Sankhya Karika

दुःखत्रयाभिघाताज्जिज्ञासा तदपघातके हेतौ । दृष्टे साऽपार्था चेन्नैकान्तात्यन्ततोऽभावात् ॥ १ ॥

duḥkhatrayābhighātājjijñāsā tadapaghātake hetau | dṛṣṭe sā'pārthā cennaikāntātyantato'bhāvāt || 1 ||

From the affliction of threefold suffering arises the inquiry into the means for removing it. Some may object that the inquiry is pointless since visible remedies exist -- but this is wrong, because they do not give certain and final removal.

दृष्टवदानुश्रविकः स ह्यविशुद्धिक्षयातिशययुक्तः । तद्विपरीतः श्रेयान् व्यक्ताव्यक्तज्ञविज्ञानात् ॥ २ ॥

dṛṣṭavadānuśravikaḥ sa hyaviśuddhikṣayātiśayayuktaḥ | tadviparītaḥ śreyān vyaktāvyaktajñavijñānāt || 2 ||

The visible worldly means is like the one heard from scripture, the Vedic ritual -- both are impure, subject to decay, and excess or inferiority. Superior to both is discriminative knowledge of the manifest (vyakta), the unmanifest (avyakta), and the knower (jna, i.e. purusha, the conscious self).

मूलप्रकृतिरविकृतिर्महदाद्याः प्रकृतिविकृतयः सप्त । षोडशकस्तु विकारो न प्रकृतिर्न विकृतिः पुरुषः ॥ ३ ॥

mūlaprakṛtiravikṛtirmahadādyāḥ prakṛtivikṛtayaḥ sapta | ṣoḍaśakastu vikāro na prakṛtirna vikṛtiḥ puruṣaḥ || 3 ||

Root-nature (mula-prakriti) is not itself a product. The seven beginning with mahat (the great principle, i.e. buddhi, down to the five subtle elements) are both products and productive. The group of sixteen (the five gross elements, mind, and the ten senses) is only a product, never productive. Purusha (the conscious self) is neither a product nor productive.

दृष्टमनुमानमाप्तवचनं च सर्वप्रमाणसिद्धत्वात् । त्रिविधं प्रमाणमिष्टं प्रमेयसिद्धिः प्रमाणाद्धि ॥ ४ ॥

dṛṣṭamanumānamāptavacanaṁ ca sarvapramāṇasiddhatvāt | trividhaṁ pramāṇamiṣṭaṁ prameyasiddhiḥ pramāṇāddhi || 4 ||

Perception, inference, and reliable testimony are the three means of valid knowledge (pramana), accepted because all other proposed means reduce to these; for it is through a means of knowledge that an object of knowledge is established.

प्रतिविषयाध्यवसायो दृष्टं त्रिविधमनुमानमाख्यातम् । तल्लिङ्गलिङ्गिपूर्वकमाप्तश्रुतिराप्तवचनं तु ॥ ५ ॥

prativiṣayādhyavasāyo dṛṣṭaṁ trividhamanumānamākhyātam | talliṅgaliṅgipūrvakamāptaśrutirāptavacanaṁ tu || 5 ||

Perception is the ascertainment with respect to each particular sense-object. Inference, declared to be of three kinds, is preceded by the relation between the mark (linga) and that which bears the mark (lingin). Reliable testimony is trustworthy verbal instruction from one who knows (aptashruti).

Note: Wikisource markup showed a stray extra danda (‘॥। ५ ॥’) at the verse-number mark; normalized to a single danda, no textual content affected.

सामान्यतस्तु दृष्टादतीन्द्रियाणां प्रतीतिरनुमानात् । तस्मादपि चासिद्धं परोक्षमाप्तागमात्सिद्धम् ॥ ६ ॥

sāmānyatastu dṛṣṭādatīndriyāṇāṁ pratītiranumānāt | tasmādapi cāsiddhaṁ parokṣamāptāgamātsiddham || 6 ||

The cognition of things beyond the senses (atindriya) comes through inference from what is generally observed. But whatever even that cannot establish, being beyond even inference, is established through the scripture and testimony of the reliable (aptagama).

