The Siva Samhita शिव संहित

 

  1. Methods of liberation and philosophical standpoints
  2. Nadis, internal fire, and working of the jiva
  3. Winds in the body, importance of the guru, the four stages of Yoga, the five elemental visualizations and four asanas
  4. Eleven mudras and yogic attainments
  5. Obstacles to liberation, the four types of aspirants, technique of shadow gazing, internal sound, esoteric centers and energies, the seven lotuses, the "king of kings of yogas", and a global mantra

Introduction

Shiva Samhita (शिव संहित śivasaṁhitā, Siva Samhitā) means "Shiva's Compendium.  Written by an unknown author in either the 15th, 17th or 18th century, it is one of the three major surviving classical treatises on hatha yoga, the other two being Gheranda Samhita and Hatha Yoga Pradipika. The Shiva Samhita is considered the most comprehensive treatise on hatha yoga.

This text is based upon two separate editions of the Siva Samhita, retrieved from Archive.org:

  • The 1914 edition translated by Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vasu, published by Apurva Krishna Bose of the Indian press;
  • An unidentified edition with a missing title, indica, and some of the pages of the first chapter, but containing the verses from chapter IV that were not included in the Indian Press edition (i.e., verses 53 through 79 under the heading "Vajrondi Mudra")