History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.179.1

v7.c94.179.1

There is another matter for consideration. In the Yājñavalkya-smṛti, Yājñavalkya is put forward as saying that the soul shining like a lamp in the heart should be realized, that on such realization the soul is not born again and as adding that for the purpose of attaining to Yoga one should understand the Āraṇyaka²³⁰⁵ which ‘I received from the Sun and also the Yogaśāstra propounded by me.' In the Kūrmapurāna it is said that Yājñavalkya composed Yogaśāstra at the order of Hara and the Visnupurāna (IV. 4. 107) states that Hiranyanābha attained the knowledge of Yoga from the great Yogīśvara Yājñavalkya who was a pupil of Jaimini. In the Brhadāranyaka Up. (II. 4) Yājñavalkya tells his wife Maitreyī (who hankered after immortality and cared naught for worldly goods) that he would expound to her the path to immortality and the very first sentence calls upon her to cultivate 'nididhyāsa' (i. e. dhyāna) and the first part of his discourse ends with the memorable words (ātmā vā are drastavyah śrotavyo mantavyo nididhyāsitavyah, Br. Up II. 4. 5). What work is meant by the Yogaśāstra composed by Yāj is a debatable point. There are three works (other than the Yāj. smrti) connected with the name of Yājñavalkya viz... Vrddha-Yājñavalkya, Yoga-Yājñavalkya and Brhad-yogī-yājñavalkya (vide H. of Dh. vol. I. p. 188-190). The last has been published by Kaivalyadhama, Lonavla (1951), the Yoga-Yāj. was published in T. S. S. (1938) based on a single ms., then in the JBBRAS (vol.