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PREFACE
"स्तुवे पतञ्जलिं व्यासं शङ्करं च मुनित्रयम् ।
कर्तृ सूत्रस्य भाष्यस्य क्रमाद्विवरणस्य च ॥"
Śrī Pātañjalayogaśāstravivaraṇa, which sees now the light of publication for the first time in the Madras Government Oriental Series, is a precious and priceless work on Yoga from the pen of no less a person than the great Śankarabhagavatpāda. The issue of the authorship of the present work is doubtless controversial and there may be divergence of opinion among scholars as to whether the author is the Bhagavatpāda himself or some later Śankarācārya. It has to be remembered in this connection, that controversy still centres round the authorship of the original texts of which the present one is a commentary -the mūlagranthas, namely the Yogasūtra and the Yogabhāṣya. Patañjali's authorship of the Yogasūtra and Vyāsa's authorship of the Yogabhāṣya are still unsettled issues clouded by controversy. Whether the author of the Yogasūtra is the same Patañjali, the illustrious author of the Mahābhāṣya or a different person of the same name and whether the author of the Yogasūtrabhāṣya is the same Vedavyāsa, the immortal author of the Brahmasūtra or some later namesake are still open questions. Multitudinous indeed are the theories and arguments of scholars on such and other questions. The following facts shed a flood of useful light on these issues, and consequently deserve the deep consideration of all those interested in solving these problems.
Author of the Yogasūtra.
The great grammarian and philosopher, Bhartṛhari, in the Brahmakāṇḍa of his Vākyapādīya, while emphasising the need for trikaraṇaśuddhi refers to the three Śāstras, Vaidya, Vyākaraṇa and Yoga as the respective means for the purification of the three karaṇas, namely kāya (body), vāk(speech) and manas(mind).
"कायवाग्बुद्धिविषया ये मलाः समवस्थिताः ।
चिकित्सालक्षणाध्यात्मशास्त्रैस्तेषां विशुद्धयः ॥"
