogaviṁśikā. The thesis is presented in the form of two main chapters accompanied by Appendix I which contains an annotated translation of the complete text together with those portions of the commentary relating to the nine verses. The commentary on the verses not selected has been excluded. The first chapter deals with the life, times and works of both the author and the commentator and the second chapter discusses each of the key concepts of Haribhadra’s formulation of yoga. He states that all religious activity, done with a pure mind, that is instrumental in bringing about liberation is yoga. Underlying this definition of yoga are the fundamental Jain doctrines of karma and the fourteen stages of spiritual development, the tenet of dvi-dharma, purity, devotion and the path to liberation. Yaśovijaya explains these concepts in his commentary while drawing upon Haribhadra’s other works on yoga, including the Yogabindu, the Ṣoḍaśakaprakaraṇa and, to a lesser extent, the Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya. Through his commentary, Yaśovijaya shows to what extent the Yogaviṁśikā is a valuable work on yoga philosophy and the importance, for both the Jain mendicant and layperson, of the daily practice of the veneration of the Jina as the religious activity instrumental in bringing about liberation.