The Vasishtha Samhita (Sanskrit: वासिष्ठसंहिता, Vāsiṣṭha Saṁhitā, Vasishtha's Collection) is a 13th-century medieval Vaishnavite text, one of the first to describe non-seated hatha yogaasanas including the arm-balancing Kukkutasana, Cockerel Pose. It makes use of the 10th-century Vimanarcanakalpa, whose verse it paraphrases in prose to describe what may be the first non-seated asana, the arm-balancing Mayurasana, Peacock Pose. These descriptions in turn were exploited by the 15th century Hatha Yoga Pradipika.[1]
The Vasishtha Samhita shares many verses with the Yoga Yajnavalkya, some of which originate in the earlier Padma Samhita. [2]
The text, ascribed to the earlier sage Vasishtha, was compiled by an unknown author of the Vaishnavite Shakta sect. Its 45 chapters cover peace, name-chanting, offerings, sacrifices, astrology, and donation.[3][4][5]