The third of the five yamas in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: abstention from taking what has not been freely given, extended by classical commentary beyond physical theft to covetous thought toward another's possessions.
Facts
Disputed
Origin PeriodDated by scholars anywhere from the second century BCE, on older assumptions of a single ancient author, to as late as the fourth or fifth century CE, on newer philological readings that treat the text as a later compilation. There is no scholarly consensus on a single date for the Yoga Sutras. 1 Attributed Author / CompilerTraditionally attributed to Patanjali, the compiler of the Yoga Sutras. Scholarship debates whether this is the same Patanjali credited with the Sanskrit grammatical treatise of that name, and whether the text as it stands is the work of a single author or an edited compilation of older material. 1 Status
Status Within the TraditionStandard teaching, not formally defined 1 Doctrinal Status DetailThe third of Patanjali's five yamas, ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya and aparigraha, named as a set at Yoga Sutra 2.30. Yoga Sutra 2.31 further names them a mahavrata, a great vow, when held universally, unconditioned by birth, place, time or circumstance, the same term Jain ethics uses for its own parallel five vows, without either scheme deriving from the other. 1 Origins
Place of OriginIndia; nothing internal to the Yoga Sutras or its early commentarial tradition fixes a specific region of composition within the subcontinent. 1 Origin of the NameSanskrit asteya, non-stealing, from a-, not, and steya, theft. 2 Attestation
Meaning in the Attesting SourceThe third of the five yamas: abstention from taking what has not been freely given, extended by classical commentary to covetous thought. 1 Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A New Edition, Translation, and CommentaryEdwin F. Bryant
In Language
Opposes
Asteya, non-stealing, one of Patanjali's five yamas (Yoga Sutras 2.30), stands against Lobha, greed, the acquisitive impulse that theft acts on; a third virtue naming this same opposition beside the two Aparigraha entries already live, non-theft addressing the taking itself rather than the underlying non-possession.
Originates in Language
Source Encyclopedia of HinduismDenise Cush, Catherine Robinson and Michael York (eds.)
Same As
Hindu-tagged Yama virtue completing the same-as link its Jain-tagged twin already carries.
Sources
1. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary
Edwin F. Bryant, North Point Press, 2009Yoga Sutras 2.30 and commentary on asteya
2. Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Denise Cush, Catherine Robinson and Michael York (eds.), Routledge, 2008- the asteya entry
- Originates in Language: Sanskrit, Stored language property on this entity, cited to this source: sanskrit
View the Source Wisdom Library: Asteya (Wisdom Library glossary)
Wisdom LibraryPart Of: The Yamas, Pancaratra glossaryQuote, Part Of: The Yamas, Pancaratra glossary
Asteya (अस्तेय) refers to one of the ten Yama-practices, as discussed in chapter 1 (Yogapāda) of the Padmasaṃhitā
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.