The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary

I am thoroughly enjoying this translation. I am currently also reading the classic Thibaut translation is the Vedanta Sutras with commentary by Shankara and I can say that without a doubt, this reads much easier. For those who found this commentary dry or impenetrable, I wonder if they read the great introduction that explains the Yoga sutras in context of the philosophical systems of ancient India or in other words, the greater historical culture of the Yoga sutras. There are also convenient chapter summaries that are collected at the end of the book that you can read to get into the mindset for reading a chapter. I particularly like how Bryant commits to the repeated uses of the Sanskrit terms and doesn’t depend on English words that fail to catch the subtle differences of meaning between the two languages. This encourages the reader to leave at the door their presuppositions and prejudices that they carry unknowingly being dependent on English. Another great thing is that Bryant explains not only the standard Vyasa commentary, but also connects it to many other commentators including the previously mentioned Shankara, who was a Vedantin and not a Yogin. Bryant will even connect the Sutras in similarity and contrast to Buddhism. Giving context to the different commentaries is essential because in the classic commentaries themselves there are a lot more esoteric and foreign references to scripture, mythology, and other thinkers that aren’t as explicitly explained. I think this book is most valuable for those who might not have been aware of the philosophical depth of the culture of Yoga. Bryant is oftentimes critical of the mass commercial culture that has appropriated Yoga and I think his translation and commentary is perfect for those who want to take the time and explore the ideas unique to Western thought and develop a deeper understanding of what goes into any action, practice, or lifestyle. For those who just want a feel good shallow explication of Yoga that satisfies the minimal threshold of what it is to be “cultural”, then reading any set of Sutras and their commentary is going to disappointing anyway. And for all their complaints about it being too academic, I think that based on a certain prejudice of what “academic” is to them. Because this does not read at all like a philological text or western philosophical treatise.

The Yoga Sutras is the foundational text of the Vedic philosophy of yoga. It is hard to come by a translation of the Yoga Sutra that does justice to the depth and scope of the original work. Too often, nowadays, it seems that translators are more interested in promoting their interpretations of the text rather than representing the intentions of the original author. As a result, the translator often ends up obscuring the clarity of the original sutras with over-intellectualized or over-interpreted concepts. Enter Edwin Bryant, with his authoritative translation, complete with his own commentary as well as the most revered commentators of the Yoga Sutras, such as Vyasa and Hariharananda. Edwin Bryant is a consummate scholar with expertise in Sanskrit, vedic philosophy and Krishna devotion. Yet, he does not let his own commentary get in the way of the simple power of Patanjali's text. He provides the sutra in its original Sanskrit along with a romanized transliteration, and a word-by-word translation. His concise and simple translation remains close to the terseness of the original sutras, rather than flying off into poetic renditions as some modern translations would do. He then includes quite lengthy excerpts from a handful of major commentators from the tradition, ranging from the most ancient (Vyasa, whose Bhyasa is almost considered as canonical as the Sutra themselves) to the most recent (Swami Hariharananda). He also has a brilliant introduction which helps to provide context for the Yoga Sutras within Indian philosophy and history. Overall, I love this book. I have taken it on several international trips and the density of material, as well as the engaging writing style, continue to enrich my experience of the Yoga Sutras. As a yoga teacher, a studio owner, and a teacher trainer, I highly recommend Edwin Bryant's translation of the Yoga Sutras as the go-to version for the modern scholar-practitioner.

I have read and studied several translations and commentaries of the Yoga Sutras over the last eighteen years and Doctor Bryant’s book is far and away the most thorough and scholarly. The book is extremely well researched and draws on many traditional translations of this work and associated philosophical material. In Bryant’s own words, at location 1098 on kindle (there is no page numbering on kindle for this book): “For this commentary, I read Vyasas commentary in the Sanskrit and used this as the springboard for my own commentary. For the other later commentaries…I availed myself of various English translations in determining which material to extract for this commentary, for which I then consulted the original Sanskrit.” For some of the sutras, Bryant’s commentaries extend for dozens of swipes of the screen. I am using this text as my primary teaching tool for an informal class I am giving on the Yoga Sutras at a local bookstore. This is not easy reading, but if you want to go deeply into the subject and have questions answered that you did not even realize that you had, then this is the book for you.

This book is nothing short of a miracle. If I may be allowed to beat an old, worn cliche to death a little more: the one book (if I could only bring one) that I'd bring to that fabled desert island: Yes, this one. Bryant is a brilliant scholar and an amazing communicator. When it comes to relaying intricate and sometimes conflicting views about esoteric angles of abstruse subjects, care (above all else) is called for, and Bryant cares, cares very deeply to get the point across as clearly and as vividly as possible; and he succeeds in this nearly impossible task. Yoga, of course, is so much more than stretching and sitting exercises to limber us up (as we in the west normally view the subject). Posture takes up less than one percent of Patanjali's Sutras, the rest is devoted to meditation and spiritual liberation. The East Indians have been at this for a long time, and there is a lot to learn and know about this subject. Patanjali, around 400 CE, sat down to summarize what he knew at that point (recalling all teachings from the Upanishads forward) about walking this path, and he did an amazing, if concise, job of it. Following Patanjali, several commentators did their best to clarify and illustrate Patanjali's often cryptic statement. Bryant uses not only Patanjali's Sutras, but also avails himself of the major commentators' clarifications as well, and so reconciles this stream of knowledge into a coherent whole that really, yes, really makes sense and is proving very helpful to me as a meditator, even though I'm mostly of the Theravada persuasion. I urge whoever will read this book to read it slowly and carefully. It all makes perfect sense, but does take some careful digesting. I actually read my Kindle version while I used the glossary in my paper version to keep reminding me of the various Sanskrit words used. It was worth the effort. As I said, this book is a miracle, nothing short of that, and I could not recommend it more. Ulf Wolf

This book is probably wonderful - I bought it based upon the whopping reviews and when it arrived I received a whopping book! It appears to be extremely thorough, academic, and undoubtedly profound... just make sure you are ready for a thick book of college level delving into the Yoga Sutras or you may, like me, buy more than you bargained for! It is my first copy so I have nothing to recommend in its place and am keeping it for the day it is right for me to explore; until then I hope to come across a copy that is more for a gentle introduction ... so this is my review please forgive me if I review it based upon my uneducated expectations of what was to come... and once again I am not speaking against this body of work which seems of the highest quality - just make sure you want that level of study. thank you!

