1. Retention- A type of Srutaniśrita Matijnāna
(perceptual cognition depending on verbal symbol);
just after the Avāya (perceptual judgment), the persistence of the specific determination of the object (or the definite cognition), which is in the form of keeping it intact, imprint or memory.
tayaṇaṃtaraṃ tayatthāviccavaṇaṃ jo ya vāsaṇājogo.
kālaṃtare ya jaṃ puṇaraṇusaraṇaṃ dhāraṇā sā u...
(ViBhā 291)
2. The second stage of Dhāranā (1) (retention), in which the retained object (subject) gets lost (forgotten) on account of absence of revision (or repetition).
tameva atthaṃ aṇuvayogattaṇato viccutaṃ jahāṇṇeṇaṃ aṃtamuhuttāto parato divasādikālavibhāgesu saṃbharato ya dhāraṇā bhaṇṇati.
(Nandī 49 Cū p 37)
3. A kind of yoga-sādhanā (practice of astānga yoga), in which the Citta (psyche) is fixed on or fastened to a particular object of meditation.
dhyeye cittasya sthirabandho dhāraṇā.
(Mano 4.15)