Kleshas (Hinduism)

For the term in Buddhism, see Kleshas (Buddhism).

Kleśa (sanskrit क्लेशा, also klesha ) is a term from Indian philosophy and yoga, meaning a "poison". The third śloka of Patañjali's Yogasūtra explicitly identifies Five Poisons (Sanskrit: pañcakleśā):

अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः पञ्च क्लेशाः॥३॥

Avidyāsmitārāgadveṣābhiniveśāḥ pañca kleśāḥ^[1]

Translated into English, these five (pañca) Kleśa-s or Afflictions (kleśāḥ) are^[1]:

Ignorance (in the form of a misapprehension about reality) (ávidyā),
egoism (in the form of an erroneous identification of the Self with the intellect) (asmitā),
attachment (rāga),
aversion (dveṣa), and
fear of death (which is derived from clinging ignorantly to life) (abhiniveśāḥ).

Notes

^ ^a ^b Patañjali et al. (2007) Source: [1] (accessed: November 23, 2007)

External links

International Nath Order (INO) perspectives:

Five Kleshas - International Nath Order
Mahendranath, Shri Gurudev. "Twilight Yoga II: The Magnum Opus of Twilight Yoga"