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| The '''''Goraksha Śataka''''' ([[Sanskrit]]: गोरक्षशतक, "Goraksha's Hundred") is an early [[hatha yoga]] text, written in around the 10th century in the [[Tantras (Hinduism)|tantra]] tradition.{{sfn|Kuvalayananda|2006}}
| | #REDIRECT [[Goraksha Shataka]] |
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| ==Sixfold system==
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| The ''Goraksha Śataka'', unlike [[Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga)|Ashtanga, the eightfold yoga of Patanjali]], describes a system of six limbs: [[asana]] (posture), [[Pranayama|breath-restraint]] (which it calls ''pranasamrodha''), [[pratyahara]] (withdrawal), [[dharana]] (concentration), [[meditation]], and [[samadhi]]; omitting the first two limbs of Ashtanga, namely the [[Yamas]] and [[Niyamas]].
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| It recommends gradually increasing breath retention as the best way to samadhi.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=326}}
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| The text does not mention mantras;{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=262}} nor does it speak of preserving the vital fluids of [[Bindu (symbol)|bindu]] or [[amrita]], central to hatha yoga.{{sfn|Mallinson|2016|pp=109–140}}
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| ==Mudras==
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| The ''Goraksha Śataka'' is one of the first [[hatha yoga]] texts in the [[Tantras (Hinduism)|tantra]] tradition. It teaches four of what became known as [[Mudra (Yoga)|mudras]]. Three of these, [[Mula Bandha]], [[Uddiyana Bandha]], and [[Jalandhara Bandha]] are used to force breath up into the central [[Nadi (yoga)|nadi]] or channel. The other, ''[[Shakti]] Chalana'', "stimulating the goddess", is used to awaken [[Kundalini]] energy by pulling the tongue.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=230–231, 243–244}}
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| ==Pranayama==
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| The text states that [[pranayama]], breath control, can bestow [[Moksha|liberation]] by controlling the mind. It describes four techniques of ''sahita [[kumbhaka]]'', "accompanied breath-retention", namely solar, victorious ([[Ujjayi breath|ujjayi]]), cool, and bellows ([[Bhastrika|bhastri]]).{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=127, 131–133, 157–159}}
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| ==Chakras==
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| The ''Goraksha Śataka'' mentions three "knots" (''granthis''), a kind of [[chakra]], which have to be pierced to allow the Kundalini to pass through. The three are the knots of [[Brahma]] at the base of the [[Sushumna]] channel, of [[Vishnu]] at the heart, and of [[Rudra]], between the eyebrows.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=175, 214–215}}
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| ==References==
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| {{reflist|28em}}
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| ==Sources==
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| * {{cite book |last=Kuvalayananda |first=Swami (translator) |author-link=Swami Kuvalayananda |title=Goraksa-Satakam |publisher=Kaivalyadhama |year=2006 |orig-year=1954 |isbn=818948544X}}
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| * {{cite book |author-link=James Mallinson (author) |last=Mallinson |first=James |url=http://www.khecari.com/resources/SaktismHathayoga.pdf |chapter=Śāktism and Haṭhayoga |title=Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism: History, Practice and Doctrine |editor-link=Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen |editor-last=Wernicke-Olesen |editor-first=Bjarne |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2016 |pages=109–140 |isbn=978-1317585213}}
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| * {{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 |title-link=Roots of Yoga | publisher=Penguin Books | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-241-25304-5 | oclc=928480104}}
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| ==External links==
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| * [https://www.scribd.com/doc/259062035/Goraksha-Shataka-of-Guru-Gorakhnath Text in Sanskrit and English], translated by Yoga Nath
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| {{Hatha yoga}}
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| [[Category:Hatha yoga texts]]
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| [[Category:Sanskrit texts]]
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