This compares depictions of yoga in literature with the practices and philosophies
described in yoga treatises between 400 BCE and 1500 CE. This comparison, while broad, will
help establish a basis for future research into the pre-modern public perception of yoga and
yogis, as well as provide some insight into how yoga evolved and was received both in the
exogenous and endogenous spheres. This study employs a mixed-methods approach combining
intellectual history, adaptive reuse, and intertextuality studies. It begins by examining yoga and
philosophy treatises that provide the basis for various popular schools of yoga. The second
section looks at early Islamicate engagements with yoga. The final section analyzes depictions of
yoga in Sanskrit literature.
The primary findings indicate that non-yoga practitioners in premodern South Asia were
both curious about yoga while also wary of its claims to unlock magical powers in dedicated
practitioners. There seemed to be a public awareness of what yoga was and who practiced it, but
until the early-medieval period, circa seventh century CE, it was not recognized as a
homogenous school. While the depictions of yogis all represented ascetics, the actual practices,
abilities, and beliefs themselves diverged drastically, and whether it was accepted as a legitimate
set of practices seemed to depend on the author more than their background.
