I’m in the process of buying the Yoga Sutra by a fellow named Patanjali translated to English, I’ve noticed though that there appear to be many translations, quite a few.
So I’m wondering if any of you could recommend a version for me to buy?
The translation and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda makes for a good read and the Isherwood text How to Know God strikes me as a good addition. I have both and each offers something slightly different.
Sri Swami Satchidananda gives lots of examples from life in his commentary. I like his translation the most.
[I]1.[I] Mukunda Stiles. [/I]Yoga Sutras of Patanjali–With Great Respect and Love.[/I] York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 2002. This is a poetic rendering of the Patanjali’s Sutras with practice guidelines. This is my favorite version.
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Swami Satchidananda, [I]The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[/I] Buckingham, VA: Integral Yoga Publications. 2004
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Iyengar, B.K.S., [I]Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[/I] New Delhi, India: Harper Collins Publications India. 1993
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Nischala Joy Devi. [I]The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman’s Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras. [/I]Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (March 20, 2007. A commentary on Patanjali?s Yoga Sutras that emanates from an An intuitive, feminine heart centered approach. This is one that haven’t read yet, though I have studied with Nischala and she is a wise and lovely teacher.
Each author has their own unique translation and interpretation of Patanjali’s Sutras. If you are able to, get more than one copy so that you can get a larger interpretation and have another text to reference for clarity. I have found the combination of Mukunda Stiles and Swami Satchidananda is best for me.
Namaste
I have read Makunda’s book on the sutras with great interest as before that I had read only simple one liner type versions. But I would welocme any suggestion for a good detailed version .
I have read the Rainbow Body versions and they are great but it’s hard to read this kind of depth on line - does anyone know of a similar version in book form.
I have been told that Georg Feursteins book is a little personal and may be out of date now - does anyone know if Chip Hardraft book is good?
Best Wishes
Barry
Hi
Not sure if you got the last thread but am looking for a detailed book version of the sutras - I know here is a lot on line but hard to read this stuff on line.
Any recommendations?
Barry
I wanted to add to this list of Patanjali’s Sutras since I have added these 2 to my quiver since I last posted in this thread:[U] How to Know God, The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali[/U] by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood and [U]Psychology of Mystical Awakening, A New World Translation of Patanjali’s Sutras [/U]by Swami Savitripriya. The other members of my Sutra study group don’t care for Isherwood as much as I do; their common complaint is that he is a bit dogmatic in his commentary and brings notes of Christianity into his translation. This may also be why I [I]do[/I] care for his voice, as my parents are devout Christians, and so it is familiar to me, that and he lived many years in Germany, another cultural connect to my family.
The other author, Swami Savitripriya, is a Western-born, monastic nun. She writes in her own introduction to her book above:I have done my best to translate enough of the underlying, implied meaning of each of the Sutras in a way that would be easily understood, and meaningful to Westerners and other English speaking people. I decide to assume that most people who would be reading these Sutras would not have any knowledge of Sanskrit, and little, if any, knowledge of philosophical or cosmological tradition. Since I am quite certain that this is the case, since even such widely used terms as “meditation,” “enlightenment,” "gunas, “non-attachment,” and many other terms are usually grossly misunderstood, I have written the implied meaning of the word in the context of Sutra…The meanings needed to be understood well enough for people to apply them to daily life, and understand precisely why they should, or should not, do what was being suggested. This resulted in my oten times using several words, a sentence, or even log paragraphs to define a [Sanskrit] word, especially the first time a word appeared.
I never did purchase Nischala Devi’s book, as my friend said it fell quite short in the 4th chapter, The Kaivalaya Pada.
And the authors who speak to me most in recent months: Stiles, Isherwood, Iyengar and Swami Savitripriya.
*nichole
Some people like certain writers and others hate them. So you can read a little of each of the translations and pick the one that you find easiest to understand. There is a writer Daniel Quinn who wrote Ishmael. Many people say his books changed their life and some say that they hate reading the rantings of a telepathic gorilla and have to stop reading it.
