Sritattvanidhi - Revision history

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	{{Use Indian English\|date=June 2017}}		{{Use Indian English\|date=June 2017}}
	{{italic title}}		{{italic title}}
	[[File:~~Intro.bmp~~.jpg\|right\|thumb\|400px\|Opening page of the Kannada treatise ''Sritattvanidhi'' (19th century)]]		[[File:Opening page of Sritattvanidhi.jpg\|right\|thumb\|400px\|Opening page of the Kannada treatise ''Sritattvanidhi'' (19th century)]]
	The '''''Sritattvanidhi''''' ({{IAST\|Śrītattvanidhi}}, "The Illustrious Treasure of Realities") is a treatise written in the 19th century in [[Karnataka]] on the iconography and iconometry of divine figures in South India. One of its sections includes instructions for, and illustrations of, 122 [[hatha yoga]] postures.		The '''''Sritattvanidhi''''' ({{IAST\|Śrītattvanidhi}}, "The Illustrious Treasure of Realities") is a treatise written in the 19th century in [[Karnataka]] on the iconography and iconometry of divine figures in South India. One of its sections includes instructions for, and illustrations of, 122 [[hatha yoga]] postures.

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	==Published editions==		==Published editions==

	An original copy of this colossal work is available in the Oriental Research Institute at the [[University of Mysore]]. Another copy is in the possession of the Royal Family of Mysore. An unedited version with text in [[Devanagari]] script was published around 1900 by Khemraj Krishna Das of Sri Venkateshvar Steam Press, Bombay ~~(Mumbai)~~.		An original copy of this colossal work is available in the Oriental Research Institute at the [[University of Mysore]]. Another copy is in the possession of the Royal Family of Mysore. An unedited version with text in [[Devanagari]] script was published around 1900 by Khemraj Krishna Das of Sri Venkateshvar Steam Press, [[Mumbai\|Bombay]].

	In recent times the Oriental Research Institute has published three volumes (Saktinidhi, Vishnunidhi, and Sivanidhi.{{sfn\|Wodeyar\|1997}}		In recent times the Oriental Research Institute has published three volumes (Saktinidhi, Vishnunidhi, and Sivanidhi.{{sfn\|Wodeyar\|1997}}

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{{Short description|19th century Hindu iconographical treatise}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Intro.bmp.jpg|right|thumb|400px|Opening page of the Kannada treatise ''Sritattvanidhi'' (19th century)]]
The '''''Sritattvanidhi''''' ({{IAST|Śrītattvanidhi}}, "The Illustrious Treasure of Realities") is a treatise written in the 19th century in [[Karnataka]] on the iconography and iconometry of divine figures in South India. One of its sections includes instructions for, and illustrations of, 122 [[hatha yoga]] postures.

==Authorship==
The ''Sritattvanidhi'' is attributed to the then [[Kingdom of Mysore|Maharaja of Mysore]], [[Krishnaraja Wodeyar III]] (b. 1794 - d. 1868). The Maharaja was a great patron of art and learning, and was himself a scholar and writer. Around 50 works are ascribed to him.{{sfn|Gopal|Prasad|2004|pp=92–94}} The first page of the ''Sritattvanidhi'' attributes authorship of the work to the Maharaja himself:

{{quote|''May the work Sri Tattvanidi, which is illustrated and contains secrets of mantras and which is authored by King Sri Krishna Raja Kamteerava, be written without any obstacle. Beginning of Shaktinidhi.''{{sfn|Wodeyar|1997|loc=Shakti nidhi}}

Martin-Dubost's review of the history of this work says that the Maharaja funded an effort to put together in one work all available information concerning the iconography and iconometry of divine figures in South India. He asked that a vast treatise be written, which he then had illustrated by miniaturists from his palace.{{sfn|Martin-Dubost|1997|p=}}{{pn|date=August 2021}}

==Contents==
[[File:MahA gaNapati.jpg|thumb|The ''Shiva nidhi'' section includes the [[Thirty-two forms of Ganesha]]; [[Mahaganapati]] pictured]]

