Meaning behind Virabhadrasana: Embodying The Warrior

Have you ever wondered where the names for yoga postures came from? Why the shapes we make in class are called ‘tree’, ‘cobra’, ‘cat’ and ‘cow’? Or how exactly the Sanskrit words ‘adho mukha svanasana’ and ‘ardha chandrasana’ can be translated to ‘downward facing dog’ and ‘half moon pose’? In this blog, we’ll discover the deeper meaning behind the Warrior 1, 2 and 3 yoga postures, and how to embody what the posture really means….

In my last blog post about the Sanskrit language, I mentioned how Sanskrit is a vibrational language, and that the syllables and sounds made when saying the words contain the essence of what the word represents. In the very same way, when we say the names of different yoga postures using the Sanskrit words, the intention is to really embody the essence and feeling of the posture – not to just simply perform a shape….

The ancient yogis were surrounded by nature, so when they began practising different postures as a way to change their energetic, subtle and physical energy and state of mind, it was their surroundings that inspired them. Dating back thousands of years, the practice of yoga began with meditation, and it wasn’t really until much later on that postures and physical movement became a part of ‘yoga’.

The first yoga asana were actually seated positions – things like sukhasana ‘easy pose’, or padmasana ‘lotus pose’ – intended for meditation. Tantric Yoga practices actually had a big part to play in encouraging the use of movement and postures in order to stir up and change feelings and sensations in the mind and body, but special importance was given to the act of cleansing and purifying. These cleansing rituals, sometimes known as ‘kriyas’ involved things like Jala Neti (nasal cleansing using water from a ‘neti pot’) all the way through to Vhastra Dhauti, which involves swallowing up to three metres of cloth soaked in salty water in order to remove excess mucus from the digestive tract.

As you can imagine; cleaning noses and swallowing cloths doesn’t exactly sit too well with middle-class folk, and neither does it fill yoga classes in the West, which is why when Western practitioners became interested in yoga, the teachers from the East had to alter things slightly. Bodies from different parts of the world are suited to different things, and different cultures are more accepting of different practices, which is why yoga in the West became more about aesthetics and the way the body could move, and also perhaps why we have missed out on learning the deeper and more ancient, traditional meanings behind yoga postures when we learn them.

Now revered as the ‘godfathers of yoga’, teachers like Krishnamacharya, BKS Iyengar, Indra Devi and Ashtanga founder Pattabhi Jois brought much of the physical yoga practice to the West, which is when words like Virabhadrasana eka, dwi and tri (Warrior one, two and three) were first heard by Western ears.

The Tale of The Warrior

If Sanskrit is indeed vibrational, and if the words hold the essence of what the Warrior postures represent, what are we ‘supposed’ to be embodying or feeling when we’re in the posture that might not be so obvious to the naked eye?

I’ll let BKS Iyenger tell you the story:

“Daksa (an ancient Indian King, according to Hindu legend, and a son of Lord Brahma the Creator) once celebrated a great sacrifice, but he did not invite his daughter Sati nor her husband Shiva, the chief of the Gods. Sati however, went to the sacrifice, but being greatly humiliated and insulted, threw herself into the fire and perished. When Shiva heard this he was gravely provoked, (Shiva is a pretty angry guy with a short temper….) tore a hair from his matted locks and threw it to the ground. A powerful hero named Virabhadra rose up and awaited his orders”.

The rest of the story essentially goes that Shiva ordered Virabhadra to lead an army against Daksa, destroy the sacrificial ceremony and behead the king himself because of Sati’s sadness and death. Indeed, quite an over reaction to not being invited to the party….

So Virabhadra is a warrior, and the warrior postures are dedicated to him and his loyalty and bravery, but what does the word Virabhadra actually mean?

A Peaceful Warrior

The Sanskrit word Vira means ‘hero’, referring to someone who specifically exhibits a courageous and heroic disposition. An ancient text the Kula-Arnava- Tantra describes the term Vira as:

“On account of being free from passion, intoxication, affliction, anger, jealousy, and delusion, and on account of being far removed from activity and intertia, he is called a hero”

The similar word Virya also describes ‘vitality’ or ‘energy’, an aspect of the warrior.

The word Bhadra means ‘auspicious’, ‘companion’ and sometimes ‘friend’. We can understand the term Virabhadra then, to represent a friendly, courageous and prosperous hero; someone to help and not harm; someone whose job it is to protect instead of provoke, and the embodiment of the story of an ancient Warrior, passed down through the ages.

So, maybe the next time a yoga teacher calls out “Warrior Two!” It might mean a little more to you than it did in last week’s class.