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84 Asana
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84 Āsanas
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84 Asanas
84 000 Āsanas taught by Śiva
is mentioned in several classic texts on yoga. Some of these āsanas are considered highly important in the yogic canon: texts that do mention the 84 frequently single out the first four as necessary or vital to attain yogic perfection. However, a complete list of Shiva's asanas remains as yet unverified, with only one text attempting a complete corpus.
Patanjali's Yoga Sutra (2nd century BC) does not mention a single asana by name, merely specifying the characteristics of a good asana. Later yoga texts however, do mention the 84 Classic Asanas and associate them with Shiva.The Goraksha Samhita (10-11th century CE), or Goraksha Paddhathi, an early hatha yogic text, describes the origin of the 84 classic asanas. Observing that there are as many postures as there are beings, and asserting that thereare 840,000 species in all, the text states that Lord Shiva fashioned an asana for each 100,000, thus giving 84 in all, although it mentions and describes only two in detail: the siddhāsana and the padmāsana.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (15th century CE) specifies that of these 84, the first four are important, namely the siddhāsana, padmāsana, bhadrāsana and simhāsana. The Hatha Ratnavali (17th century CE) is one of the few texts to attempt a listing of all the 84, although 4 out of its list do not have meaningful translations from the Sanskrit, and 21 are merely mentioned without any description. In all, 52 asanas of the Hatha Ratnavali are confirmed and described by the text itself, or other āsana corpora. The Gheranda Samhita (late 17th century CE) asserts that Shiva taught 8,400,000 asanas, out of which 84 are preeminent, and "32 are useful in the world of mortals." These 32 are: siddhāsana, padmāsana, bhadrāsana,muktāsana, vajrāsana, svastikāsana, simhāsana, gomukhāsana, virāsana, dhanurāsana, mritāsana, guptāsana,matsyāsana, matsyendrāsana, gorakshana, paschimottanāsana, utkatāsana, sankatāsana, mayūrāsana, kukkutāsana,kurmāsana, uttanakurmakasana, uttanamandukasana, vrikshasana, mandukasana, garudasana, vrishasana,shalabhasana, makarasana, ushtrasana, bhujangasana, and yogāsana. In Shiva Samhita (17-18th century CE) the poses ugrasana and svastikasana replace the latter two of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. To mention as well that 84 is significant to the Nath and Vajrayana traditions with 84 mahasiddhis.
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Yoga Pradipika
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Svami Svayamananda
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Śrītattvanidhi
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Ghosh 84 Asana
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Hatha Ratnavali
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First Steps to Higher Yoga
Significance of the number 84
A number frequently invoked as authentic by ancient and modern authorities is eight-four. Nothing is known about an original set of eighty-four āsanas. In the book by Gudrun, he hopes to make a contribution to the subject by inquiring into traditions of eighty-four classical or basic postures. Legend (the scriptures) speaks of 84 000 āsanas given by Shiva.
It should be mentioned that earlier texts that describe āsanas, give a minimal description probably because they served more as mnemonic devices to direct teaching than as teaching manuals.
Traditional sets of drawings of 84 āsanas are rare. Among the yogāsanas, there are 84 basic āsanas through which one can elevate consciousness. When we say 84 asanas, do not think of them as just 84 postures. These are 84 systems, 84 ways of attaining. Out of this, if you have mastery over even a single yogasana, everything that is worth knowing in the existence can be known. It is said that existence as we know it now, is seen as the 84th creation.
But, like 108, 84,000 is not just a randomly picked number. It’s a higher expression of the number four. Loosely, it’s 4 times a thousand, doubled, and then some. So it’s an abundance, a plenitude, a universe of fours.
The sanskrit names are romanised according to IAST - This is a guide to the transliteration and pronunciation
a is pronounced a as in a-ha (short a)
ā is a as in star (lengthened a) i as in hit (short)
ī as in lean/heat (long)
u as in put (short)
ū as in mute / cool (long)
ṛ as in rough (rolling sound)
e sounds like ay in pay
ai as in aisle (I'll as in I will)
o as in low
au as in how
ṇ, ṃ & ṁ, ṅis a nasal sound ong / omg
k is unaspirated where kh is an aspirated sound
g is always hard as in goat
c as in chin
ṣ & ś are similar to sh as in shout
ñ can be pronounced as nya
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