The resulting [[illuminated manuscript]], which he entitled the ''Sritattvanidhi'', brings together several forms of [[Shiva]], [[Vishnu]], [[Murugan|Skanda]], [[Ganesha]], different goddesses, the nine planets ([[navagraha]]), and the eight protectors of the cardinal points ({{IAST|aṣṭadikpālas}}). The work is in nine parts, each called a ''[[nidhi]]'' ("treasure"). The nine sections are:{{sfn|Wodeyar|1997|pages=xviii-xxiv (Volume 1: Shakti nidhi}}

# [[Shakti]] nidhi
# [[Vishnu]] nidhi
# [[Shiva]] nidhi
# [[Brahma]] nidhi
# [[Graha]] nidhi
# [[Vaishnava]] nidhi
# [[Shaiva]] nidhi
# [[Agama (Hinduism)|Agama]] nidhi
# [[Kautuka]] nidhi

==Published editions==

An original copy of this colossal work is available in the Oriental Research Institute at the [[University of Mysore]]. Another copy is in the possession of the Royal Family of Mysore. An unedited version with text in [[Devanagari]] script was published around 1900 by Khemraj Krishna Das of Sri Venkateshvar Steam Press, Bombay (Mumbai).

In recent times the Oriental Research Institute has published three volumes (Saktinidhi, Vishnunidhi, and Sivanidhi.{{sfn|Wodeyar|1997}}

==Influence on modern yoga==

Another important work on the subject is by the scholar of Sanskrit and hatha yoga, [[Norman Sjoman]]. His 1996 book ''The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace'' presents the first English translation of the ''kautuka nidhi'' in the ''Sritattvanidhi'', which provides instructions for{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|pp=69–85}} and illustrations{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|loc=plates 1–20}} of 122 postures performed by a [[yogini]] in a topknot and [[loincloth]]. Some of these poses—which include handstands, backbends, foot-behind-the-head poses, lotus variations, and rope exercises—are familiar to modern practitioners, though most of the Sanskrit names differ from the ones they are known by today, but they are more elaborate than anything depicted in other pre-twentieth-century texts. Sjoman describes the origins of some asanas from a gymnastics exercise manual of the late 19th century, the ''Vyayama Dipika''.{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|pp=53–57}} Sjoman asserts that the influential yoga teacher [[Krishnamacharya]], who did much to create modern [[yoga as exercise]] while teaching in the Mysore Palace, including training the yoga masters [[B. K. S. Iyengar]] and [[K. Pattabhi Jois]] there, was influenced by the ''Sritattvanidhi''.{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|pp=49–52}}<ref name="Cushman">{{cite journal |title=New Light on Yoga |url=http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/466 |last=Cushman |first=Anne |journal=[[Yoga Journal]] |date=Jul–Aug 1999 |issn=0191-0965 |page=43}}</ref>

The yoga scholars [[James Mallinson (author)|James Mallinson]] and [[Mark Singleton (yoga scholar)|Mark Singleton]] note that the ''Sritattvanidhi'', like another late 18th or early 19th century text, the ''[[Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati|Hathabhyasapaddhati]]'', indicate for the first time that yoga asanas may include "a wide variety of physical exercises, from squat thrusts to rope-climbing". In these texts, the asanas, too, have the sole purpose of making the body firm enough for the practice of the [[satkarma]]s.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=94}}

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180px>
File:Ankusasana from Sritattvanidhi (cropped).jpg|A yogini in ''Aṇkuśāsana'', the [[Elephant goad]] pose ([[Bhairavasana]])
File:Kamapithasana (Setubandhasana) from Sritattvanidhi.jpg|"Kamapithasana" ([[Setubandhasana]])
File:Gajasana in Sritattvanidhi (cropped).jpg|Gajasana, Elephant pose, a forerunner of [[Downward Dog Pose|Downward Dog]] (Adho Mukha Shvanasana)
</gallery>

==See also==
{{commons category|1=Sritattvanidhi}}
*[[Wodeyar]]
*[[Hindu iconography]]
*[[Illuminated manuscript]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Cited sources==

