धारणा ध्यान समाधिdhāraṇā · dhyāna · samādhi
Dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi, the three inner limbs
3 min read · Updated October 16, 2026 · sources checked October 16, 2026
In short
In the Yoga Sutras, dhāraṇā is binding the mind to one place (3.1); dhyāna is the uninterrupted flow of attention towards that object (3.2); samādhi is the same meditation when only the object shines, as if empty of itself (3.3). Practised together on one object, the three are called saṃyama (3.4). They are the sixth, seventh and eighth limbs of yoga.
Patañjali's eight limbs (Yoga Sutra 2.29) move from the outside in. The first five, from ethics to the withdrawal of the senses, prepare. The last three, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi, are the work of the mind itself. Patañjali opens the third book of the Yoga Sutras with them, in three short lines.
The three definitions
देशबन्धश्चित्तस्य धारणा ॥
deśa-bandhaś cittasya dhāraṇā ||
Concentration is binding the mind to a place.
तत्र प्रत्ययैकतानता ध्यानम् ॥
tatra pratyayaikatānatā dhyānam ||
Meditation is, there, the one unbroken flow of awareness.
तदेवार्थमात्रनिर्भासं स्वरूपशून्यमिव समाधिः ॥
tad evārtha-mātra-nirbhāsaṃ svarūpa-śūnyam iva samādhiḥ ||
Absorption is that same meditation, when only the object shines forth, as if empty of its own form.
Word by word
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| deśa | place, point, region |
| bandha | binding, fastening |
| citta | the mind, the field of consciousness |
| dhāraṇā | holding, from dhṛ, to hold, to bear |
| tatra | there (in that place) |
| pratyaya | the content of awareness, the cognition |
| eka-tānatā | being stretched in one, a single continuous thread |
| artha-mātra | the object alone |
| nirbhāsa | shining forth, appearing |
| svarūpa-śūnyam iva | as if empty of its own form |
Dhāraṇā: holding
Dhāraṇā comes from the root dhṛ, to hold. The mind is tied to a "place": a point in the body (the navel, the heart, the point between the eyebrows), an external object, a sound, an image. In practice it still takes effort: the attention leaves, you bring it back. Every beginner's session is mostly dhāraṇā, and that is exactly as it should be.
Patañjali says that breath practice makes the mind fit for concentrations (2.53), and that the withdrawal of the senses, pratyāhāra, comes just before (2.54). This is why sitting, breathing calmly and closing the eyes come first in how to meditate.
Dhyāna: flowing
Tatra, "there": in the same place. When the attention no longer needs to be dragged back but flows towards the object like a continuous thread (eka-tānatā), it is dhyāna. Later Indian commentaries often compare such meditation to a stream of oil poured from one vessel into another, without a break. Dhāraṇā is a series of returns; dhyāna is a stream.
Samādhi: absorbed
In samādhi the same meditation deepens until only the object shines, and the meditator's sense of "I am meditating" falls away, "as if empty of its own form". The word sam-ā-dhi means "putting together, settling completely".
Patañjali distinguishes several kinds (book 1): samādhi "with seed" (sabīja), still supported by an object, at levels from gross to subtle (1.41-1.46), and samādhi "without seed" (nirbīja), when even that last impression is stilled (1.51). He also warns that extraordinary experiences arising in meditation are obstacles to samādhi, even if they look like powers to the outer world (3.37).
The Haṭhapradīpikā, a later haṭha text, gives one of the most beautiful images of samādhi: "As salt dissolved in water becomes one with it, so the union of the self and the mind is called samādhi" (4.5, GRETIL numbering, our translation). It lists its synonyms too: rāja-yoga, unmanī, manonmanī, amaratva, laya, the "fourth" (4.3-4.4).
Saṃyama: the three together
त्रयमेकत्र संयमः ॥
trayam ekatra saṃyamaḥ ||
The three on one object: that is saṃyama.
The three are not separate exercises but stages of one movement, which Patañjali calls saṃyama, "holding together". He adds that these three are more inward than the five limbs before them (3.7), yet still outer compared with seedless samādhi (3.8).
A practice of dhāraṇā, ten minutes
- Sit with the spine upright, eyes closed, breathing naturally for one minute.
- Choose one place: the point between the eyebrows, the heart, or the tip of the nose where the breath enters.
- Rest the attention there. When it leaves, notice where it went and bring it back, gently, as many times as needed.
- If it helps, join a syllable to the point: Om silently with each out-breath.
- After eight minutes, release the point and sit without any object for one minute.
- Open the eyes slowly.
Good to know
Do not try to "reach" dhyāna or samādhi. Patañjali's method is the repeated, patient return (1.12-1.14). What comes after is not produced by force.
Where to go next
The full ladder of the eight limbs is on the eight limbs of yoga, and the text itself on the Yoga Sutras. For a mantra-supported dhāraṇā, see mantra meditation and japa; for being led through the steps, the guided meditation. The meditation chapter gathers everything.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between dharana and dhyana?
Dhāraṇā is placing and holding the mind on one point; it still takes effort and attention keeps being brought back. Dhyāna is when that attention flows continuously, without interruption, towards the same object.
What is samadhi in simple words?
Absorption: meditation so complete that the sense of a separate meditator fades and only the object is present. Patañjali describes several degrees of it.
Can a beginner reach samadhi?
The texts present samādhi as the fruit of long practice. A beginner practises dhāraṇā, and moments of dhyāna come with regularity.
What is saṃyama?
The three practised together on the same object. Patañjali says they are more inward than the first five limbs (3.7).
Sources
- Patañjali, Yogasūtra, Sanskrit text (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 16, 2026
- The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, translated by Charles Johnston (1912), Project Gutenberg checked October 16, 2026
- Haṭhayogapradīpikā of Svātmārāma, Sanskrit text, chapter 4 (GRETIL) checked October 16, 2026