The figure known as Patañjali, compiler of the Yoga Sūtras, stands at a point in history where firm dates recede into the mists of tradition and scholarly reconstruction. His life cannot be fixed with precision, and the surviving sources do not allow a single, definitive chronology. What emerges instead is a carefully reasoned range, reflecting both textual study and historical inference rather than exact biography.

Most modern scholars situate Patañjali in a broad window extending from the 2nd century BCE to the early centuries of the Common Era. Within this span, a significant number of researchers lean toward placing him around the 2nd century BCE, sometimes extending into the 1st century CE. Traditional Hindu accounts often echo this general placement by suggesting a date around 200 BCE, which harmonizes with the scholarly tendency to see him in the late pre-Common Era or very early Common Era.

At the same time, the scholarly conversation acknowledges that estimates can stretch somewhat earlier or later, with some proposals reaching as far as the 4th century BCE on one end and the 4th century CE on the other. These wider bounds do not command the same consensus, yet they illustrate how elusive a firm date remains. The uncertainty is heightened by ongoing debates about whether the Patañjali of the Yoga Sūtras is the same as the grammarian associated with the commentary on Pāṇini, a question that further clouds attempts at precise dating.

From a spiritual perspective, this indeterminacy can itself be instructive. The teachings of the Yoga Sūtras have endured across centuries precisely because they are not confined to a single historical moment. While scholarship responsibly narrows Patañjali’s life to roughly the 2nd century BCE to the early Common Era, the enduring value of his work lies less in the exact year of his birth and more in the timeless clarity with which it illuminates the path of yoga.