* {{cite book |last=Gopal |first=R. |last2=Prasad |first2=S. Narendra |title=mummaDi kRuShNarAja oDeyaru - oMdu cAriTrika adhyana |trans-title=Mummadi Krsihnaraja Wodeyar- a Historic Study |year=2004 |publisher=Directorate of Archeology and Museums |location=Karnataka}}
* {{cite book | last1=Mallinson | first1=James |author1-link=James Mallinson (author) |last2=Singleton |first2=Mark |author2-link=Mark Singleton (yoga scholar) | title=Roots of Yoga | publisher=Penguin Books | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-241-25304-5 | oclc=928480104 }}
* {{cite book |last=Martin-Dubost |first=Paul |title=Gaņeśa: The Enchanter of the Three Worlds |year=1997 |publisher=Project for Indian Cultural Studies |location=Mumbai |isbn=81-900184-3-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sjoman |first1=Norman E. |author-link=Norman Sjoman |url=https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN8170173892 |title=The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace |publisher=Abhinav Publications |year=1999 |edition=2nd |orig-year=1996 |isbn=81-7017-389-2 }} Contains 20 color plate reproductions of 112 asanas reproduced from the ''Sri Tattvanidhi''.
* {{cite book |last=Wodeyar |first=Mummadi Krsihnaraja |title=Sritattvanidhi |year=1997 |publisher=Oriental Research Institute, University of Mysore}}

== Further reading ==

* {{cite book |last=Chinmayananda |first=Swami |author-link=Chinmayananda |title=Glory of Ganesha |year=1987 |publisher=Central Chinmaya Mission Trust |location=Bombay |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |title=Annals of the Mysore Royal Family , Part II |year=1922 |publisher=Government Branch Press |location=Mysore |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Heras |first=H. |title=The Problem of Ganapati |year=1972 |publisher=Indological Book House |location=Delhi|ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Krishan |first=Yuvraj |title=Gaņeśa: Unravelling An Enigma |year=1999 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |location=Delhi |isbn= 81-208-1413-4|ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Ramachandra Rao |first=S. K. |title=The Compendium on Gaņeśa |year=1992 |publisher=Sri Satguru Publications |location=Delhi |isbn=81-7030-828-3 |ref=none}} Contains colour plate reproductions of the 32 Ganapati forms reproduced from the ''Sri Tattvanidhi''.
* {{cite book |last=Thapan |first=Anita Raina |title=Understanding Gaņapati: Insights into the Dynamics of a Cult |year=1997 |publisher=Manohar Publishers |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-7304-195-4 |ref=none}}

== External links ==

* [https://archive.org/details/ShriTattvaNidhiVenkateshwarPress/mode/2up Shritattvanidi, Venkateshwar Press edition]

{{Hatha yoga}}
{{Yoga}}

[[Category:Hindu texts]]
[[Category:Kannada literature]]
[[Category:Ganesha]]
[[Category:Kingdom of Mysore]]
[[Category:History of Mysore]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian books]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:35, 21 March 2026
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	# [[Kautuka]] nidhi, with 122 [[asana]]s as a physical activity		# [[Kautuka]] nidhi, with 122 [[asana]]s as a physical activity

	~~<~~gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=175 heights=175~~>~~		<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=175 heights=175>
	File:MahA gaNapati.jpg\|Section 3, ''Shiva nidhi'', includes the [[thirty-two forms of Ganesha]]; [[Mahaganapati]] pictured		File:MahA gaNapati.jpg\|Section 3, ''Shiva nidhi'', includes the [[thirty-two forms of Ganesha]]; [[Mahaganapati]] pictured
	File:Navagraham (cropped).jpg\|Section 5, ''Graha nidhi'', with the nine planets ([[navagraha]] shrine pictured)		File:Navagraham (cropped).jpg\|Section 5, ''Graha nidhi'', with the nine planets ([[navagraha]] shrine pictured)
	File:Saligram stones, Kaligandaki.jpg\|Section 6, ''Vaishnava nidhi'', includes [[ammonite]] fossils, [[Shaligram\|salagrama]] stones, which serve as a non-anthropomorphic symbol of [[Vishnu]]		File:Saligram stones, Kaligandaki.jpg\|Section 6, ''Vaishnava nidhi'', includes [[ammonite]] fossils, [[Shaligram\|salagrama]] stones, which serve as a non-anthropomorphic symbol of [[Vishnu]]
	File:Kamapithasana (Setubandhasana) from Sritattvanidhi.jpg\|Section 9, ''Kautuka nidhi'', with [[asana]]s ([[Setubandhasana\|"Kamapithasana"]] pictured)		File:Kamapithasana (Setubandhasana) from Sritattvanidhi.jpg\|Section 9, ''Kautuka nidhi'', with [[asana]]s ([[Setubandhasana\|"Kamapithasana"]] pictured)
	~~<~~/gallery~~>~~		</gallery>

