Once a sage after taking his
bath in the river stood in the water to perform his tapana with
his joined palms filled with water to offer to Sungod. As he was praying,
something fell into his palms. Looking into the object closely, the sage
observed a peculiar tiny being whose body was partly human and partly
snake. From chest to head the being was human with four arms and the rest
of the body resembled a snake's tail. Following his wish, the sage turned
the being into human size.
As
soon as the tiny being got the human size, he asked the sage - "What is my
name?" - "As you have been dropped into my palms" replied the sage
"your name shall be Pâtanjala" (in sanskrit pâta means something
dropped and anjala means both palms joined together to contain something). Thus
from that day the heavenly being became to be known as rishi Pâtanjala.
The part of Pâtanjala's body, which
resembled the tail of a snake, symbolizes the spine in the human being. The palms joined
to contain something symbolize the middle of the cranium (see Yoga Sûtra IV-27). When the
devine energy will well forth every moment from coccyx to the fontanel through that place,
then you will be able to attain kaivalya, the One and Only, the state of absolute
unity. This is the symbolic meaning of Pâtanjala.
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