Mayura (Peacock): Meaning and Definition

What does Mayura mean in Sanskrit?

Mayura is the Sanskrit word for a peacock. As a masculine noun, its nominative singular form is mayurah when written with the grammatical ending, while Mayura is the stem commonly used in dictionary entries and compound words.

The word is attested in early Sanskrit literature. Vedic references include compounds comparing the hair or tails of Indra’s horses to peacock feathers. This history shows that Mayura was established as the name of the bird long before its use in yoga posture names.

What does Mayura mean in yoga?

In yoga, Mayura usually identifies a posture modeled on or named after a peacock. Mayurasana combines Mayura, “peacock,” with Asana, “posture” or “seat,” giving the literal meaning “Peacock Pose.”

Mayurasana is an arm balance in which the hands support the body, the elbows press near the abdomen, and the body extends horizontally. The lifted, elongated form accounts for the peacock name. Mayura by itself names the bird, while Mayurasana names the complete posture.

• Mayura: peacock
• Asana: posture or seat
• Mayurasana: Peacock Pose
• Pincha Mayurasana: Feathered Peacock Pose, commonly called Forearm Stand

Mayurasana in classical hatha yoga

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes Mayurasana in its first chapter. In commonly used editions, verses 1.30 and 1.31 instruct the practitioner to support the body on the hands, position the elbows near the navel, and raise the body like a staff.

The following verse praises Mayurasana for stimulating digestive fire, or Agni, and overcoming illness, unsuitable food, and even poison. These statements reflect the medical language and elevated claims of a premodern hatha yoga text. They should be taught as part of the posture’s textual history rather than presented as contemporary medical evidence.

The poison imagery has encouraged symbolic interpretations connecting the posture with the peacock’s traditional reputation for overcoming venom. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika presents the digestion of poison as a claimed effect of the posture, however, and does not provide a single universal symbolic interpretation of Mayura.

How is Mayura used in Pincha Mayurasana?

Pincha Mayurasana is commonly translated as “Feathered Peacock Pose.” In modern yoga teaching, the name refers to a forearm balance in which the body rises vertically above the shoulders.

Pincha can refer to a feather, wing, or feathered ornament. The full posture name evokes a peacock displaying its feathers. Pincha Mayurasana and Mayurasana are separate postures, even though both names contain Mayura.

Cultural and devotional associations of the peacock

The peacock appears in several devotional and artistic settings across Indian traditions. It is especially associated with Karttikeya, also known as Skanda or Murugan, whose vehicle is a peacock. Krishna is also characteristically represented wearing peacock feathers.

These associations can add context when Mayura appears in art, poetry, mythology, or devotional teaching. They are contextual meanings rather than alternate dictionary translations. Mayura still means “peacock,” and the surrounding tradition determines what the peacock signifies.

How to pronounce Mayura

Mayura may be approximated in American English as muh-YOOR-uh. The y begins the second syllable, and the long u is held slightly longer than a short Sanskrit vowel.

The spelling “my-YOOR-uh” is sometimes heard in English-speaking yoga communities, but it can make the first syllable sound like the English word “my.” A clearer teaching pronunciation keeps the first a short and distinct.