sri-adi-nathaya namo'stu tasmai
yenopadista hatha-yoga-vidya
vibhrajate pronnata-raja-yogam
arodhum icchor adhirohiniva

“Reverences to Adinatha (Shiva)
who expounded the knowledge of hatha-yoga,
which is like a ladder,
leading the aspirant to the
summit of raja yoga."

Hatha yoga Pradipika (1.1)

Lord Shiva – The original Hatha Yoga master

Although the source and origin of the Vedic wisdom is the holy Veda, the different yogic paths originally stem from the Vedic rishis. According to tradition, Hatha yoga — also known as hatha vidya — was originally taught in secret by Lord Shiva Himself to his wife, the Goddess Parvati, on a bank of a river. While Parvati was listening, she noticed that a fish was paying attention to the teachings. So happy to see the interest the fish had in the wisdom of yoga, she begged her husband, lord Shiva, to transform the fish into a human being. The Lord consented to her plea and made him into a mystic, a siddha, by the name of Matsyendranatha.

Matsyendranatha is one of the eighty-four maha-siddhas, and the first of the Natha yogis. His name derives from the Sanskrit word matsya, or "fish". The word matsya is used within the tantric tradition to refer to the senses, according to this interpretation, Matsyendranatha means "he who has reached mastery over the senses". This traditional tale suggests to us that yoga is not only a matter of information, but that it also implies a complete transformation.

Among the disciples of Matsyendranatha on the path of hatha-yoga, was Caurangi, a cripple without limbs, to whom the master miraculously gave arms and legs by his sacred glance. However, his most famous disciple was Goraksanatha, one of the greatest and most important masters of hatha-yoga.

A few of the most notable masters within this rich tradition were: Sabarananda, Minanatha, Bilesaya, Bhairava, Manthana, Kakacandisvara and others.

Another important master of hatha yoga was Gheranda, a great vaisnava and the master of Canda Kapali.

The great sage Svatmarama and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika

However, one cannot summarize the history of hatha yoga without mentioning the great sage Svatmarama. It was the great similarity between the hatha yoga of Goraksanatha and the astanga-yoga of Patañjali Maharsi that led Svatmarama to create a fusion of the two; as he describes in his famous work, the Hatha yoga pradipika (2.76):

hatham vina raja-yogo
raja-yogam vina hathah
na sidhyati tato yugmam
anispatteh samabhyaset

“Without hatha yoga
the perfection of raja yoga is impossible;
the same is true for hatha yoga
without raja-yoga.
One should practice both
until granted complete success.”

The Shiva samhita (5.181) also refers to this point:

hatham vina raja-yogo
raja-yogam vina hathah
tasmat pravartate yogi
hathe sad-gurum argatah

“Hatha yoga cannot be obtained
without raja-yoga,
nor can raja-yoga be attained
without hatha yoga.
Therefore, let the yogi first
learn hatha yoga
from the instructions of the wise guru.”