Patanjali is a proper name in the Sanskrit language. The name is historically associated with three key documents – the Mahabhasya, a treatise on Sanskrit grammar and linguistics; the Yoga Sutras; and an unspecified work on medicine, or ayurveda.  All three works were mistakenly attributed to a single individual for many years, but recent scholarship has revealed three separate creators. The word itself is a compound word that has been explained in two ways: the first derives from a legend of a serpent-king falling in to the hands of a Brahmin, and means “one failing into folded hands”. The second derives from the Sindhi words for “Bank” (patan) and “water” (jal). 

The Patanjali who assembled the Yoga Sutras and authored the Bhasya commentary was a native of Kashmir who lived in the fifth century. The name Patanjali is revered by many groups, especially within the Shaivite bhakti tradition,and some believe he was an incarnation of the mythical serpent Ananta.  He is believed to have studied with seven under disciples under the great Guru Nanghi Deva, and to have gathered with the gods to watch Shiva and kali dance and enact the mystic Karanas, which form the backbone of the system of Natya Yoga.

Image from Wikimedia: Asturianu: Pintura d'estilu Mysore con Patañjali como avatar de Ä€di Åšeá¹£a   8 October 2014, 12:50:22 by Lleve