Kaivalya
Solitude; isolation; ultimate goal of Raja yoga
title: "Kaivalya" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["hindu-philosophical-concepts", "moksha", "yoga-concepts"] description: "Solitude; isolation; ultimate goal of Raja yoga" topic_path: "philosophy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaivalya" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Solitude; isolation; ultimate goal of Raja yoga ::
Kaivalya () is the ultimate goal of aṣṭāṅga yoga and means "solitude", "detachment" or "isolation", a -derivation from "alone, isolated". It is the isolation of purusha from prakṛti, and liberation from rebirth, i.e., moksha. is described in some Upanishads, such as the and Upanishads, as the most superior form of moksha, which can grant liberation both within this life (as in ), and after death (as in ).
Patanjali
The fourth chapter of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, "", deals with impressions left by our endless cycles of (re)birth, and the rationale behind the necessity of erasing such impressions. It portrays the yogi, who has attained kaivalya, as an entity who has gained independence from all bondages and achieved the absolute true consciousness or described in the .
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6. Only minds born of meditation are free from karmic impressions.
10-11. Since the desire to live is eternal, impressions are also beginningless. The impressions, being held together by cause, effect, basis and support, disappear with the disappearance of these four.
34. [ . . . ] Or, to look from another angle, the power of pure consciousness settles in its own pure nature. |The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Chapter 4: (sutras 6, 10-11, & 34)}}
Upanishads
The terms , , or are encountered in the Upanishads, including the (1, 6), (25), (29) and (1.18, 26, 31) Upanishads .
In the Upanishad (slokas 1.18–29), kaivalya, as explained by Rama to Hanuman, is the most superior form of moksha and the essence of all Upanishads—higher than the four types of mukti (namely: , , , & ). In the second section of the Upanishad, Rama mentions that is the ultimate liberation (both and ) from , and that it can be attained by everyone through studying the 108 authentic Upanishads thoroughly from a realized guru, which will destroy the three forms of bodies (gross, subtle and causal).
The Upanishad (16–18) reads: ::quote
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In later Hinduism and its native tribal sects
Following the rise of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century, Veerashaivism experienced growth in southern India.
Some Veerashaiva scholars of the time, such as Nijaguna Shivayogi (c. 1500), attempted to unify Veerashaivism with Advaitism. His best known work is the , a collection of set to classical ragas. Other popular writers of this tradition are Nijaguna Shivayogi, Shadaksharadeva (Muppina Shadakshari), Mahalingaranga and Chidanandavadhuta.
Vijñānabhiksu was a sixteenth-century Vedāntic philosopher. He writes about kaivalya explicitly in the fourth and final chapter of his Yogasārasamgraha.
In Assam, the aboriginal ethnic Kaibarta-Jalkeot people (those still not Sanskritised) call their original religion Kewaliya Dharma. In this sect, "kewolia" is the highest stage at which the Bhakot becomes unconscious of everything else except the natural Animistic all-pervading Entity. They are related to the original Ratikhowa Hokam and are originally from the indigenous Kaibarta community. The Ratikhowa Puja and Hokam, Marei Puja, Kewaliya Dharma, Chamon Puja, Jal Goxai/Kuwor/Dangoria aak Thogi Dia and other Ancestral Night Spirit Worship of Tantric origin can be considered the original native remnants of the original Kaibarta tribal Tantric Religious traditions and culture related to religious beliefs of their ancestors Luipa, Minapa etc.
In Jainism
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Lord_Mahavira_Omniscience.jpg" caption="Lord [[Mahavir]] attaining kaivalya-jñāna in ''shukla dhyana'', the highest level of meditation, on the banks of Rijuvālika river"] ::
Kaivalya, also known as , means omniscience in Jainism and is roughly translated as complete understanding or supreme wisdom.
Kevala-jñāna is believed to be an intrinsic quality of all souls. This quality is masked by karmic particles that surround the soul. Every soul has the potential to obtain omniscience by shedding off these karmic particles. Jain scriptures speak of twelve stages through which the soul achieves this goal. A soul who has attained kevala-jñāna is called a (केवलिन्). According to the Jains, only kevalins can comprehend objects in all aspects and manifestations; others are only capable of partial knowledge.
References
Sources
References
- "Muktika Upanishad". The Theosophical Publishing House.
- P. 130 ''Astavakragita: The Song of the Self Supreme'' edited by Radhakamal Mukherjee
- P. 190 Medieval Indian Literature
- P. 120 ''[[Unifying Hinduism. Unifying Hinduism: philosophy and identity in Indian intellectual history]]'' By Andrew J. Nicholson
- ''Debendra Bezbarua, Kaibarta Xomprodai''
- ''Upendra Rabha Hakasam, Bor Axom or Jati Janagosthi, Kaibarta Jati''
- ''Sutaram Das, Sati Radhika, Kaibarta Jati Ek Xamajik Porisil''
- ''M.L. Kath Barua, Axom Buranji, Cambridge History of India''
- (1991). "A critical survey of Indian philosophy". Motilal Banarsidass.
- (2001). "A thousand petalled lotus : Jain temples of Rajasthan : architecture & iconography". Abhinav Publications.
- (2001). "Collected papers on Buddhist studies". Motilal Banarsidass.
- (2001). "Collected papers on Buddhist studies". Motilal Banarsidass.
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