There's a growing selection of commentaries on the Yoga Sutras but this one stands out as a useful crossover between more scholarly texts and those aimed at more 'everyday' students. Edwin Bryant has chosen a selection of classical commentaries to reference in his own commentary, including Vyasa and Vijnanabhiksu, making this an invaluable 'one stop shop' for reference. In addition to the commentary on the Yoga Sutras, this book includes a useful history of yoga, placing it in context with the Vedic Period, Upanisads, Mahabharata and Sanhkya. Also included is an explanation of the subject matter of the Yoga Sutras and in the Appendix, a transliteration and translation of the Yoga Sutras. Apart from the overall quality of this text, what you get represents real value for money! Although I've only recently received my copy, I can see that this book is likely to become my 'go to' for the Yoga Sutras. However, it's less likely to become the copy that I take to the Yoga Sutra group I go to but only because the sometimes extensive commentary on individual sutras makes it too unwieldy for reference in the class situation. In my opinion, this is a book to savour when you have time to sit with it, absorb and contemplate the commentary properly. In summary, Edwin Bryant's commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali should be on the bookshelf of any serious yoga student.

Bryant's commentary of the Yoga Sutras Edwin Bryant's translation and commentary of the Yoga Sutras certainly the best I have encountered and possibly the best available. Any curious reader would just read the other reviews to receive a good idea of the merits of Bryant's work. It is simply brilliant. The most beneficial aspect of his commentary is that he demystifies the sutras to where they are intelligible to the modern reader. No prior philosophical or religious knowledge or special preparation is necessary; a reader having no experience with the YS will receive as much from the work as one who has read a shelf-full of commentaries trying to make sense of the sutras. And he does de-mystify the sutras. The commentary contains a clear exposition on the Samkhya philosophy and how it relates to the sutras. He explains that the sutras are intimately linked with Samkhya such that the purpose of the eight limbs of yoga is to achieve the final dissolution of mind (microcosm), after the evolution of the manifest world when purusa makes contact with prakrti (microcosm). Other commentators cannot see the forest for the trees, and are too much concerned with the minutia to mention this important aspect of the YS. This is a godsend. The translation is excellent and the commentary is illuminating. It is highly recommended.

The Yoga Sutras is the pulsing core of the practice of Yoga - which is much more in-depth than the mere asana/postures that are so very popular in the West. Unfortunately, the original sutras are presented in an extremely simplistic fashion, meant to be "unpacked" by a long-time teacher, according to the traditional Indian system. Because of this, there are countless translations + commentaries of the The Yoga Sutras available in-print today (2 of which I've read + reviewed before). Edwin Bryant's interpretation of the Yoga Sutras is nothing short of remarkable. Along with his own intelligent perspective (backed by 30+ years of study), Bryant also includes insights from "traditional" commentators who "unpacked" the Yoga Sutras thousands of years ago. Perhaps even more important, he includes detailed information on the spiritual/religious lineage that Yoga developed from; a background in the metaphysics that underpin all Yogic concepts; + comparisons in how Yoga differs from other spiritual lineages that developed from the same root beliefs, including Buddhism. There is a lot on conflicting information about what Yoga really is, especially due to the rise of importance to asana over the past few decades. If you're looking to take your physical practice to a whole other level (it involves a lot less moving), this book will crack open your mind to all that Yoga has to offer, along with challenging your spiritual + scientific beliefs. If you have never read a translation of the Yoga Sutras, this book may be overwhelming, unless you really love diving deep right off the bat. This book is truly vital reading for Yoga teachers of all "types" of Yoga - it takes us back to "our roots" + reminds us why we practice (spoiler: it doesn't involved flat abs or tight buns).

Beste Yogasutrā-Ausgabe. Klare Empfehlung. Derzeit unangefochtener akademischer Standard. Alle Kommentare von Vyāsa über Shankara, Vacaspati, Vijnanabhiksu, Bhoja Raja etc. zusammengefasst, die Unterschiede herausgearbeitet und zu einem neuen komparativen Kommentar vereint. Einen detaillierteren und multiperspektivischeren Einblick in die Samkhya-Yoga Lehre des Patanjali findet man in keinem anderen Buch! Außerdem beinhaltet es auf den ersten ca. fünfzig Seiten ausführliche Hintergrundinformationen, welche das richtige Verständnis der Sūtras überhaupt erst möglich machen. Klare Kaufempfehlung.

Big and Beuatyful

Ótimo, simplesmente perfeito. Definitivamente a melhor versão dos yoga sutras para estudiosos e praticantes. O livro é organizado de uma maneira que fica extremamente fácil encontrar cada Sutra e vem com uma introdução esplendorosa de toda história do Yoga (samkhya-yoga). Sem contar na explicação detalhada de cada um dos sutras. Ótimo!

L'autore interpreta i vari sutra con l'aiuto dei più importanti commentari esistenti: libro fondamentale solo per i veri studiosi del raja yoga, lo yoga della meditazione

Excelente libro. Fácil lectura y explicación. Recomendado ampliamente.