A Critical Review of Shiva Samhita and its Contribution to Yoga

Abstract

The Shiva Samhita or the compendium of Shiva is an ancient text on practice of Yoga. It is one among the lesser known texts of Yoga. It is believed that the Shiva Samhita is a dialogue between Lord Shiva and his consort, Parvati. The discourse includes detailed instructions on how to perform Yogaasanas, pranayama, tantric practices, mudras and bandhas which is explained across five chapters. There are two standard textbooks of Shiva Samhita with English translation which are available; one is by Sirisa Chandra Bahadur Vasu and other by James Mallinson. This review article on Shiva Samhita is primarily based on the English translation text by the former author. This article highlights and critically reviews the various concepts that are explained across the five chapters of the text. Keywords: Shiva Samhita, yoga, asana, pranayama, mudras Cite this Article Prasad DS, Sowmya MN, Reddy SP. A Critical Review of Shiva Samhita and its Contribution to Yoga. Research and Reviews: A Journal of Ayurvedic Science, Yoga and Naturopathy . 2018; 5(3): 13–18p