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Kleshas of Yoga versus Kleshas of Ayurveda

By Pandit Atul Krishna Das, AWP and Monica B Groover, Phd, AWP
(Founders- San Diego College of Ayurveda)
In Ayurveda, we study the Three Kleshas that include internal, external and
environmental. In Yoga we study the five kleshas that arise from within. The aim and
objective of yoga is to ultimately cleanse and balance the mind. The Asana practice is
also aimed towards training the mind and ultimately samadhi.
The goal of Ayurveda is a little bit more broad--and Ayurvedic Practitioners who use
Ayurveda and Yoga both as a modality to reach their life's objective are concerned with
all kind of suffering.
The three kleshas in Ayurveda are:
1. Adhyatamika -- Internal--arising from within (This includes the Five Kleshas of
Adhyatmika)
2. Adhibhautika -- From other entities--including bacteria, virus, parasites, quarrel
with friends, comments from others--o
r perhaps a fender bender

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3. Adhidaivika -- Given to us by mother nature---Tsunami, Fires, Floods, Typhoon,

Earthquakes.
The five kleshas that afflict the Citta (Mind) given by Sri Patanjali are:
avidy = ignorance
asmit = To become sad and depressed, Dejection.
rga = desire; attraction for material things
dvea = Enemity, revulsion; aversion to other entities
abhinivea = Entanglement of mind, Consciousness wrapped up and illusion. (, False
identification--I am this physical body --instead of I am this soul. )

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Now, the question is with so many kleshas mentioned in different texts, how to reconcile
all of them.
This is an excellent question as it illustrates what we like to call the "non-linear
concepts" that occur so often in study of Vedic sciences such as Ayurveda, yoga,
sankhya, etc.
Since yoga is focused internally, the five kleshas which are adhyatmika in nature,
specifically related to the mind, are given special focus. The three kleshas discussed in
Ayurveda, in sankhya, and in various literatures such as Bhagavad-gita, BhagavataPurana, etc. are broader in scope.
So, all the Five kleshas of Patanjali are under the purview of Internal Kleshas or
Adhyatmika section of Vedic Kleshas.
There is a popular representation of Durga-devi riding on a tiger (representing rajo-guna
and tamo-guna, the qualities of passion and ignorance) and carrying a trishool or
trident. The three teeth of the trident represent the three kleshas which afflict the
embodied being who tries to enjoy pleasures rather than using the human form of life
for upliftment.
There is another explanation given in other yoga literatures describing six enemies: lust
(kama), anger (krodha), greed (lobha), madness or intoxication (mada), illusion or
bewilderment (moha), and matsarya (envy). Again these are really adhyatmika in nature
and the yoga practitioner is urged, at the very outset of starting on the path of yoga
practice, to know them clearly and avoid them.
Astanga-yoga refers to eight parts beginning with yama (following rules), niyama
(observing restrictions), asana (sitting postures), pranayama (breathing control),
pratyahara (withdrawing from engagement of the senses with sense objects), dharana
(becoming steady or fixed), dhyana (entering a state of meditation) and finally samadhi
(achieving a trance state of full absorption in the object of meditation). Avoiding these
five or these six is included in the second part (niyama).
In yoga practice the mind is considered the cause of bondage and suffering in this world,
largely due to our tendency to pursue sensory pleasure and lose sight of what is
important. The mind is also considered to be the instrument of liberation from bondage
through yoga practice, so the focus is almost entirely on these adhyatmika kleshas.
From a practical point of view, we sometimes have very little ability to change
circumstances that cause us grief, but we can change our perspective. Consider a person
who is relatively poor and has very little but is very satisfied with basic necessities

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versus someone who has good income and lots of money but is never satisfied. This is a
good example of how, from the perspective of yoga practice, the mind is the one thing
we have which can change and adapt.

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