In this small figure of Yogaguru Patanjali, Orissa soft stone is used giving it a nice touch. It is not in a single piece of stone. As a number of stones are put together to create the figure. Patanjali, the great yoga acharya is also believed to be an incarnation of Adishesa, who is the first ego-expansion of Vishnu, the manifestation of Vishnu. His primeval energies and opulences, is part of the so-called catur vyūha, the fourfold manifestation of Vishnu. Thus may Patañjali be considered as the one incarnation of God defending the ego of yoga. Patanjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sutras, a major work containing articles on the philosophical aspects of mind and consciousness. He is also the author of a major commentary on Panini's Ashtadhyayi. Yoga Sutra has of late become quite popular across the globe for the precepts regarding practice of Raja Yoga and its philosophical basis. "Yoga" in traditional Hinduism involves inner contemplation, a rigorous system of meditation practice, ethics, metaphysics, and devotion to the one common soul, God, or Brahman. He was a great Natya dancer and is revered by the exponents of classical Indian dance as their patron saint.