	==Published editions==		==Published editions==
Line 43:		Line 43:
	==Influence on modern yoga==		==Influence on modern yoga==

	An important work on the subject is by the scholar of Sanskrit and hatha yoga, [[Norman Sjoman]]. His 1996 book ''The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace'' presents the first English translation of the ''kautuka nidhi'' in the ''Sritattvanidhi'', which provides instructions for{{sfn\|Sjoman\|1999\|pp=69–85}} and illustrations{{sfn\|Sjoman\|1999\|loc=plates 1–20}} of 122 postures performed by a [[yogini]] in a topknot and [[loincloth]]. Some of these poses—which include handstands, backbends, foot-behind-the-head poses, lotus variations, and rope exercises—are familiar to modern practitioners, though most of the Sanskrit names differ from the ones they are known by today, but they are more elaborate than anything depicted in other pre-twentieth-century texts. Sjoman describes the origins of some asanas from a gymnastics exercise manual of the late 19th century, the ''Vyāyāma Dīpikā''.{{sfn\|Sjoman\|1999\|pp=53–57}} Sjoman asserts that the influential yoga teacher [[Krishnamacharya]], who did much to create modern [[yoga as exercise]] while teaching in the Mysore Palace, including training the yoga masters [[B. K. S. Iyengar]] and [[K. Pattabhi Jois]] there, was influenced by the ''Sritattvanidhi''.{{sfn\|Sjoman\|1999\|pp=49–52}}~~<~~ref name="Cushman"~~>~~{{cite journal \|title=New Light on Yoga \|url=http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/466 \|last=Cushman \|first=Anne \|journal=[[Yoga Journal]] \|date=Jul–Aug 1999 \|issn=0191-0965 \|page=43}}~~<~~/ref~~>~~		An important work on the subject is by the scholar of Sanskrit and hatha yoga, [[Norman Sjoman]]. His 1996 book ''The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace'' presents the first English translation of the ''kautuka nidhi'' in the ''Sritattvanidhi'', which provides instructions for{{sfn\|Sjoman\|1999\|pp=69–85}} and illustrations{{sfn\|Sjoman\|1999\|loc=plates 1–20}} of 122 postures performed by a [[yogini]] in a topknot and [[loincloth]]. Some of these poses—which include handstands, backbends, foot-behind-the-head poses, lotus variations, and rope exercises—are familiar to modern practitioners, though most of the Sanskrit names differ from the ones they are known by today, but they are more elaborate than anything depicted in other pre-twentieth-century texts. Sjoman describes the origins of some asanas from a gymnastics exercise manual of the late 19th century, the ''Vyāyāma Dīpikā''.{{sfn\|Sjoman\|1999\|pp=53–57}} Sjoman asserts that the influential yoga teacher [[Krishnamacharya]], who did much to create modern [[yoga as exercise]] while teaching in the Mysore Palace, including training the yoga masters [[B. K. S. Iyengar]] and [[K. Pattabhi Jois]] there, was influenced by the ''Sritattvanidhi''.{{sfn\|Sjoman\|1999\|pp=49–52}}<ref name="Cushman">{{cite journal \|title=New Light on Yoga \|url=http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/466 \|last=Cushman \|first=Anne \|journal=[[Yoga Journal]] \|date=Jul–Aug 1999 \|issn=0191-0965 \|page=43}}</ref>