अतिदूरात् सामीप्यादिन्द्रियघातान्मनोऽनवस्थानात् । सौक्ष्म्याद्व्यवधानादभिभवात् समानाभिहाराच्च ॥ ७ ॥

atidūrāt sāmīpyādindriyaghātānmano'navasthānāt | saukṣmyādvyavadhānādabhibhavāt samānābhihārācca || 7 ||

Something may remain unperceived though existent, for eight reasons: because it is too far, too near, because of a defect in the sense organ, because of the mind's inattention, because of subtlety, because of obstruction by an intervening object, because it is overpowered by something brighter, or because of mixture with similar things.

सौक्ष्म्यात्तदनुपलब्धिर्नाभावात् कार्यतस्तदुपलब्धेः । महदादि तच्च कार्यं प्रकृतिसरूपं विरूपं च ॥ ८ ॥

saukṣmyāttadanupalabdhirnābhāvāt kāryatastadupalabdheḥ | mahadādi tacca kāryaṁ prakṛtisarūpaṁ virūpaṁ ca || 8 ||

Prakriti, primal nature, is not perceived because of its subtlety, not because it does not exist -- for it is apprehended through its effect. Mahat and the rest are its effect, an effect that is similar to and also dissimilar from prakriti.

असदकरणादुपादानग्रहणात् सर्वसम्भवाभावात् । शक्तस्य शक्यकरणात् कारणभावाच्च सत्कार्यम् ॥ ९ ॥

asadakaraṇādupādānagrahaṇāt sarvasambhavābhāvāt | śaktasya śakyakaraṇāt kāraṇabhāvācca satkāryam || 9 ||

The effect pre-exists in its cause, before its manifest production -- because a non-existent thing cannot be brought into being; because a suitable material cause must be taken up; because everything is not possible everywhere; because a capable cause produces only what it is capable of; and because the effect has the very nature of its cause. This is the doctrine of pre-existent effect, satkaryavada.

हेतुमदनित्यमव्यापि सक्रियमनेकमाश्रितं लिंङ्गम् । सावयवं परतन्त्रं व्यक्तं विपरीतमव्यक्तम् ॥ १० ॥

hetumadanityamavyāpi sakriyamanekamāśritaṁ liṁṅgam | sāvayavaṁ paratantraṁ vyaktaṁ viparītamavyaktam || 10 ||

The manifest (vyakta, the evolved world) is caused, non-eternal, non-pervasive, active, multiple, dependent, resolvable into its cause, composite, and subordinate to something else. The unmanifest (avyakta, primal nature) is the reverse of all this.

त्रिगुणमविवेकि विषयः सामान्यमचेतनं प्रसवधर्मि । व्यक्तं तथा प्रधानं तद्विपरीतस्तथा च पुमान् ॥ ११ ॥

triguṇamaviveki viṣayaḥ sāmānyamacetanaṁ prasavadharmi | vyaktaṁ tathā pradhānaṁ tadviparītastathā ca pumān || 11 ||

The manifest possesses the three gunas (constituent qualities of prakriti -- sattva, rajas, tamas), is non-discriminated from its cause, objective, common to many experiencers, non-conscious, and productive. So too is prakriti, the unmanifest primal nature. Purusha, the conscious self, is the opposite of that, being conscious and non-productive.

प्रीत्यप्रीतिविषादात्मकाः प्रकाशप्रवृत्तिनियमार्थाः । अन्योन्याभिभवाश्रयजननमिथुनवृत्तयश्च गुणाः ॥ १२ ॥

prītyaprītiviṣādātmakāḥ prakāśapravṛttiniyamārthāḥ | anyonyābhibhavāśrayajananamithunavṛttayaśca guṇāḥ || 12 ||

The gunas -- sattva, rajas, tamas, the three constituent strands of prakriti -- have the character of pleasure, pain, and delusion; their purposes are illumination, activity, and restraint. They mutually dominate one another, depend on one another, generate one another, consort with one another, and operate together.

सत्त्वं लघु प्रकाशकमिष्टमुपष्टम्भकं चलं च रजः । गुरु वरणकमेव तमः प्रदीपवच्चार्थतो वृत्तिः ॥ १३ ॥

sattvaṁ laghu prakāśakamiṣṭamupaṣṭambhakaṁ calaṁ ca rajaḥ | guru varaṇakameva tamaḥ pradīpavaccārthato vṛttiḥ || 13 ||

Sattva is held to be light and illuminating; rajas is stimulating and mobile; tamas alone is heavy and enveloping, restraining. Like a lamp, their functioning is for a single shared purpose -- the service of purusha.

