virasana sitting posture

His left leg was placed on his right thigh, and his left hand was placed on his left thigh. In his right hand he held rudraksa beads. This sitting posture is called virasana. He sat in the virasana posture, and his finger was in the mode of argument. (More...)

The sitting posture described herein is called virasana according to the system of astaṅga-yoga performances. In the performance of yoga there are eight divisions, such as yama and niyama-controlling, following the rules and regulations, then practicing the sitting postures, etc. Besides virasana there are other sitting postures, such as padmasana and siddhasana. Practice of these asanas without elevating oneself to the position of realizing the Supersoul, Visnu, is not the perfectional stage of yoga. Lord Siva is called yogisvara, the master of all yogis, and Krsna is also called yogesvara. Yogisvara indicates that no one can surpass the yoga practice of Lord Siva, and yogesvara indicates that no one can surpass the yogic perfection of Krsna. Another significant word is tarka-mudra. This indicates that the fingers are opened and the second finger is raised, along with the arm, to impress the audience with some subject matter. This is actually a symbolic representation. (More...)