Animal yoga poses: the Sanskrit words behind crow, pigeon, camel and more
Walk into any yoga class and you are in a zoo: Cat, Cow, Crow, Pigeon, Camel, Cobra, Frog, Lion, Dog. The English names are easy. The Sanskrit ones are a different story, until you notice that each one is just an animal word plus asana. Learn the animal, and the pose name comes with it.
Hey Asana’s Basics section has an Animals category with 22 words. Here are the ones you will meet most.
Birds
| Sanskrit | Animal | Pose |
|---|---|---|
| kaka | crow | Kakasana, Crow Pose |
| baka | crane | Bakasana, Crane Pose (and Parsva Bakasana, Side Crane) |
| garuda | a great bird of prey | Garudasana, Eagle Pose |
| mayura | peacock | Mayurasana, Peacock Pose |
| kapota | pigeon, dove | Kapotasana and its variations (8 poses in the app), including Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (One-Legged King Pigeon) |
| kukkuta | rooster | Kukkutasana, Rooster Pose |
Crow or crane? Many studios use “crow” and “crane” for the same arm balance, but in Sanskrit they are two different birds: kaka and baka. The names differ by one letter, which is a good reason to learn them in a mnemonic pair.
Pincha Mayurasana adds a word: pincha means “feather”. So this is the “feathered peacock”, the forearm stand, said to resemble a peacock displaying its feathers. Its half version, Ardha Pincha Mayurasana, is Dolphin Pose.
Land animals
| Sanskrit | Animal | Pose |
|---|---|---|
| marjari | cat | Marjaryasana, Cat Pose |
| go | cow | Gomukhasana, Cow Face Pose (go + mukha, “cow face”) |
| svana | dog | Adho Mukha Svanasana, Downward-Facing Dog |
| shisho | puppy | Uttana Shishosana, Extended Puppy Pose |
| simha | lion | Simhasana, Lion Pose |
| ustra | camel | Ustrasana, Camel Pose |
| hanuman | monkey | Hanumanasana, the splits |
Hanumanasana is named after Hanuman, the monkey hero of the Ramayana, remembered for a huge leap. The pose, with legs stretched out in opposite directions, evokes that leap.
Creatures of water, ground and air
| Sanskrit | Animal | Pose |
|---|---|---|
| matsya | fish | Matsyasana, Fish Pose |
| bheka / manduka | frog | Mandukasana, Frog Pose; Ardha Bhekasana, Half Frog |
| kurma | tortoise | Kurmasana, Tortoise Pose; Supta Kurmasana, Sleeping Tortoise |
| makara | crocodile (a sea creature in Indian myth) | Makara Adho Mukha Svanasana, Dolphin Plank |
| bhujanga | snake, serpent | Bhujangasana, Cobra Pose |
| vrschika | scorpion | Vrischikasana, Scorpion Pose |
| salabha | locust, grasshopper | Salabhasana, Locust Pose |
| titthiba | firefly | Tittibhasana, Firefly Pose |
Spelling note: you will see vrschika and Vrischikasana for the same word. Sanskrit has sounds that English spells in several ways. See how to pronounce Sanskrit pose names for the key rules, including how to say that tricky vri. Some sources also translate tittibha as a lapwing, a type of bird; yoga teachers usually call the pose Firefly.
Why the animal names help
Animal poses are a great place to start learning Sanskrit, for three reasons:
- You already know the picture. The English name gives you the shape, and the Sanskrit gives you a label for it.
- The words are short and distinctive. Baka, kaka, simha, ustra: none of them is likely to be confused with other words.
- They connect to the body. Many animals borrow a body part: go-mukha (cow face) or eka pada rajakapota (one-foot king pigeon). Once you know mukha (face) and pada (foot), you can read half a dozen more names. See numbers in Sanskrit yoga poses for the eka, ardha and tri in those names.
A quick self-test
Cover the Animal column of the tables above and try to say the animal for each of these poses: Kakasana, Matsyasana, Ustrasana, Simhasana, Kukkutasana, Salabhasana. Then do it the other way round: how would you say “frog pose” in Sanskrit?
If you get stuck, that is useful: the words that do not come easily are the ones to practice. Hey Asana’s flashcards and association exercises are built around exactly that kind of testing, and you can hear each pose pronounced before you try to say it.