धारणा
Dhāraṇā is the sixth limb of the eightfold yoga — the binding of the mind to a single place — coming after withdrawal of the senses and before meditation. The Bhagavata treats it not merely as a yogic technique but as an instrument of devotion: at SB 2.1.19 it prescribes unbroken attention to a single limb of the Lord; at SB 2.1.21 it says that by holding it the yoga whose mark is devotion is quickly attained; and at SB 2.2.13 it gives the sequence from the feet to the smile, each mastered station being released for the next. According to SB 2.2.1, it was by this same dhāraṇā that Brahmā recovered his lost memory.
Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa 2.1.19 — Sanskrit Wikisource (pinned oldid=332515)
'kecit sva-dehantar-hridayavakashe pradesha-matram purusham vasantam, catur-bhujam kanja-rathanga-shankha-gada-dharam' (SB 2.2.8); limb by limb from feet to smile, each mastered station released (SB 2.2.13).
