क्लेशः - kleśa
क्लेशः - kleśa
About Śabdayoga
Blog author Jayaraman Mahadevan
Kleśa is among the most frequently cited Yoga terms. Six widely read sources give six different answers:
|
Source |
Explanation of kleśa |
|
Wikipedia [1] |
"Impurity", "corruption" or "poison" |
|
The Yoga Institute, Santacruz [2] |
"Painful or afflicted" |
|
Integral Yoga Magazine [3] |
The full dictionary range, from obstacles and pain to anger and worldly occupation |
|
The Art of Living [4] |
"Affliction"; the five kleśas as sources of suffering and misery |
|
Isha Foundation [5] |
Addressed through Kleśa Nāśana Kriyā, for physical health and mental wellbeing |
|
Common Yoga Protocol, Ministry of AYUSH [6] |
The aim of Yoga is to overcome "all kinds of sufferings" |
Each answer captures something genuine. Read side by side, however, they raise questions that none of them answers on its own. Is a kleśa a pain that is felt, or a cause of pain? Is it mental or physical? Is it a fault in the mind or an obstacle in practice? This entry follows the word through its derivation, its record in the traditional lexicon, and its usage in the Yogasūtra, the Bhagavadgītā and the Haṭhayogapradīpikā, read with their commentaries, to see whether these answers can be brought together into one coherent understanding.
Etymology
क्लिश् + घञ् = क्लेशः
kliś + ghañ = kleśaḥ
Kleśa (क्लेशः) is formed from the root √kliś (क्लिश्), which has two senses: upatāpe (उपतापे), "to suffer", and vibādhane (विबाधने), "to afflict". The suffix ghañ (घञ्) is added in the sense of the action itself, by Pāṇini's sūtra bhāve (भावे, 3.3.18). The derivation is क्लेशनं क्लेशः (kleśanaṃ kleśaḥ), "afflicting is kleśa", so the word means affliction.
Lexicon
The Amarakośa lists kleśa with two synonyms:
आदीनवास्रवौ क्लेशे (अमरकोशः 3.2.29)
ādīnavāsravau kleśe
Ādīnava (आदीनव) and āsrava (आस्रव) are given as synonyms of kleśa (क्लेश). Ādīnava denotes a defect, danger or distress; āsrava, from ā + √sru, "to flow", is literally an inflow. Together they present the kleśa as a fault that flows into experience.
Textual Occurrences
Yogasūtra
The term occurs six times in the Yogasūtra, across the first, second and fourth pādas.
क्लेशकर्मविपाकाशयैरपरामृष्टः पुरुषविशेष ईश्वरः ॥ १.२४ ॥
kleśakarmavipākāśayair aparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣaviśeṣa īśvaraḥ ॥ 1.24 ॥
Īśvara is a special Puruṣa, untouched by afflictions, actions, their fruition and their residual impressions.
Vyāsa-bhāṣyam
अविद्यादयः क्लेशाः ।
The kleśas are avidyā and the others (enumerated in 2.3).
समाधिभावनार्थः क्लेशतनूकरणार्थश्च ॥ २.२ ॥
samādhibhāvanārthaḥ kleśatanūkaraṇārthaś ca ॥ 2.2 ॥
Kriyāyoga is for cultivating samādhi and for attenuating the kleśas.
अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः क्लेशाः ॥ २.३ ॥
avidyāsmitārāgadveṣābhiniveśāḥ kleśāḥ ॥ 2.3 ॥
Ignorance (avidyā), I-am-ness (asmitā), attachment (rāga), aversion (dveṣa) and clinging to life (abhiniveśa) are the kleśas.
Vyāsa-bhāṣyam
क्लेशा इति पञ्च विपर्यया इत्यर्थः ।
The kleśas are the five forms of viparyaya (erroneous cognition).
क्लेशमूलः कर्माशयो दृष्टादृष्टजन्मवेदनीयः ॥ २.१२ ॥
kleśamūlaḥ karmāśayo dṛṣṭādṛṣṭajanmavedanīyaḥ ॥ 2.12 ॥
The reservoir of karma, rooted in the kleśas, is to be experienced in the present birth and in births yet unseen.
हानमेषां क्लेशवदुक्तम् ॥ ४.२८ ॥
hānam eṣāṃ kleśavad uktam ॥ 4.28 ॥
The removal of these (residual impressions) is as has been described for the kleśas.
ततः क्लेशकर्मनिवृत्तिः ॥ ४.३० ॥
tataḥ kleśakarmanivṛttiḥ ॥ 4.30 ॥
From that (dharmamegha samādhi) follows the cessation of the kleśas and of karma.
Related form: the participle kliṣṭa (क्लिष्ट), from the same root, describes the vṛttis in YS 1.5:
वृत्तयः पञ्चतय्यः क्लिष्टाक्लिष्टाः ॥ १.५ ॥
vṛttayaḥ pañcatayyaḥ kliṣṭākliṣṭāḥ ॥ 1.5 ॥
The modifications of the mind are fivefold, and are either afflicted or non-afflicted.