अविवेक्यादेः सिद्धिस्त्रैगुण्यात् तद्विपर्ययाभावात् । कारणगुणात्मकत्वात् कार्यस्याव्यक्तमपि सिद्धम् ॥ १४ ॥

avivekyādeḥ siddhistraiguṇyāt tadviparyayābhāvāt | kāraṇaguṇātmakatvāt kāryasyāvyaktamapi siddham || 14 ||

The manifest world's non-discrimination and the rest are established from its being constituted by the three gunas; and correspondingly, the absence of the opposite qualities in the unmanifest follows from the same reasoning. Because an effect shares the nature of its cause, the unmanifest too is established as real, inferred from its effect even though it is not itself perceptible.

भेदानां परिमाणात् समन्वयात् शक्तितः प्रवृत्तेश्च । कारणकार्यविभागादविभागाद् वैश्वरूप्यस्य ॥ १५ ॥

bhedānāṁ parimāṇāt samanvayāt śaktitaḥ pravṛtteśca | kāraṇakāryavibhāgādavibhāgād vaiśvarūpyasya || 15 ||

The unmanifest cause exists -- because particular things are limited and finite, because of pervasive coherence among diverse effects, because of the activity that arises from potency, because cause and effect are distinct, and because the multiplicity of forms is ultimately undivided, resting in a single source.

कारणमस्त्यव्यक्तं प्रवर्तते त्रिगुणतः समुदयाच्च । परिणामतः सलिलवत् प्रतिप्रतिगुणाश्रयविशेषात् ॥ १६ ॥

kāraṇamastyavyaktaṁ pravartate triguṇataḥ samudayācca | pariṇāmataḥ salilavat pratipratiguṇāśrayaviśeṣāt || 16 ||

The unmanifest cause exists. It operates through the three gunas, by combination, through transformation -- like water flowing differently according to the channel it enters -- according to each guna's particular predominance in a given effect.

संघातपरार्थत्वात् त्रिगुणादिविपर्यादधिष्ठानात् । पुरुषोऽस्ति भोक्तृभावात् कैवल्यार्थं प्रवृत्तेश्च ॥ १७ ॥

saṁghātaparārthatvāt triguṇādiviparyādadhiṣṭhānāt | puruṣo'sti bhoktṛbhāvāt kaivalyārthaṁ pravṛtteśca || 17 ||

Purusha exists -- because every combination or aggregate exists for the sake of another; because there must be something free from the three gunas and the rest to stand opposite them; because there must be a superintending consciousness; because there must be an experiencer; and because activity in the world proceeds toward liberation (kaivalya).

जननमरणकरणानां प्रतिनियमादयुगपत्प्रवृत्तेश्च । पुरुषबहुत्वं सिद्धं त्रैगुण्यविपर्ययाच्चैव ॥ १८ ॥

jananamaraṇakaraṇānāṁ pratiniyamādayugapatpravṛtteśca | puruṣabahutvaṁ siddhaṁ traiguṇyaviparyayāccaiva || 18 ||

The plurality of purushas, the individual conscious selves, is established: from the specific allotment of birth, death, and the bodily organs to each individual; from the fact that individuals' activities are not simultaneous; and from the differing proportions of the three gunas in different beings.

तस्माच्च विपर्यासात् सिद्धं साक्षित्वमस्य पुरुषस्य । कैवल्यं माध्यस्थ्यं द्रष्टृत्वमकर्तृभावश्च ॥ १९ ॥

tasmācca viparyāsāt siddhaṁ sākṣitvamasya puruṣasya | kaivalyaṁ mādhyasthyaṁ draṣṭṛtvamakartṛbhāvaśca || 19 ||

From that same contrast with the guna-constituted world, purusha's nature as witness is established -- its aloofness, its neutrality, its being a mere seer, and its non-agency.

तस्मात्तत्संयोगादचेतनं चेतनावदिव लिङ्गम् । गुणकर्तृत्वेऽपि तथा कर्तेव भवत्युदासीनः ॥ २० ॥

tasmāttatsaṁyogādacetanaṁ cetanāvadiva liṅgam | guṇakartṛtve'pi tathā karteva bhavatyudāsīnaḥ || 20 ||

Therefore, through its conjunction with purusha, the unconscious linga, the subtle body or organ complex, appears as if conscious. And likewise, though it is really the gunas that act, purusha appears to be the agent, while in truth remaining indifferent.

