DhÃÂraá¹Âà() is the sixth limb of eight elucidated by Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga or Raja Yoga in his Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. It is directing and maintaining the mind's attention to a specific location of the body after sense-withdrawal has been attained.
DhÃÂraá¹Âàis translated as "firmness, steadfastness, certainty," as "the act of holding, bearing, wearing, supporting, maintaining, retaining, keeping back (in remembrance), a good memory," and also as "collection or concentration of the mind (joined with the retention of breath)." This term is related to the verbal Sanskrit roots dha and ana, to hold, carry, maintain, resolve. Dharana is the noun.
Yoga Sutras verse III.1 states deà Âa-bandhaà  cittasya dhÃÂraà ÂÃÂ, meaning:
According to Bryant, in Yoga Sutras verse III.1 Patanjali defines dharana as "concentration is the fixing of the mind in one place," maintaining the mind's attention in one fixed place.
In the commentarial tradition, dhÃÂraá¹Âàis interpreted as "holding", "holding steady", "concentration", or "single focus." The Yogabhashya in its commentary on Yoga Sutras verse III.1 mentions focal points like the navel or the heart, while later commentators like Vacaspati Misra and Ramananda Sarasvati refer to the Vishnu Purana, which highlights theistic meditation, particularly visualizing Vishnu's form.
The prior limb Pratyahara involves withdrawing the senses from external phenomena. DhÃÂraá¹Âàbuilds further upon this by refining it further to ekagrata or ekagra chitta, that is continuous, uninterrupted lucid awareness. The commentarial tradition interprets it as single-pointed concentration and focus, which is in this context cognate with Samatha. Gregor Maehle defines Dharana as: "The mind thinks about one object and avoids other thoughts; awareness of the object is still interrupted." The difference between DhÃÂraá¹ÂÃÂ, DhyÃÂna, and SamÃÂdhi, which together are called Samyama, is a gradual one of intensity and uninterruptedness.