Vyāsa-bhāṣyam
क्लेशहेतुकाः कर्माशयप्रचये क्षेत्रीभूताः क्लिष्टाः ।
The afflicted vṛttis are those caused by the kleśas, which become the field for the accumulation of the karmic reservoir.
Bhagavadgītā
The term occurs twice in the Bhagavadgītā.
क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषामव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् ।
अव्यक्ता हि गतिर्दुःखं देहवद्भिरवाप्यते ॥ १२.५ ॥
kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsaktacetasām ।
avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṃ dehavadbhir avāpyate ॥ 12.5 ॥
The difficulty is greater for those whose minds are set on the Unmanifest, for the goal of the Unmanifest is reached with great difficulty by embodied beings. Here kleśa means difficulty or hardship.
दुःखमित्येव यत्कर्म कायक्लेशभयात्त्यजेत् ।
स कृत्वा राजसं त्यागं नैव त्यागफलं लभेत् ॥ १८.८ ॥
duḥkham ity eva yat karma kāyakleśabhayāt tyajet ।
sa kṛtvā rājasaṃ tyāgaṃ naiva tyāgaphalaṃ labhet ॥ 18.8 ॥
One who gives up an action merely because it is painful, out of fear of bodily hardship, performs a rājasic renunciation and does not obtain the fruit of renunciation.
Śāṅkara-bhāṣyam
कायक्लेशभयात् शरीरदुःखभयात् ।
Kāyakleśabhayāt means out of fear of bodily pain.
Haṭhayogapradīpikā
The term occurs twice in the Haṭhayogapradīpikā.
वह्निस्त्रीपथिसेवानामादौ वर्जनमाचरेत् ।
तथा हि गोरक्षवचनम् -
वर्जयेद्दुर्जनप्रान्तं वह्निस्त्रीपथिसेवनम् ।
प्रातःस्नानोपवासादि कायक्लेशविधिं तथा ॥ १.६१ ॥
vahnistrīpathisevānām ādau varjanam ācaret ।
tathā hi gorakṣavacanam -
varjayed durjanaprāntaṃ vahnistrīpathisevanam ।
prātaḥsnānopavāsādi kāyakleśavidhiṃ tathā ॥ 1.61 ॥
At the outset the practitioner should avoid fire, women and travel. So says Gorakṣa: one should avoid the company of the wicked, fire, women, travel, early-morning baths, fasting, and likewise any practice that strains the body.
Jyotsnā
कायक्लेशविधिं कायक्लेशकरं विधिं क्रियां बहुसूर्यनमस्कारादिरूपां बहुभारोद्वहनरूपां च ।
Kāyakleśavidhi is a practice that causes bodily strain, such as performing many sūryanamaskāras or carrying heavy loads.
महाक्लेशादयो दोषाः क्षीयन्ते मरणादयः ।
महामुद्रां च तेनैव वदन्ति विबुधोत्तमाः ॥ ३.१४ ॥
mahākleśādayo doṣāḥ kṣīyante maraṇādayaḥ ।
mahāmudrāṃ ca tenaiva vadanti vibudhottamāḥ ॥ 3.14 ॥
Defects such as the great afflictions, and death itself, are destroyed; for this very reason the foremost of the wise call it Mahāmudrā.
Jyotsnā
महान्तश्च ते क्लेशाश्च महाक्लेशाः अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः पञ्च ।
The mahākleśas are the great afflictions, namely the five: avidyā, asmitā, rāga, dveṣa and abhiniveśa.
Tabulation of Textual References
|
Text |
Kleśa |
References |
|
Yogasūtra |
6 |
1.24; 2.2; 2.3; 2.12; 4.28; 4.30 |
|
Bhagavadgītā |
2 |
12.5; 18.8 (kāyakleśa) |
|
Haṭhayogapradīpikā |
2 |
1.61 (kāyakleśa); 3.14 (mahākleśa) |
Summary and Observations
Kleśa is used in three distinct ways across the three texts. In the Yogasūtra it is a technical term, always denoting the five afflictions of the mind. In the Bhagavadgītā it carries its ordinary meaning of difficulty, and particularly physical hardship. The Haṭhayogapradīpikā uses it in both senses: kāyakleśa in 1.61 is bodily strain, while mahākleśa in 3.14 is read by the Jyotsnā as the five Pātañjala kleśas.
The following points emerge:
1. In the Yogasūtra, kleśa is a defined term: the five afflictions avidyā, asmitā, rāga, dveṣa and abhiniveśa (2.3).
2. Vyāsa identifies the kleśas with the five forms of viparyaya, so they are cognitive in nature, not physical.
3. The kleśas are the root of the karmic reservoir (2.12) and are what Īśvara is free from (1.24).
4. Kriyāyoga is prescribed to attenuate them (2.2), and their final cessation comes with dharmamegha samādhi (4.30).
5. The related term kliṣṭa (1.5) classifies the vṛttis by whether or not they are caused by the kleśas.
6. In the Bhagavadgītā, kleśa means difficulty: the greater difficulty of the path to the Unmanifest (12.5) and bodily hardship (18.8).
