Patanjali - Bronze Idol 5"
Patanjali - was a sage in ancient India (2nd century BC), the author of a number of Sanskrit works. The greatest of these are the Yoga Sutras, a classical text on Yoga. The Yoga Sūtras are 196 Indian sutras (aphorisms) on Yoga - Ashtanga Yoga. It was the most translated ancient Indian text in the medieval era, having been translated into forty Indian languages and into Old Javanese and Arabic. The text fell into obscurity for nearly 700 years from the 12th to 19th century, and made a comeback in late 19th century due to the efforts of Swami Vivekananda and others.
A mythical version of Patanjali's origin, relates that in order to teach yoga on earth, he fell from heaven in the form of a little snake, into the upturned palms (a gesture known as anjali) of his virgin mother, Gonika, herself a powerful yogini. He’s regarded as an incarnation of the thousand-headed serpent-king named Remainder (Shesha) or Endless (Ananta), whose coils are said to support the god Vishnu.
- The compiler of the Yoga sutra, a text on Yoga theory and practice, and a notable scholar of Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. The Yogasutras is one of the most important texts in the Indian tradition and the foundation of classical Yoga.
- The author of a medical text called Patanjalatantra. He is cited and this text is quoted in many medieval health sciences-related texts, and Patanjali is called a medical authority in a number of Sanskrit texts
Patanjali continues to be honoured with invocations and shrines in some forms of modern postural yoga, such as Iyengar Yoga and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.
About the Bronze Idol
This idol of Patanjali, has been created by Senthil, a master craftsman from Swamimalai, Tamilnadu and his team. The process of making the bronze idol follows the "Lost Wax Method" popularised by 10th century Chola kings. Beewax model is first made by hand, converted into a mould, hot molten bronze poured in to replace the melted wax. It is then cooled and finished to perfection.
