Hathpradipika of Svatmarama

Svamarama treatise on Hathayoga has been held in great esteem both by scholars and practicing yogis. Though this writer's emphasis is on yogic practices in which overt behavior plays an important part it is he who points out that the yogic processes form a continuum. He therefore did not consider Hathayoga and Rajayoga to be different compartments of yoga as they are generally believed to be and stressed their interdependence (cf hatham vina rajayogo rajayogam vina hathah/na siddhyati tato yugmam ansipatteh sumabhyaset.Hathpradipika is one of the outstanding Hatha texts which fully describe the eight well known varieties of Pranayama Svatmarama's work has proved to be a source of inspiration for many a later writer on Hathayoga as can be seen fro treatises like Yogacintamani Hatharatnavali Hathasanketacandrika and Hathatattvakaumudi as explicitly mentioned by him in I-18 Svatmarama has successfully brought about a synthesis of both the traditions of Hathayoga viz that of the munis and that of the yogis.The opinion that all impurities in the nadis can be removed only by the practice of Pranyama has been explicitly mentioned by Sva tmarma alone. According to him the satkriyas are not obligatory for all. They are however to be practiced by all those who have an excess of meda slesma etc.Yoga as described by Svatmarama has only four components while according to other authorities on Yoga it is said to have six, seven, eight and even fifteen components.In the Puranas and the smrtis two types of Pranayama have been mentioned (1)Sagarbha with mantras and (2) Agarbha without recitation of mantra svatmaram however does not enjoin that practice of Pranayama should be accompanied with recitation of a mantra.