Kleśā (sanskrit क्लेशा ) is a term from Indian philosophy and yoga, meaning a “poison”. The third śloka of Patañjali's Yogasūtra explicitly identifies Five Poisons (Sanskrit: pañcakleśā):

:अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः पञ्च क्लेशाः॥३॥ :

<ref name=patanjali>Patañjali et al. (2007) Source: ://www.sanskrit-sanscrito.com.ar/english/sanskrit_pronunciation/pronunciation7.html (accessed: November 23, 2007)</ref>

Translated into English, these five (pañca) Kleśa-s or Afflictions (

) are<ref name=patanjali />:

• Ignorance (in the form of a misapprehension about reality) (ávidyā),
• egoism (in the form of an erroneous identification of the Self with the intellect) (asmitā),
• attachment (rāga),
• aversion (

  ), and

• fear of death (which is derived from clinging ignorantly to life) (

  ).

Notes

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