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PREFACE
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It is really a matter of great pleasure to place before the scholars the first English translation of Yogadsșțisamuccaya (Sanskrit), one of Haribhadra's two major works, the other being Yogabindu. The present edition includes his minor work on Yoga viz. Yogavimśikā (Prakrit) too. The text of both the works is given in Nagari and Roman scripts.
In the Yogadsșțisamuccaya Haribhadra attempts a novel scheme of spiritual gradation. He divides the spiritual evolution into eight stages, eight dystis. This scheme seems to have been suggested by the Buddhist doctrine of eight distis that we come across in Abhidharmakośa and Bbāşya thereon. I would like to draw the kind attention of the scholars to the pertinent passages from the said works : cakşuś ca dharmadhātoś ca pradeśo dystih asfadha (Ak. I 41 ). sameghāmegharātrinidivardpadar. śanavat klistāklistalaukikiśaiksyaśaikşibhir distibhir dharınadarśanam (Bhāşya I. 41). This might bave suggested only the division of eight spiritual stages based on the different graded powers of spiritual vision acquired in the course of spiritual evolution. But the detailed working out of the sceme with the help of Patañjali's 8 yogājigas, Bhadanta-bhāskara's 8 giưnas and Bhagavaddatta's 8(a)-dosas is Haribhadra's own. Haribhadra's distinction between oghadrsti and yogadasti has some parallel in Buddhism. (oghā yogās tathā dystis tu jau kāritrahelutah (Ak. V. 37). From all this it is natural to deduce that Haribhadra was well acquainted with the Buddhist literature on Yoga and Acāra. It is interesting to compare the words and spirit of his verse citrā tu deśană etc. with those of the following Buddhist verses. (1) deśanāpi yathā citrā deśyate vyabhicărini/ deśanā hi yad anyasya tad anyasyāpyadeśanā // 122/ ( Subbāşitasangraha). (2) deśanā lokanālhānāri sattvāśayavaśānugā / bhidyate bahudhā loka upāyair bahubhiḥ punaḥ (Bhodbicittavivarana ). Thus Haribhadra's claim that he has composed Yogadşşțisamuccaya after having studied the yoga works of different systems is well attested. Haribhadra's crusade against theological sectarianism constitutes a special feature of this work,
