Concerns about authenticity seem to have preoccupied Jain intellectuals who systematized yoga through their Jain lenses. This paper explores how and why some of the most renowned Jain thinkers made claims about the "true" essence of yoga. From early on, Jain authors discussing yoga claimed special authority for their own yogic ideas and practices, asserting that theirs is the "real" or "authentic" yoga. Jain yoga texts abound in classifications of different types of yoga practitioners, ranking them based on their capabilities. These classifications not only reflect hierarchical value judgments toward yogins from other religious traditions but also evaluate Jain aspirants who may not fully align with the idealized yogic standards set by the texts. Furthermore, debates over who is qualified to practice yoga and which forms of yoga hold superior status serve as rhetorical strategies that reinforce Jain constructions of authority and identity. Through these discussions, Jain thinkers actively shaped the contours of Jain yoga while negotiating its place within broader religious and philosophical traditions.
More specifically, I examine underlying concerns about authenticity in Jain yoga texts through the works of two renowned Jain philosophers: Haribhadra (circa 6th–8th century), a prolific writer on yoga, and Yaśovijaya (1624–1688), often regarded as the last great philosopher of the Jain tradition, who further developed and expanded these discussions. Both Haribhadra and Yaśovijaya systematized yoga in distinct ways, categorizing different types of yoga practitioners and delineating their levels of attainment. The paper argues that beneath their systematizations and classifications lies an ongoing preoccupation with defining and legitimizing "authentic" yoga. By focusing on a period predating the British Raj (1858–1947), this study highlights that Jain intellectuals were already engaged in debates over yoga’s authenticity long before the height of British colonial rule in India.
Haribhadra's Yogaśatakam (YŚ), composed in Prakrit and with an auto-commentary in Sanskrit, delineates two types of yoga: (1) niścaya (actual), and (2) vyavahāra (conventional). The former represents the higher aspect of yoga, where the attainment of liberation is facilitated through the cultivation of right knowledge (samyag-jñāna) and related virtues by the practitioner (YŚ 2–3). In contrast, vyavahāra yoga pertains to the practical dimension of religious discipline, through which the practitioner acquires the necessary qualities to progress toward niścaya yoga. These two terms, likely borrowed from Kundakunda, reflect a differentiation between what is considered more valuable in the context of spiritual practice.
In the Yogaśatakam, Haribhadra differentiates between three types of yogins who possess the authority and qualifications to practice and teach yoga (adhikārin): (1) apunarbandhaka, those who refrain from sinful activities and adhere to ethical conduct (YŚ 13); (2) samyag-dṛṣṭi, those who are deeply eager to hear the teachings of Jain Dharma and show devotion toward their gurus and deities (YŚ 14); and (3) samyag-cāritrī, those who closely follow the Jain path (YŚ 15). In another yoga text by Haribhadra, the Yogabindu (YB), which is longer and entirely written in Sanskrit, these three types of religious aspirants are revisited, with detailed descriptions of each and their qualifications for yoga and liberatory insight (YB 178–424).
Interestingly, in Haribhadra's Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya (YDS) another Jain yoga text probably written at a later period, there is another differentiation between four kinds of yogins: (1) family (gotra) yogins, who are born into a family of yogins but do not necessarily follow the teachings of yoga (2) clan (kula) yogins, who are also born into a family of yogins and practice yoga, (3) engaged (pravṛttacakrā) yogins, who seriously aspire to improve, and the (4) accomplished (niṣpanna) yogins, who reach the highest stage in yoga (YDS 210–213). Haribhadra notes that the kula and the pravṛttacakrā yogins can study his yoga text, but not the other two groups (YDS 209). Chapple (2003, 75–85) suggests that Haribhadra refers to the Tantric Kula tradition with the second group and argues that some verses contain a critique of their practices. Dixit (1970, 93) clarifies that the gotra yogins are underqualified, while the niṣpanna yogins are overqualified. To describe the stage of overqualification or accomplishment in yoga, Haribhadra uses the term avañcaka-yoga, which can be translated as "honest" or "sincere" yoga. Scholars have translated this as "unfailing circumstance" (Dixit 1970, 94) and "yoga of primal authenticity" (Chapple 2003, 149).
Yaśovijaya further develops Haribhadra's ideas in chapter 19, titled "The Discernment of Yoga" (Yoga-viveka-dvātriṃśikā), of his Sanskrit text Dvātriṃśaddvātriṃśikā, which includes an auto-commentary. He either directly copies or quotes verses discussing the different kinds of yogins from the YDS and uses the term avañcaka-yoga ("authentic" yoga) even more frequently than Haribhadra (verses 24, 29, and 31). He also uses terms like vāstava ("real," "true," or "genuine," verse 13), which could carry a value judgment not only toward yogins from other traditions but also toward Jains who may not practice sufficiently or in the "proper" way. In this chapter, Yaśovijaya strengthens his authoritative voice by referencing Haribhadra and citing two highly revered Jain texts: the Ācārāṅgasūtra and the Tattvārthasūtra.
Yaśovijaya's 17th-century context saw the rise of bhakti movements, Sufi traditions, Nāth yogi sects, and mother goddess cults, along with widespread conversions in Gujarat. His region also hosted a diverse trading population, including Arabs, Persians, Tartars, Armenians, Dutch, Portuguese, French, and English merchants (Shah 2017, 24). Politically, the Mughal Empire was in power, and the Sufi doctrine of waḥdat al-wujūd (‘Unity of Being’) promoting a unified spiritual vision across religions was prominent among Indian intellectuals. Several Hindu texts were translated into Persian through this lens (Ganeri 2008, 31–38). Yaśovijaya engaged with non-Jain thinkers on various issues, including yoga, likely due to this intellectual climate.
Despite engaging with other currents of thought, Yaśovijaya–and also Haribhadra–interpret yoga practices through the lens of Jain soteriology and Jain karma doctrine, subordinating other traditions to the Jain perspective. For them, yoga functions by eliminating karma, a material substance that obstructs the soul and hinders its brilliance. Other traditions, they argue, offer nothing beyond what is already embodied in Jain yoga, the 'true' and 'authentic' path."
This paper explores discourses surrounding the authenticity of yoga within Jain intellectual traditions, focusing on the works of Haribhadra (6th–8th century) and Yaśovijaya (1624–1688). These thinkers positioned their yoga practices as the "true" or "authentic" form in juxtaposition with other religious traditions. By categorizing practitioners based on their capabilities and progress in yoga practice, their texts reflect hierarchical judgments and reinforce Jain identity. I examine Haribhadra’s classifications of yogins across various works and investigate how Yaśovijaya expands on these ideas, offering original translations. Both authors emphasize avañcaka-yoga ("authentic yoga") as the final stage in yoga practice, achieved through purification resulting from adherence to Jain ethical precepts and ascetic disciplines. I show how they engaged with broader intellectual currents while firmly situating their systematizations of yoga within Jain soteriology and Jain karma doctrine.