What is Tha in Hatha Yoga?

 Ṭha (ठ).—"This letter means Candramaṇḍala (moon-disc), emptiness and Śiva. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 348.)"1

)There is a bit of debate on whether Hatha Yoga is translated correctly.  Some say "Ha" means Sun and "Tha" means Moon.  Some say this is wrong that "Hatha" is one word and it means "forceful."

I humbly respect and thank the ancient teachers of Hatha Yoga from India and their teachers before them and those after them.  Part of this respect is the hours of research I put into trying to understand or at least commit to my intention to research the meaning of words and concepts as well as I can.  

My Masters Degree, MDiv, and my undergrad studies in World Religions taught me something called Exegesis which is researching and analyzing sacred texts.  One way to do this is to explore several translations of texts and to look at the original language.  This is what I do with Sanskrit (I used to do it with Herbrew, Greek, and Latin).

Through this exploration and trusting commentary from Indian rather than the Western authors I do believe while "Tha" means "Moon" and "Ha" means "Sun,"  these words mean SO much more. (We will explore the concepts of "Ha" and  "Hatha" as "forceful in the next posts.) 

I cannot say it better than Iyengar (one of the founding Fathers of bringing Yoga to general population of India and to the West from the 1930s to 2014. 

In one translation of the Hatha Yoga Pradpika of Svatmarama (written around the 15th century codifying older teachings) BKS Iyengar writes the forward.  In it he says:

“Hatha means willpower, resoluteness and perseverance; and Hatha yoga is the path that develops these qualities and leads one, towards emancipation. The word hatha is composed of two syllables: ha and tha. Ha stands for the seer, the Self, the soul (purusa), and for the sun (Surya) and the inbreath {prana). Tha represents nature (prakrti), consciousness {citta), the moon (chandra) and the outbreath (apana). Yoga, as already noted, means union. Hatha yoga, therefore, means the union of purusa 

with prakrti, consciousness with the soul, the sun with the moon, and prana with apana"1

Another commentary, which is similar, is from Swami Muktibodhananda discussing the first Sloka (verse):

“The moon is the mental energy of chitta. It is the subtle force which is concerned with the mental layers. The pranic force is like the sun, dynamic and active.The two create the extremities of introversion and extroversion. It is the practice of hatha yoga which enables the fluctuations between these two energies to become harmonious and unified into one force."2

So, "Tha" as expounded by Swami Muktibodhananda is:

The Moon, the mental energy of Chitta, Prakrti, Chandra. Also Shakti, Ida, ), Tamas, sympathetic nervous system. 2

Moon/Chandra -- is not a goddess.  Chandra is a young male god who waxes and wanes.  There is symbolism of life, death and rebirth (More at another time)Chitta/Citta-- Conscouisness

Prakrti -- Nature, Female, and is related to the Doshas and the Gunas -- our tendencies and psychology types.

Shakti -- energy, female goddess consort to Shiva/Siva, a cosmic, creative force.

Ida-- Left Nadi (energy channel connected with the consciousness), cool, feminine energy channel. Left Nostril,  Right Brain which is connected the the left side of the body. 

Tamas -- Inactivity

Sympathetic Nervous System  -- Fight, flight, Freeze

And Iyengar also mentions:

Apana -- Associated with the "outbreath" /exhale.  Asana is also associated with the breath from the navel to the feet and with digestion and purification.  

You see, sacred language and especially Sanskrit is very complex and rich.  What seems to be on simple syllable has so much meaning.  And this "Tha" is  just one side of what we seek to balance in Yoga

1.The Wisdom Library

2.Hatha Yoga Pradipika Introduction by B K S Iyengar Commentary by Hans Ulrich Rieker Translated by Elsy Becherer This edition published by The Aquarian Press 1992 13579108642 English translation © Herder and Herder, Inc., an imprint of Crossroad/Continuum, Inc. Illustrations by Stephen Sturgess (p4)

3. Hatha Yoga Pradipika Light on Hatha Yoga Including the original Sanskrit text of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika with translation in English Commentary by Swami Muktibodhananda Under the Guidance of Swami Satyananda SaraswatiYoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India © Bihar School of Yoga 1985, 1993, 1998 (p23)

4. Ha and Tha as Bija Mantras Mantra Yoga and the Primal Sound Secrets of Seed (Bija) Mantras By David Frawley · 2010