Patanjali Yoga Sutra 2.32

Sanskrit Sutra

शौच-सन्तोष-तपःस्वाध्यायेश्वरप्रणिधानानि नियमाः॥३२॥

Swami Vivekananda's translation

Internal and external purification, contentment, mortification, study, and worship of God are the Niyamas.

Vyasa Bhashya (Sanskrit)

तत्र शौचं मृज्जलादिजनितं मेध्याभ्यवहरणादि च बाह्यम्। आभ्यन्तरं चित्तमलानामाक्षालनम्। संतोषः संनिहितसाधनादधिकस्यानुपादित्सा। तपो द्वंद्वसहनम्। द्वंद्वाश्च जिघत्सापिपासे शीतोष्णे स्थानासने काष्ठमौनाकारमौने च। व्रतानि चैषां यथायोगं कृच्छ्रचान्द्रायणसांतपनादीनि। स्वाध्यायो मोक्षशास्त्राणामध्ययनं प्रणवजपो वा। ईश्वरप्रणिधानं तस्मिन्परमगुरौ सर्वकर्मार्पणम्।

शय्यासनस्थोऽथ पथि व्रजन्वा स्वस्थः परिक्षीणवितर्कजालः।

संसारबीजक्षयमीक्षमाणः स्यान्नित्ययुक्तोऽमृतभोगभागी ॥

यत्रेदमुक्तं ततः प्रत्यक्चेतनाधिगमोऽप्यन्तरायाभावश्चेति ॥ ३२ ॥

Vyasa Bhashya (English Translation)

Therein, Shaucha (cleanliness) is external, brought about by earth and water etc., as well as the consumption of pure food. Internal cleanliness is the washing away of the impurities of the mind.

Santosha (contentment) is the absence of desire to acquire anything more than the means at hand (what is immediately present).

Tapas (austerity) is the endurance of the pairs of opposites (dvandvas). These pairs are: hunger and thirst, cold and heat, standing and sitting, and the silence of a block of wood (kashta-mauna, where nothing is indicated by gesture) and silence of speech (akara-mauna, silence with gestures). And the vows related to these, as appropriate, are the Kricchra, Chandrayana, and Santapana penances, etc.

Svadhyaya (study) is the study of the scriptures of liberation, or the repetition of the Pranava (Om).

Ishvara-pranidhana (surrender to God) is the offering of all actions to Him, the Supreme Teacher (Parama-guru).

“Whether resting on a bed or a seat, or walking on the path, the one who is established in himself, whose network of distracting thoughts (vitarkas) has completely waned, and who is witnessing the destruction of the seeds of worldly existence (samsara), he is perpetually united (nitya-yukta) and becomes a partaker of the enjoyment of the nectar of immortality.”

Regarding this (Ishvara-pranidhana), it has been said before (in Sutra 1.29): “From that comes the realization of the inward-turned consciousness, and also the absence of obstacles.” || 32 ||

The Five Niyamas (Observances) according to Vyasa

Vyasa defines each of the five Niyamas with specific traditional practices and psychological attitudes.

Niyama	Sanskrit	Vyasa’s Definition	Key Insight
Cleanliness	शौच (Shaucha)	External (मृज्जलादिजनितं) and Internal (चित्तमलानामाक्षालनम्)	External purification involves water, earth, and pure food; internal purification is washing away mental impurities.
Contentment	संतोष (Santosha)	संनिहितसाधनादधिकस्यानुपादित्सा	The absence of desire for anything beyond the resources immediately at hand.
Austerity	तपस् (Tapas)	द्वंद्वसहनम् (Endurance of the pairs of opposites)	Includes enduring hunger/thirst, heat/cold, standing/sitting, and practicing extreme silences (kashta-mauna and akara-mauna).
Study	स्वाध्याय (Svadhyaya)	मोक्षशास्त्राणामध्ययनं प्रणवजपो वा	The study of scriptures related to liberation (moksha-shastras) and the chanting of Om (Pranava).
Surrender to God	ईश्वरप्रणिधान (Ishvara-Pranidhana)	तस्मिन्परमगुरौ सर्वकर्मार्पणम्	Offering all actions to the Supreme Teacher. Brings inward-consciousness and removes all obstacles.

Chapter link: Yoga Sutra Chapter 2