पुरुषस्य दर्शनार्थं कैवल्यार्थं तथा प्रधानस्य । पङ्ग्वन्धवदुभयोरपि संयोगस्तत्कृतः सर्गः ॥ २१ ॥

puruṣasya darśanārthaṁ kaivalyārthaṁ tathā pradhānasya | paṅgvandhavadubhayorapi saṁyogastatkṛtaḥ sargaḥ || 21 ||

For the sake of purusha's seeing prakriti and for the sake of purusha's isolation, kaivalya, the union of the two occurs -- like the union of the lame and the blind. From that union, creation (sarga) proceeds.

प्रकृतेर्महांस्ततोऽहंकारस्तस्माद् गणश्च षोडशकः । तस्मादपि षोडशकात् पञ्चभ्यः पञ्चभूतानि ॥ २२ ॥

prakṛtermahāṁstato'haṁkārastasmād gaṇaśca ṣoḍaśakaḥ | tasmādapi ṣoḍaśakāt pañcabhyaḥ pañcabhūtāni || 22 ||

From prakriti comes mahat, the great principle, i.e. buddhi; from that, ahamkara, the ego-principle of self-awareness; from that, the group of sixteen; and from that group of sixteen, from five of them, the five subtle elements, the five gross elements arise.

अध्यवसायो बुद्धिर्धर्मो ज्ञानं विराग ऐश्वर्यम् । सात्त्विकमेतद्रूपं तामसमस्माद्विपर्यस्तम् ॥ २३ ॥

adhyavasāyo buddhirdharmo jñānaṁ virāga aiśvaryam | sāttvikametadrūpaṁ tāmasamasmādviparyastam || 23 ||

Determination or ascertainment (adhyavasaya) is buddhi, the intellect. Righteousness (dharma), knowledge (jnana), dispassion (vairagya), and sovereign power (aishvarya) are its sattvic form; the tamasic form is the reverse of these -- unrighteousness, ignorance, attachment, powerlessness.

अभिमानोऽहंकारः तस्माद्विविधः प्रवर्तते सर्गः । एकादशकश्च गणस्तन्मात्रपञ्चकश्चैव ॥ २४ ॥

abhimāno'haṁkāraḥ tasmādvividhaḥ pravartate sargaḥ | ekādaśakaśca gaṇastanmātrapañcakaścaiva || 24 ||

Ahamkara, the ego-principle, is self-conceit or self-appropriation (abhimana). From it proceeds a twofold creation: the group of eleven, the mind and the ten senses, and the set of five subtle elements, the tanmatras.

सात्त्विक एकादशकः प्रवर्तते वैकृतादहंकारात् । भूतादेस्तन्मात्रः स तामसस्तैजसादुभयम् ॥ २५ ॥

sāttvika ekādaśakaḥ pravartate vaikṛtādahaṁkārāt | bhūtādestanmātraḥ sa tāmasastaijasādubhayam || 25 ||

The sattvic group of eleven proceeds from the modified, sattvic ahamkara; the tanmatras, subtle elements, proceed from the elemental-source, tamasic ahamkara -- that creation is tamasic; from the fiery, rajasic ahamkara comes both, since rajas supplies the energy for both the sattvic and tamasic creations.

बुद्धीन्द्रियाणि चक्षुःश्रोत्रघ्राणरसनत्वगाख्यानि । वाक्पाणिपादपायूपस्थानि कर्मेन्द्रियाण्याहुः ॥ २६ ॥

buddhīndriyāṇi cakṣuḥśrotraghrāṇarasanatvagākhyāni | vākpāṇipādapāyūpasthāni karmendriyāṇyāhuḥ || 26 ||

The cognitive organs (buddhindriyas) are called eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin. Speech, hands, feet, the organ of excretion, and the organ of generation -- these they call the organs of action (karmendriyas).

उभयात्मकमत्र मनः सङ्कल्पमिन्द्रियं च साधर्म्यात् । गुणपरिणामविशेषान्नानात्वं बाह्यभेदाश्च ॥ २७ ॥

ubhayātmakamatra manaḥ saṅkalpamindriyaṁ ca sādharmyāt | guṇapariṇāmaviśeṣānnānātvaṁ bāhyabhedāśca || 27 ||

Here mind, manas, partakes of both natures -- it deliberates and wills, and it is also itself a sense, because of its shared character with both groups. The diversity among individuals' senses and the external differences among objects arise from the particular modifications of the gunas.