	The yoga scholar-practitioners [[James Mallinson (author)\|James Mallinson]] and [[Mark Singleton (yoga scholar)\|Mark Singleton]] note that the ''Sritattvanidhi'', like another late 18th or early 19th century text, the ''[[Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati\|Hathabhyasapaddhati]]'', indicates for the first time that yoga asanas may include "a wide variety of physical exercises, from squat thrusts to rope-climbing". In these texts, the asanas, too, have the sole purpose of making the body firm enough for the practice of the [[satkarma]]s.{{sfn\|Mallinson\|Singleton\|2017\|p=94}}		The yoga scholar-practitioners [[James Mallinson (author)\|James Mallinson]] and [[Mark Singleton (yoga scholar)\|Mark Singleton]] note that the ''Sritattvanidhi'', like another late 18th or early 19th century text, the ''[[Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati\|Hathabhyasapaddhati]]'', indicates for the first time that yoga asanas may include "a wide variety of physical exercises, from squat thrusts to rope-climbing". In these texts, the asanas, too, have the sole purpose of making the body firm enough for the practice of the [[satkarma]]s.{{sfn\|Mallinson\|Singleton\|2017\|p=94}}

	The yoga scholars [[Jason Birch]] and [[Jacqueline Hargreaves]] describe the ''Sritattvanidhi'' as "a beautifully illustrated royal compendium commissioned by the Mahārāja of Mysore", noting that alongside other sources including "an unillustrated notebook in rudimentary Sanskrit", it demonstrates interest in asanas throughout Indian society.~~<~~ref name="Birch Hargreaves 2023"~~>~~{{cite journal \|last1=Birch \|first1=Jason \|author1-link=Jason Birch \|last2=Hargreaves \|first2=Jacqueline \|title=Premodern Yogāsanas and Modern Postural Yoga Practice: Distinct Regional Collections of Āsanas on the Eve of Colonialism \|journal=Journal of Yoga Studies \|volume=4 \|date=10 April 2023 \|doi=10.34000/JoYS.2023.V4.01 \|doi-access=free \|pages=31–82 \|url=https://journalofyogastudies.org/index.php/JoYS/article/download/JoYS.2023.V4.01/JoYS.2023.V4.01}}~~<~~/ref~~>~~		The yoga scholars [[Jason Birch]] and [[Jacqueline Hargreaves]] describe the ''Sritattvanidhi'' as "a beautifully illustrated royal compendium commissioned by the Mahārāja of Mysore", noting that alongside other sources including "an unillustrated notebook in rudimentary Sanskrit", it demonstrates interest in asanas throughout Indian society.<ref name="Birch Hargreaves 2023">{{cite journal \|last1=Birch \|first1=Jason \|author1-link=Jason Birch \|last2=Hargreaves \|first2=Jacqueline \|title=Premodern Yogāsanas and Modern Postural Yoga Practice: Distinct Regional Collections of Āsanas on the Eve of Colonialism \|journal=Journal of Yoga Studies \|volume=4 \|date=10 April 2023 \|doi=10.34000/JoYS.2023.V4.01 \|doi-access=free \|pages=31–82 \|url=https://journalofyogastudies.org/index.php/JoYS/article/download/JoYS.2023.V4.01/JoYS.2023.V4.01}}</ref>

	~~<~~gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180px~~>~~		<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180px>
	File:Ankusasana from Sritattvanidhi (cropped).jpg\|A yogini in ''[[Aṇkuśāsana]]'', the [[Elephant goad]] pose		File:Ankusasana from Sritattvanidhi (cropped).jpg\|A yogini in ''[[Aṇkuśāsana]]'', the [[Elephant goad]] pose
	File:Gajasana in Sritattvanidhi (cropped).jpg\|Gajasana, Elephant pose, a forerunner of [[Downward Dog Pose\|Downward Dog]]		File:Gajasana in Sritattvanidhi (cropped).jpg\|Gajasana, Elephant pose, a forerunner of [[Downward Dog Pose\|Downward Dog]]
	File:Kakasana in Sritattvanidhi.jpg\|[[Kakasana]], Crow Pose in the ''Sritattvanidhi''		File:Kakasana in Sritattvanidhi.jpg\|[[Kakasana]], Crow Pose in the ''Sritattvanidhi''
	File:Pose labelled Bakasana from Vyayamadipika.jpg\|Engraving of "Bakasana" in the 1896 ''Vyāyāma Dīpikā'' (Light on Exercise)		File:Pose labelled Bakasana from Vyayamadipika.jpg\|Engraving of "Bakasana" in the 1896 ''Vyāyāma Dīpikā'' (Light on Exercise)
	~~<~~/gallery~~>~~		</gallery>

	== See also ==		== See also ==