Gorakṣaśataka (Original) 13
भुज्यते शिवसंप्रीत्यै मिताहारः स उच्यते |
आसनं द्विविधं प्रोक्तं पद्मं वज्रासनं तथा ||13||
… eaten (bhujyate | 3p sg pas pres) to please Śiva (śiva-saṃprītyai | dat sg): this (saḥ | nom sg m) is called (ucyate | 3p sg pas pres) moderate eating (mita-āhāraḥ | nom sg). The seated posture (āsanam | nom sg) is taught (proktam | nom sg n ppp) as being of two kinds (dvi-vidham | nom sg n): the lotus (padmam | nom sg) and (tathā) the thunderbolt posture (vajra-āsanam | nom sg).
A simple foundation may be enough: eat attentively and find a steady seat. Variety is not an end in itself.
13ab completes the definition of eating begun in 12. padma and vajrāsana are the two named seats. Their specific historical descriptions follow in 14–15.
Gorakṣaśataka (Original) 14
ऊर्वोर् उपरि चेद्धत्ते उभे पादतले तथा |
पद्मासनं भवेत्सम्यक्सर्वपापप्रणाशनम् ||14||
If (cet) one places (dhatte | 3p sg med pres) both (ubhe | acc du n) soles of the feet (pāda-tale | acc du) upon (upari) the thighs (ūrvoḥ | gen du) in this way (tathā), this would be (bhavet | 3p sg act opt) the proper (samyak) lotus posture (padma-āsanam | nom sg), which destroys all wrongdoing (sarva-pāpa-praṇāśanam | nom sg n).
A steady seat gives your attention a place to rest. Its quality grows from how you inhabit it.
dhatte ubhe ] dhaste ebhe R7874apJM
The text associates the lotus posture with removing pāpa, wrongdoing understood in religious terms. This is a historical attribution of efficacy. The translation does not turn it into a medical promise.
Gorakṣaśataka (Original) 15
वामांघ्रिमूलं कन्दाधः अन्यं तदुपरि क्षिपेत् |
समग्रीवशिरःकायो वज्रासनम् इतीरितम् ||15||
One should place (kṣipet | 3p sg act opt) the left heel (vāmāṅghri-mūlam | acc sg) below the bulb (kanda-adhaḥ), and the other (anyam | acc sg m) above it (tad-upari), with neck, head and body aligned (sama-grīva-śiraḥ-kāyaḥ | nom sg m). This (iti) is called (īritam | nom sg n ppp) the thunderbolt posture (vajra-āsanam | nom sg).
Arrange your seat so that head, neck and torso come into alignment. Stability can coexist with mobility.
tadupari is read as the adverbial expression “above it”. In the historical model of the body, kanda denotes a bulb-like base; the passage establishes no equivalence with modern anatomy. The vajrāsana described here cannot simply be identified with the kneeling posture widely known today.
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