So I read it and where do I stand. There are some great insights in it and some stupid, idiotic stuff in it. I would say that it is worth reading for the good stuff. So pick the translation that you enjoy reading. The stupid stuff in Ishmael is the different things the gorilla does to make it seem human.
Thanks Nichole, for those posts,
Just wanted to share a lovely
book I have read from Nischala Joy Devi
called [I]The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman’s
Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras.[/I]
Three Rivers Press, 2007.
This is the first translation of Patanjali’s Sutras
"intended for women."
It is a new, dynamic interpretation; a heart-centered,
intuitive feminine perspective.
Hmm…perhaps there is a thread in here…? 
Namaste,
Nancy
[quote=barry;13446]Hi
Not sure if you got the last thread but am looking for a detailed book version of the sutras - I know here is a lot on line but hard to read this stuff on line.
Any recommendations?
Barry[/quote]
Hey Barry, if you wish to read a very detailed and descriptive version of the Sutra’s you should look up the following:
[B]The Science of Yoga: a commentary on the Yoga sutras of Patanjali in the light of modern thought[/B], by [I]Dr. I.K. Taimni.[/I]
He is a little strict and traditional here and there, but very descriptive as well.
If you still want a simpler version that’s still valuable to read I would also recommend the one by [I]Swami Satchidananda[/I].
Another good one that’s somewhere in between the two named above is the one by [I]Alice Bailey[/I].
Love,
Bentinho.
For the serious student, I like Georg Feuerstein’s translation. This was my first copy of the Sutra’s and I still use it as a reference. The main benefit is that he provides a literal translation of the Sanskrit, which is transliterated and translated word for word, along with the etymology of the words. This alone provides a wealth of insight.
What is your favorite Yoga Sutra book and why?
Please be as detailed as possible… thanks : )
My favorite translations are by Mukunda Stiles, Chip Hartranft and Swami Jnaneshvara. Mukunda’s rendering is poetic and accentuates devotion to “God” (see his version of sutra I-23). The text is not cluttered by commentary, but is clear on its own. Chip bridges the gap between yoga and buddhism - he describes everything from the point of “pure awareness”. He provides commentary for groups of aphorisms. Swami J gives really good explanations based on solid yoga philosophy. Of course there are many other translations on the internet.
I have seven or eight translations in my home. I keep three or four really close by. I like to read them side by side to try to come close to what Patanjali intended. I think that is what most students do. It really helps if a knowlegeable teacher explains them, too. Because I follow yogic sadhana for Patanjali’s first five steps and zen Buddhist practice for the other three, I like Chip Hartranft’s translation best.
Wonderful links, Willem, thank you! …and I appreciate your detailed commentary, too. I have found a few versions that I like, but I am always open to further exploration and each interpretation offers it’s own unique voice to the heart of the matter.
Appropriate translation can be done if someone is in the state of Nirvichar.
I would like to read Bhasya of Vyasa:
http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Darshana-Sutras-Patanjali-Bhasya-Vyasa/dp/0895819600
You can purchase that book, translated by “Charles Johnston”.
Hey thanks for the sites and suggestions…
I was looking for this from many days…
T.K.V. Desikachar (comes with CD) is a good companion to the Satchidananda one 
Greetings,
I find the questions in Bernard Bouanchaud’s The Essence of Yoga - Reflections on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali a fine guide for contemplation.
But my fave is Chip Hartranft’s The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali.
michael
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In the point of rest at the center of our being, we encounter
a world where all things are at rest in the same way. Then a
tree becomes a mystery, a cloud a revelation, each man a
cosmos of whose riches we can only catch glimpses. The life
of simplicity is simple, but it opens to us a book in which we
never get beyond the first syllable.
- Dag Hammarskj?ld, Markings
ayoganotebook.com
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This is good information!
I accidently come to this page, initially thought to hits back button but somehow I got interested into it and I read all posts and it took me for around one hr.