Kāyasampat
By Swami Harshananda
Kāyasampat literally means ‘wealth of the body’.
The Yogasutras of Patañjali (200 B. C.) is the most authoritative work on the science of yoga. In the third chapter titled as Vibhutipāda, Pataṅjali has listed a large number of siddhis or extraordinary powers that a yogi develops as a result of saiyama[1] on a variety of objects.
When saiyama is practiced on the pañcabhutas or the five basic elements like earth, water, fire, air and sky or ether, the yogi develops aṣṭasiddhis or the eight special powers by will like becoming small or big, light or heavy and so on. Along with these eight powers, he also gets two more powers:
- Kāyasampat - wealth of the body
- Transcending the obstacles of the five elements
Kāyasampat pertains to the body of the yogi. His body will be very handsome, perfectly proportionate, has great strength and Vajrasarhananatva or very hard muscular structure. Hanumān is given as an example for the last quality.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore