The Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā (Sanskrit: haṭhayogapradīpikā, हठयोगप्रदीपिका ) is a classic fifteenth-century Sanskrit manual on haṭha yoga, written by Svātmārāma. In the text, Svātmārāma traces the lineage of the teachings to Matsyendranath of the Natha tradition.
The Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā lists thirty-five earlier Haṭha Yoga masters (siddhas), including Ādi Nātha, Matsyendranāth and Gorakṣanāth. The work consists of 389 shlokas (verses) in four chapters that describe topics including purification (Sanskrit: ṣaṭkarma), posture (āsana), breath control (prāṇāyāma), spiritual centres in the body (chakra), kuṇḍalinī, energetic locks (bandha), energy (prāṇa), channels of the subtle body (nāḍī), and energetic seals (mudrā).
Chapter 1 deals with setting the proper environment for yoga, the ethical duties of a yogi, and the asanas.
Chapter 2 deals with pranayama and the satkarmas.
Chapter 3 discusses the mudras and their benefits.
Chapter 4 deals with meditation and samadhi (Nadanusandhana) as a journey of personal spiritual growth.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika presents two contradictory models of how Hatha Yoga may lead to immortality (moksha), both culled from other texts, without attempting to harmonise them.
The earlier model involves the manipulation of Bindu; it drips continually from the moon centre in the head, falling to its destruction either in the digestive fire of the belly (the sun centre), or to be ejaculated as semen, with which it was identified. The loss of Bindu causes progressive weakening and ultimately death. In this model, Bindu is to be conserved, and the various mudras act to block its passage down the Sushumna nadi, the central channel of the subtle body.
The later model involves the stimulation of Kundalini, visualised as a small serpent coiled around the base of the Sushumna nadi. In this model, the mudras serve to unblock the channel, allowing Kundalini to rise. When Kundalini finally reaches the top at the Sahasrara chakra, the thousand-petalled lotus, the store of Amrita, the nectar of immortality stored in the head, is released. The Amrita then floods down through the body, rendering it immortal.
