A landmark new translation and edition
Written almost two millennia ago, Patañjali's work focuses on how to attain the direct experience and realization of the purusa: the innermost individual self, or soul. As the classical treatise on the Hindu understanding of mind and consciousness and on the technique of meditation, it has exerted immense influence over the religious practices of Hinduism in India and, more recently, in the West.
Edwin F. Bryant's translation is clear, direct, and exact. Each sutra is presented as Sanskrit text, transliteration, and precise English translation, and is followed by Bryant's authoritative commentary, which is grounded in the classical understanding of yoga and conveys the meaning and depth of the su-tras in a user-friendly manner for a Western readership without compromising scholarly rigor or traditional authenticity. In addition, Bryant presents insights drawn from the primary traditional commentaries on the sutras written over the last millennium and a half.
About the Author
Edwin F. Bryant studied at Manchester University and University of London and received his PhD from Columbia University. He has taught in the religion departments at Harvard University and Columbia University, and since 2001 has been an assistant professor of religion at Rutgers University. Bryant has written numerous scholarly articles and reviews and has written, edited, or translated eight books, including The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary, and a translation of the four thousand verses of the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana called Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God.
