---
type: Concept
bundle: yoga-darshana
bundle_version: "0.2.0"
id: chitta-vritti
title: "Citta-Vṛtti"
iast: "Citta-Vṛtti"
devanagari: "चित्तवृत्ति"
description: "The modifications of citta that Yoga aims to still — not thoughts, not the mind, not mental chatter."
darshana:
  - Pātañjala Yoga
  - Sāṃkhya
text_source: "YS 1.2"
tags:
  - Yoga
  - Patanjali
  - citta
  - vritti
  - fluctuation
  - mind
  - nirodha
not:
  - term: "thoughts"
    why: "thoughts are the most familiar vṛttis, but citta-vṛttis include perceptions, dreams, memories, inferences, and imagination — not only propositional mental content"
    instead: "Keep Citta-Vṛtti untranslated; do not substitute the English term."
  - term: "mind"
    why: "citta is not equivalent to the English \"mind\"; it includes buddhi (intellect), ahaṃkāra (ego-sense), and manas (the processing mind) — three distinct Sāṃkhya-Yoga faculties all subsumed under citta"
  - term: "mental chatter"
    why: "this captures only the gross Rajasic layer; vṛttis also include very subtle Sattvic states (e.g., samprajñāta samādhi itself is a vṛtti)"
  - term: "ego"
    why: "ahaṃkāra is one Prakṛtic layer within citta, not synonymous with citta itself"
  - term: "consciousness"
    why: "citta is Prakṛtic; it is an evolute of Prakṛti, not consciousness (Puruṣa). Treating citta as consciousness is precisely the asmitā error"
related:
  - /concepts/vritti.md
  - /concepts/nirodha.md
  - /concepts/samskara.md
  - /concepts/purusha.md
  - /concepts/prakriti-yoga.md
  - /concepts/asmita.md
  - /concepts/guna.md
  - /concepts/samprajnata-samadhi.md
timestamp: "2026-06-20"
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Citta-Vṛtti — चित्तवृत्ति

**Not:** thoughts, mind, mental chatter, ego, consciousness

The modification-activities of citta — the fluctuating patterns of perception, memory, imagination, inference, and error that constitute ordinary mental life. Yoga's aim is stated in the second sūtra: *yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ* — "Yoga is the cessation of the modifications of citta." Understanding citta-vṛtti is therefore understanding the problem yoga is designed to solve.

## YS 1.2 — The Definitional Sūtra

*yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ*

Three terms define yoga's purpose:

- **citta** — the psycho-cognitive apparatus (buddhi, ahaṃkāra, manas in their integrated functioning)
- **vṛtti** — modification, turning, fluctuation; from √*vṛt* (to turn, to exist, to proceed)
- **nirodha** — cessation, restraint, containment; from *ni* + √*rudh* (to obstruct, to enclose)

This is not a metaphorical definition. Yoga is precisely the cessation of these modifications — not their management, redirection, or improvement. The sūtra following immediately clarifies why: *tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe'vasthānam* (YS 1.3) — "Then the seer abides in its own nature." When citta-vṛtti ceases, Puruṣa is no longer falsely identified with Prakṛti's fluctuations.

## What Is Citta?

In Sāṃkhya-Yoga, citta is not a single faculty but a collective term for three Prakṛtic evolutes operating as an integrated system:

| Evolute | Sanskrit | Function |
|---------|----------|----------|
| Buddhi | बुद्धि | Intellect; discrimination; deciding; the finest Prakṛtic layer |
| Ahaṃkāra | अहंकार | Ego-making; the principle of individuation; "I am this" |
| Manas | मनस् | Processing mind; integrates sensory input; generates doubt |

All three are Prakṛtic — evolutes of Prakṛti, not consciousness. The appearance of consciousness in citta is Puruṣa's light reflected in Buddhi (which is predominantly Sattvic). Asmitā — the primary kleśa-root in cognitive operations — is the misidentification of Puruṣa with this citta-complex.

## Why Citta Is the Site of Liberation (and Bondage)

The apparent paradox of Yoga Darśana: citta is entirely Prakṛtic and therefore not Puruṣa, yet the liberation of Puruṣa depends on what happens in citta. This is resolved by Patañjali's ontology:

1. Puruṣa is pure witness — it does not act; it only sees
2. But through the asmitā superimposition, Puruṣa *appears* to be identified with citta's modifications
3. Citta, through its saṃskāras, perpetuates this appearance
4. The yoga process works through citta (not through Puruṣa directly) to remove the conditions that sustain the appearance
5. When citta-vṛtti ceases completely, there is nothing left for Puruṣa to be mistakenly identified with — the separation (kaivalya) is recognized

YS 4.18-4.19 makes this explicit: *sadā jñātāś citta-vṛttayas tat-prabhoḥ puruṣasyāpariṇāmitvāt* — "Citta's modifications are always known to their master Puruṣa because Puruṣa does not change." Citta changes; Puruṣa does not. The modifications are witnessed by Puruṣa, not enacted by it.

## The Five Categories of Vṛtti

Patañjali classifies all citta-vṛttis into five types (YS 1.5-1.11). See [Vṛtti](vritti.md) for the full taxonomy.

## Cross-References

- [Vṛtti](vritti.md) — the five types of citta-modification (YS 1.5-1.11)
- [Nirodha](nirodha.md) — the cessation of citta-vṛtti; the goal of yoga
- [Saṃskāra](samskara.md) — stored impressions that generate vṛttis from below
- [Asmitā](asmita.md) — the misidentification of Puruṣa with citta; the kleśa operating within citta
- [Guṇa-s](guna.md) — the Guṇa-constitution of citta determines the quality of its vṛttis (Tamasic = dull/distorted; Rajasic = agitated; Sattvic = clear)
- [Samprajñāta Samādhi](samprajnata-samadhi.md) — absorptions that are themselves refined vṛttis; the final step before vṛtti-nirodha

## Audience Metaphor

Citta is a still lake and citta-vṛttis are the waves. When wind blows (sensory input, memories, desires), waves appear — and you cannot see the bottom (Puruṣa). Yoga practice is not about draining the lake. It is about stopping the wind sources and allowing the waves to settle, so that the light of Puruṣa, which was always shining through, can be seen clearly in the still surface. Even the act of seeing clearly is itself a very fine wave (vṛtti) — and ultimately that last fine wave must also subside.

## Citations

1. [Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali](/references/yoga-sutras.md) 1.2, 1.5-1.11, 1.17-1.18, 4.18-4.19
2. [Yoga Bhāṣya of Vyāsa](/references/yoga-bhasya.md) on YS 1.2 and 1.5
3. [Vyāsabhāṣya](/references/yoga-bhasya.md) on the definition and enumeration of vṛttis
