Ashtanga Yoga Opening Chant

Following a recent article in the Sunday Times magazine, where the journalist suggested that a lot of people have no idea what they are chanting in their yoga class, here is the Sanskrit version of the Ashtanga Yoga Opening Chant along with the English translation. Enjoy!!

om
vande gurunam charanaravinde
sandarshita svatma sukhava bodhe
nih shreyase jangalikayamane
samsara halahala mohashantyai
abahu purusakaram
shankhacakrasi dharinam
sahasra shirasam shvetam
pranamami patanjalim
om

The opening chant translated to English:

Om
I bow to the lotus feet of the gurus,
The awakening happiness of one’s own self revealed,
Beyond better, acting like the jungle physician,
Pacifying delusion, the poison of samsara.
Taking the form of a man to the shoulders,
Holding a conch, a discus, and a sword,
One thousand heads white,
To Patanjali, I salute.
Om

Comments

Neti pot

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