7. In the Haṭhayogapradīpikā, kāyakleśa refers to physical over-exertion that a beginner should avoid (1.61).
8. In the same text, mahākleśa is read by the Jyotsnā in the Pātañjala sense of the five afflictions (3.14).
The same word thus carries a technical, psychological meaning in the Yogasūtra and an ordinary, physical meaning in the Gītā, with the Haṭhayogapradīpikā drawing on both. This underlines the need to be highly context-conscious when interpreting the term.
What the Study Yields
Each step of the study yields something that no single rendering provides:
|
Step |
What it yields |
Why it matters |
|
Derivation (vyutpatti) |
Two dhātvarthas: upatāpe, the suffering undergone, and vibādhane, the afflicting done. A kleśa is a cause as well as a felt pain. |
It explains how a kleśa can be dormant (prasupta, YS 2.4) and still be a kleśa, and grounds the principle हेयं दुःखमनागतम् (heyaṃ duḥkham anāgatam, YS 2.16): the suffering yet to come is to be avoided. |
|
Lexicon (kośa) |
The synonyms ādīnava, a defect or danger, and āsrava, literally an inflow. |
The kleśa appears as a fault that flows into experience and colours it, not merely as a sensation. |
|
Usage across texts (prayoga) |
A technical term for the five mental afflictions in the Yogasūtra; difficulty and bodily hardship in the Bhagavadgītā; both senses in the Haṭhayogapradīpikā. |
The reader can identify which sense a given passage carries. |
|
Usage with commentaries |
Vyāsa identifies the kleśas with viparyaya, erroneous cognition. The Jyotsnā reads kāyakleśa (HYP 1.61) as bodily strain and mahākleśa (HYP 3.14) as the five kleśas. |
It points to the remedy suited to each: cognitive means for the mental kleśas, moderation for bodily strain. |
|
Related terms |
Kliṣṭa (YS 1.5) is the participle, "afflicted"; the nine antarāyas (YS 1.30) are a separate category of obstacles to practice. |
Neighbouring terms are kept distinct, so that each can be understood precisely. |
Two Worked Examples
Bhagavadgītā 12.5
क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषामव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् ।
kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsaktacetasām ।
If kleśa is taken in its Yogasūtra sense, the line would say that the five afflictions are greater for those whose minds are set on the Unmanifest. That is not what Kṛṣṇa is teaching. Read in its own context, and as Śaṅkara reads the related kāyakleśa in 18.8, kleśa here means difficulty: the path to the Unmanifest is harder for embodied beings. The line speaks of the arduousness of a path, not of a defect in the seeker.
Haṭhayogapradīpikā 1.61
प्रातःस्नानोपवासादि कायक्लेशविधिं तथा ॥
prātaḥsnānopavāsādi kāyakleśavidhiṃ tathā ॥
If kleśa is taken in its Yogasūtra sense, kāyakleśavidhi would become a practice concerned with mental afflictions, and Gorakṣa's instruction would lose its point. The Jyotsnā makes the sense clear: it is a practice that strains the body, such as performing many sūryanamaskāras or carrying heavy loads. The beginner is being advised to avoid physical over-exertion. In the same text, at 3.14, the Jyotsnā reads mahākleśa as the five Pātañjala kleśas. Only the commentary allows the reader to tell the two apart.
In both cases, a single fixed meaning would change the teaching of the verse. Attention to the text and its commentary preserves it.
Conclusion
The worked examples show that kleśa can mean affliction, difficulty or bodily strain, and that the text and its commentary decide which sense applies. The terms of Yoga therefore need to be studied systematically, through their derivation (vyutpatti), their lexical record (kośa) and their usage in each text with its commentaries (prayoga). This care is essential when Yoga is applied, especially in therapy. There, the sense in which a term is understood decides the practice that is prescribed: cognitive means for the mental kleśas, and moderation for bodily strain.
References
[1] "Kleshas (Hinduism)". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleshas_(Hinduism) (accessed 7 October 2026).
[2] "5 Kleshas: Root Causes of Suffering in Life". The Yoga Institute, Santacruz. https://theyogainstitute.org/5-kleshas-root-causes-of-suffering-in-life/ (accessed 7 October 2026).
[3] Carrera, Jaganath. "Patanjali's Words: The Five Kleshas (Causes of Suffering)". Integral Yoga Magazine. https://integralyogamagazine.org/patanjalis-words-the-five-kleshas-causes-of-suffering/ (accessed 7 October 2026).
[4] "Freedom from Five Sources of Misery". Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Knowledge Sheet 19. The Art of Living. https://www.artofliving.org/yoga/patanjali-yogasutra/knowledge-sheet-19 (accessed 7 October 2026).
[5] "Klesha Nashana Kriya". Linga Bhairavi, Isha Foundation. https://isha.sadhguru.org/linga-bhairavi/global/en/rituals/klesha-nashana-kriya (accessed 7 October 2026).
[6] Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga. Common Yoga Protocol. 4th rev. ed. New Delhi: Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, 2019, p. 5.
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