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Kleshas are negative mental states or veils that obstructs the spiritual progress. These are Ignorance (Avidya), Ego (Asmita), Attachment (Raga), Aversion (Dvesha), and Fear of Death (Abhinivesha)

Kleshas drives person to accumulate negative karmas. When a thought or action is driven by Kleshas, they create samskaras (memory imprints) which are like chiseled lines on the rock, can take lifetimes to go away. These samskaras bind the soul and create multi-life experiences of pleasure and pain. 

So recognition of Kleshas as and when they arise in the mind is the first step. They arise from samskaras that are stored in the chitta, the subconscious memory. Once recognized, label it with the type of Klesha. 

For example If the type of Klesha that appears is Raga (desire) , say mentally Raga. Then watch how the mind reacts to this Klesha. Watch the mental chatter between I (ego) and not I (mental objects of form, color , touch and sound)  

Let’s say, Raga(desire) imagines and projects a mini movie on the mind screen through thought forms and the mind indulges in it and emotions are felt. Then without us knowing, this movie is created as an imprint or samskaras inside Chitta (subconscious memory). Chitta is part of sukshma sharira that goes from body to body , life after life .

For liberation from earthly life or the cycle of birth and death, Samskaras needs to be dissolved, and this is only possible through the dissolution of Kleshas.

Listing verses pertaining to Kleshas from Yoga Sutras of Pathanjali – Source: Grok

Sutras Explicitly Mentioning or Defining the Kleshas

Sutra 2.3

• Sanskrit: अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः पञ्चक्लेशाः
• Transliteration: Avidyāsmitārāgadveṣābhiniveśāḥ pañcakleśāḥ
• Translation: The five kleshas are ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and clinging to life.
• Explanation: This sutra lists the five kleshas, establishing them as the primary obstacles to spiritual progress and the causes of suffering.

Sutra 2.4

• Sanskrit: अविद्या क्षेत्रमुत्तरेषां प्रसुप्ततनुविच्छिन्नोदाराणाम्
• Transliteration: Avidyā kṣetram uttareṣāṁ prasupta-tanu-vicchinnodārāṇām
• Translation: Ignorance is the field for the others [kleshas], whether they are dormant, attenuated, interrupted, or active.
• Explanation: This sutra identifies avidya as the root of the other kleshas, describing their four states: dormant (latent), attenuated (weakened), interrupted (temporarily suppressed), or active (fully manifest).

Sutra 2.5

• Sanskrit: अनित्याशुचिदुःखानात्मसु नित्यशुचिसुखात्मख्यातिरविद्या
• Transliteration: Anityāśuciduḥkhānātmasu nityaśucisukhātmakhyātiravidyā
• Translation: Ignorance is perceiving the impermanent as permanent, the impure as pure, the painful as pleasant, and the non-self as the self.
• Explanation: This sutra defines avidya, explaining it as the misperception of reality that underlies all other kleshas.

Sutra 2.6

• Sanskrit: दृग्दर्शनशक्त्योरेकात्मतेवास्मिता
• Transliteration: Dṛgdṛśanaśaktyorekatmatevāsmitā
• Translation: Egoism is the identification of the seer (pure consciousness) with the instrument of seeing (mind or body).
• Explanation: This sutra defines asmita as the false identification of the true self (purusha) with the mind or body.

Sutra 2.7

• Sanskrit: सुखानुशयी रागः
• Transliteration: Sukhānuśayī rāgaḥ
• Translation: Attachment is that which follows the memory of pleasure.
• Explanation: This sutra defines raga as the desire or craving for pleasurable experiences based on past enjoyment.

Sutra 2.8

• Sanskrit: दुःखानुशयी द्वेषः
• Transliteration: Duḥkhānuśayī dveṣaḥ
• Translation: Aversion is that which follows the memory of pain.
• Explanation: This sutra defines dvesha as the avoidance or repulsion toward experiences associated with past pain.

Sutra 2.9

• Sanskrit: स्वरसवाही विदुषोऽपि तथारूढोऽभिनिवेशः
• Transliteration: Svarasavāhī viduṣo’pi tathārūḍho’bhiniveśaḥ
• Translation: Clinging to life, flowing by its own nature, is established even in the wise.
• Explanation: This sutra defines abhinivesha as the instinctive fear of death and attachment to life, which persists even in knowledgeable individuals.

Sutras Indirectly Referencing the Kleshas

The following sutras do not explicitly name the kleshas but discuss their role or methods to mitigate them, making them relevant to the topic:

Sutra 2.2

• Sanskrit: समाधिभावनार्थः क्लेशकर्मनिवृत्त्यर्थः तपःस्वाध्यायेश्वरप्रणिधानानि क्रियायोगः
• Transliteration: Samādhibhāvanārthaḥ kleśakarma nivṛttyarthaḥ tapaḥsvādhyāyeśvarapraṇidhānāni kriyāyogaḥ
• Translation: Kriya Yoga, consisting of austerity, self-study, and surrender to Ishvara, is practiced for cultivating samadhi and reducing the kleshas and karma.
• Explanation: This sutra indirectly references the kleshas by stating that Kriya Yoga is a practice aimed at reducing their influence and the karmic effects they produce.

Sutra 2.10

• Sanskrit: ते प्रतिप्रसवहेयाः सूक्ष्माः
• Transliteration: Te pratiprasavaheyāḥ sūkṣmāḥ
• Translation: These [kleshas], when subtle, are to be overcome by resolving them into their origin.
• Explanation: This sutra refers to the kleshas in their subtle (latent) form, suggesting that they can be dissolved through meditative practices that return them to their source.

Sutra 2.11

• Sanskrit: ध्यानहेयास्तद्वृत्तयः
• Transliteration: Dhyānaheyāstadvṛttayaḥ
• Translation: Their [kleshas’] mental modifications are to be overcome through meditation.
• Explanation: This sutra explains that meditation (dhyana) is the means to eliminate the mental fluctuations caused by the kleshas.

Sutra 2.12

• Sanskrit: क्लेशमूलः कर्माशयो दृष्टादृष्टजन्मवेदनीयः
• Transliteration: Kleśamūlaḥ karmāśayo dṛṣṭādṛṣṭajanmavedanīyaḥ
• Translation: The reservoir of karma, rooted in the kleshas, is experienced in this life or in future lives.
• Explanation: This sutra explains that the kleshas (ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and clinging to life, as defined in 2.3–2.9) are the root cause of the accumulation of karma (karmāśaya). This “reservoir” of karma, driven by the kleshas, determines experiences in the current life (dṛṣṭa, seen) or future lives (adṛṣṭa, unseen). Essentially, actions influenced by the kleshas create karmic impressions that shape future suffering or pleasure.

Sutra 2.13

• Sanskrit: सति मूले तद्विपाको जात्यायुर्भोगाः
• Transliteration: Sati mūle tadvipāko jātyāyurbhogāḥ
• Translation: As long as the root [kleshas] exists, their fruition results in birth, lifespan, and experiences.
• Explanation: This sutra elaborates that as long as the kleshas persist, they lead to the ripening (vipāka) of karma, which manifests as the type of birth (jāti, e.g., species or circumstances), lifespan (āyu), and quality of experiences (bhoga, pleasure or pain). The kleshas drive the cycle of karma and rebirth, determining the conditions of one’s existence.