विभूतिपादvibhūti-pāda · the quarter on manifestations of power
Vibhūti-pāda, the book of attainments
2 min read · Updated October 17, 2026 · sources checked October 17, 2026
In short
Vibhūti-pāda is the third book of the Yoga Sutras, with 55 sutras in the GRETIL edition. It defines the three inner limbs, concentration, meditation and absorption, which together form saṃyama (3.4), then lists the extraordinary attainments (siddhi) said to follow from saṃyama on various objects. Sutra 3.37 calls them obstacles to absorption, and 3.50 makes freedom depend on letting them go.
The book in one paragraph
Book 2 ended with the five outer limbs. Book 3 of the Yoga Sutras begins with the three inner ones, concentration, meditation and absorption, and names their union saṃyama. It then explains how the mind changes from moment to moment, and devotes most of its length to the vibhūtis, the manifestations of power said to arise from saṃyama on particular objects. The book ends where it was always heading: discriminating knowledge, and freedom.
The plan, sutra by sutra (GRETIL numbering)
| Sutras | Theme |
|---|---|
| 3.1-3.3 | Dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi |
| 3.4-3.8 | Saṃyama: the three together; inner compared with the earlier limbs, outer compared with seedless absorption |
| 3.9-3.15 | Transformations of the mind and of things (pariṇāma) |
| 3.16-3.36 | Knowledge and powers from saṃyama on various objects |
| 3.37 | They are obstacles to absorption |
| 3.38-3.49 | Further powers: entering another body, lightness, mastery of the elements and senses |
| 3.50-3.51 | Freedom through renouncing even these; do not be flattered by the celestials |
| 3.52-3.55 | Discriminating knowledge and independence |
Key sutras
Concentration (3.1).
देशबन्धश्चित्तस्य धारणा ॥
deśa-bandhaś cittasya dhāraṇā ||
Concentration is binding the mind to one place.
Meditation (3.2).
तत्र प्रत्ययैकतानता ध्यानम् ॥
tatra pratyayaika-tānatā dhyānam ||
Meditation is the single, unbroken flow of awareness there.
Absorption (3.3).
तदेवार्थमात्रनिर्भासं स्वरूपशून्यमिव समाधिः ॥
tad evārtha-mātra-nirbhāsaṃ svarūpa-śūnyam iva samādhiḥ ||
That same, when only the object shines and the mind seems empty of its own form, is absorption.
Saṃyama (3.4).
त्रयमेकत्र संयमः ॥
trayam ekatra saṃyamaḥ ||
The three on one object are saṃyama.
Word by word: trayam, the triad; ekatra, in one place, on one object; saṃyamaḥ, holding together. How to practise the three, without promises, is set out on dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi.
The siddhis, as the text presents them
From 3.16 onwards, each sutra pairs an object of saṃyama with a result. A few examples, in the text's own terms:
| Sutra | Saṃyama on | Result claimed by the text |
|---|---|---|
| 3.16 | the three transformations | knowledge of past and future |
| 3.18 | latent impressions | knowledge of previous births |
| 3.19 | another's mental content | knowledge of other minds |
| 3.21 | the form of the body | invisibility |
| 3.24 | strengths (of an elephant…) | those strengths |
| 3.26 | the sun | knowledge of the worlds |
| 3.34 | the heart | understanding of the mind |
| 3.39 | mastery of udāna, the upward breath | no contact with water, mud or thorns; at death, departure at will (Vyāsa) |
| 3.44-3.45 | the elements, in five aspects | mastery of the elements, then the powers beginning with minuteness (aṇimādi) |
Vyāsa lists these as eight sovereign powers: becoming minute, light, vast; reaching anything (he gives the example of touching the moon with a fingertip); unhindered will, rising from and sinking into the earth as into water; mastery; sovereignty; and the power that whatever one resolves comes to be.
We report these as the text states them. The Yoga Sutras assert them; no scientific evidence supports them; and Patañjali himself immediately puts them in their place.
The warning (3.37) and the renunciation (3.50)
ते समाधावुपसर्गा व्युत्थाने सिद्धयः ॥
te samādhāv upasargā vyutthāne siddhayaḥ ||
In absorption they are obstacles; to the outward-turned mind they are attainments.
Word by word: te, they (according to Vyāsa, the intuitions of 3.36); samādhau, in absorption; upasargāḥ, obstacles, disturbances; vyutthāne, in the outward-turned state; siddhayaḥ, accomplishments. Vyāsa: for the concentrated mind they arise as obstacles because they work against the vision of the seer. In editions of 196 sutras this is 3.38.
तद्वैराग्यादपि दोषबीजक्षये कैवल्यम् ॥
tad-vairāgyād api doṣa-bīja-kṣaye kaivalyam ||
Through non-attachment even to that, when the seeds of fault are destroyed, comes independence.
Vyāsa's commentary on 3.51 is one of the most vivid passages in the whole work. The celestials invite the yogi who has reached the stage called "honeyed" (madhumatī): "Sit here, enjoy yourself here; here is a desirable pleasure, a desirable maiden, an elixir that keeps off old age and death, a chariot of the air." The yogi is to reflect that he has found the lamp of yoga after long burning in the coals of rebirth, and not throw himself back into the fire for a mirage. Not even pride is allowed: thinking "even the gods desire me" breeds complacency, as if death were not already holding him by the hair, and through that carelessness the afflictions rise again.
The goal (3.55)
सत्त्वपुरुषयोः शुद्धिसाम्ये कैवल्यमिति ॥
sattva-puruṣayoḥ śuddhi-sāmye kaivalyam iti ||
When the mind's clarity is as pure as the seer, there is independence.
What it changes for your practice
- Concentration before meditation. Bind the attention to one place (3.1); meditation is what happens when that holding becomes a flow (3.2). See how to meditate.
- Do not chase experiences. Lights, sensations, "special" states: the text's attitude to far greater wonders is clear (3.37).
- Read the powers as a test. Every promise of power is an invitation like the celestials' in 3.51. The book's last word is freedom, not ability.
The last book, Kaivalya-pāda, explains what that freedom is.
Questions people ask
What are the siddhis in the Yoga Sutras?
Extraordinary attainments that book 3 attributes to saṃyama on particular objects: knowledge of past and future, of previous births, of other minds, strength, lightness, mastery of the elements, and the eight powers beginning with minuteness. The text presents them as by-products, not goals.
Are the siddhis real?
The Yoga Sutras assert them, as many Indian texts do. No scientific study has shown them, and we make no claim either way. What the text itself stresses is that they distract from absorption (3.37) and must be renounced (3.50).
What does vibhuti mean?
Vibhūti means manifestation of might, power, splendour. The book takes its name from the attainments it describes.
Why is sutra 3.37 sometimes numbered 3.38?
Editions that count 196 sutras treat a sentence after 3.21 as a sutra; GRETIL prints it inside Vyāsa's commentary. From there to the end of book 3, numbers differ by one.
Sources
- Patañjali, Yogasūtra, Sanskrit text, ed. Āgāśe 1904, digitised by Philipp A. Maas (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 17, 2026
- Patañjali, Yogasūtra with Vyāsa's Yogabhāṣya, Sanskrit text (GRETIL): 3.21, 3.37, 3.45, 3.51 checked October 17, 2026
- Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), entry vibhūti, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries checked October 17, 2026
- James Haughton Woods, The Yoga-System of Patañjali, Harvard Oriental Series 17 (1914), Internet Archive checked October 17, 2026