Kriyā


Kriyā most commonly refers to a "completed action", technique or practice within a yoga discipline meant to achieve a specific result. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 2.1 defines three types of kriya, namely asceticism, study, and devotion. Such yoga is called kriya yoga.

Etymology

Kriyā is a Sanskrit term, derived from the Sanskrit root, kri, meaning "to do". Kriyā means "action, deed, effort". The word karma is also derived from the Sanskrit root कृ, meaning "to do, make, perform, accomplish, cause, effect, prepare, undertake". Karma is related to verbal proto-Indo-European root *kwer- "to make, form".
The root kṛ is common in ancient Sanskrit literature, and it is relied upon to explain ideas in Rigveda, other Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, the Epics of Hinduism.

Awareness practices

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 2.1 defines three types of kriya, namely tapas, svadhyaya,and Isvara pranidhana.
The yogic purifications or shatkarmas are sometimes called the Shatkriyas.