Understanding the Five Vrittis: Pramana, Viparyaya, Vikalpa, Nidra, and Smrtayah

In the ancient yogic text, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the mind is described as the key instrument through which we perceive reality. However, the mind is not always reliable—it fluctuates, projects, and distorts. These fluctuations, or vrittis, are the patterns of mental activity that shape our experience of the world.

In Yoga Sutra 1.6, Patanjali outlines five types of vrittis:

“Pramāṇa viparyaya vikalpa nidrā smṛtayaḥ”
(YS 1.6: Right knowledge, misconception, imagination, sleep, and memory.)

These are the core categories of all mental activity, whether helpful or harmful. Understanding them is essential to the yogic path, which seeks to quiet the mind in order to experience pure consciousness (Purusha) beyond thought.

Let’s explore each of these five vrittis in detail.

1. Pramana – Correct Knowledge

Definition: Pramana refers to valid, correct knowledge that arises from direct experience, inference, or authoritative testimony.

Sources of Pramana:

Pratyaksha: Direct perception through the senses.

Anumana: Inference or logical reasoning.

Agama / Shabda: Testimony from trustworthy sources, such as scriptures or enlightened beings.

In yogic practice, Pramana is essential for clarity and wisdom. It allows us to navigate the world with understanding based on fact, not illusion. However, even correct knowledge can become a trap if one becomes attached to intellectualism or ego-based certainty.

Example: Knowing that fire burns because you've seen it, felt it, or learned it from someone trustworthy.

2. Viparyaya – Misconception

Definition: Viparyaya is false knowledge or misunderstanding. It arises when something is perceived incorrectly.

This is the vritti of delusion—seeing what is not real or misinterpreting reality. Viparyaya distorts the truth and reinforces suffering. In yoga, much of the inner work involves uncovering these misconceptions and replacing them with insight.

Example: Seeing a rope in the dark and mistaking it for a snake. The fear is real, but the perception is false.

Viparyaya can lead to long-standing patterns of thought, belief, and behavior that are misaligned with reality. This is a major cause of mental suffering (dukkha).

3. Vikalpa – Imagination or Verbal Delusion

Definition: Vikalpa is conceptualization or imagination not based in reality. It's the construction of ideas, images, or narratives that have no basis in objective truth.

This vritti includes fantasies, daydreams, assumptions, and beliefs formed purely through language or association, without experiential backing.

Example: Worrying about an event that may never happen, or creating a story about someone else's motives without evidence.

While Vikalpa can sometimes be creative or artistic, it also contributes to anxiety, fear, and disconnection from the present. Yoga encourages us to become aware of when we are caught in this vritti so that we can return to what is.

4. Nidra – Sleep

Definition: Nidra refers to the vritti of sleep, specifically dreamless sleep—a state where mental activity is dormant but still present in a subtle form.

Even in deep sleep, there is a trace of mental impression that we were “unaware.” In this sense, Nidra is not the absence of vrittis but rather a unique type of vritti. This insight reveals that consciousness continues even in the apparent stillness of sleep.

Example: Upon waking, you remember, “I slept well,” indicating that some level of awareness existed even in unconsciousness.

Yogic practices such as Yoga Nidra and lucid dreaming explore these states, bringing conscious awareness into what is typically unconscious.

5. Smrtayah – Memory

Definition: Smrtayah (plural of Smriti) refers to memory—the mental impression left by past experiences, which can be recalled later.

Memory is a powerful vritti because it can color our perception of the present. Traumas, desires, regrets, and joyful moments from the past are stored in our subconscious, influencing how we react to the world.

Example: Recalling a childhood embarrassment might trigger anxiety in a similar situation today.

In yoga, memory must be purified, not suppressed. As long as we remain entangled in unresolved memories, we stay stuck in the wheel of samsara—repeating patterns of suffering.

The Goal: Yogaś Citta Vritti Nirodhaḥ

All five vrittis—Pramana, Viparyaya, Vikalpa, Nidra, and Smrtayah—are natural to the human experience. However, they can either bind us or liberate us, depending on our relationship with them.

In Yoga Sutra 1.2, Patanjali defines yoga as:

“Yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ”
(Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.)

This doesn’t mean the destruction of thought, but the quieting of mental turbulence so that we can perceive pure awareness. Through practice (abhyasa) and non-attachment (vairagya), the yogi begins to witness these vrittis without becoming entangled in them.

Conclusion: Awareness Is the Key

The vrittis—Pramana, Viparyaya, Vikalpa, Nidra, and Smrtayah—form the inner landscape of the human mind. By observing and understanding these mental fluctuations, we begin to untangle ourselves from unconscious reactivity and step into the light of awareness.

Yoga is not about having no thoughts—it’s about knowing the nature of thought. When we recognize the vrittis for what they are, we no longer identify with them. In that spacious awareness, true peace arises.

So whether you're dealing with a painful memory (Smrtayah), caught in daydreams (Vikalpa), or chasing truth (Pramana), remember that all of these are passing waves in the ocean of consciousness.