रूपादिषु पञ्चानामालोचनमात्रमिष्यते वृत्तिः । वचनादानविहरणोत्सर्गानन्दाश्च पञ्चानाम् ॥ २८ ॥

rūpādiṣu pañcānāmālocanamātramiṣyate vṛttiḥ | vacanādānaviharaṇotsargānandāśca pañcānām || 28 ||

With respect to form and the other sense-objects, the function of the five cognitive organs is held to be mere perception or registering. Speaking, grasping, moving, excreting, and generative delight are the functions of the five organs of action.

स्वालक्षण्यं वृत्तिस्त्रयस्य सैषा भवत्यसामान्या । सामान्यकरणवृत्तिः प्राणाद्या वायवः पञ्च ॥ २९ ॥

svālakṣaṇyaṁ vṛttistrayasya saiṣā bhavatyasāmānyā | sāmānyakaraṇavṛttiḥ prāṇādyā vāyavaḥ pañca || 29 ||

The distinctive function of buddhi, ahamkara, and manas is particular to each of the three, and exclusive to each; but their shared function is the five vital breaths, prana and the rest.

युगपच्चतुष्टयस्य तु वृत्तिः क्रमशश्च तस्य निर्दिष्टा । दृष्टे तथाप्यदृष्टे त्रयस्य तत्पूर्विका वृत्तिः ॥ ३० ॥

yugapaccatuṣṭayasya tu vṛttiḥ kramaśaśca tasya nirdiṣṭā | dṛṣṭe tathāpyadṛṣṭe trayasya tatpūrvikā vṛttiḥ || 30 ||

The function of the four -- buddhi, ahamkara, manas, and an external sense -- is simultaneous with respect to a present object; and sequential function is also indicated for them. In the case of an unperceived, absent object, the function of the three internal organs is preceded by that, by a prior perception.

Note: Wikisource text had a stray trailing virama after त्रयस्य् (‘trayasya’, genitive ‘of the three’); corrected to the standard reading त्रयस्य, matching all other editions of this well-attested verse.

स्वां स्वां प्रतिपद्यन्ते परस्पराकूतहेतुकां वृत्तिम् । पुरुषार्थ एव हेतुर्न केनचित् कार्यते करणम् ॥ ३१ ॥

svāṁ svāṁ pratipadyante parasparākūtahetukāṁ vṛttim | puruṣārtha eva heturna kenacit kāryate karaṇam || 31 ||

The organs each take up their own function, each impelled by a mutual, unprompted urging. The sole motive is the purpose of purusha -- no instrument is set to work by any external agent.

करणं त्रयोदशविधं तदाहरणधारणप्रकाशकरम् । कार्यं च तस्य दशधाऽऽहार्यं धार्यं प्रकाश्यं च ॥ ३२ ॥

karaṇaṁ trayodaśavidhaṁ tadāharaṇadhāraṇaprakāśakaram | kāryaṁ ca tasya daśadhā''hāryaṁ dhāryaṁ prakāśyaṁ ca || 32 ||

The instrument, the aggregate of thirteen organs, is of thirteen kinds; it effects grasping, holding, and illuminating. Its object is tenfold: what is to be grasped, what is to be held, and what is to be illuminated.

अन्तःकरणं त्रिविधं दशधा बाह्यं त्रयस्य विषयाख्यम् । साम्प्रतकालं बाह्यं त्रिकालमाभ्यन्तरं करणम् ॥ ३३ ॥

antaḥkaraṇaṁ trividhaṁ daśadhā bāhyaṁ trayasya viṣayākhyam | sāmpratakālaṁ bāhyaṁ trikālamābhyantaraṁ karaṇam || 33 ||

The internal organ, antahkarana -- buddhi, ahamkara, manas -- is threefold; the external organ, the ten senses, is tenfold, and is called the object-door of the internal three. The external organ operates only in the present time; the internal organ operates in all three times, past, present, and future.

बुद्धिन्द्रियाणि तेषां पञ्च विशेषाविशेषविषयाणि । वाग्भवति शब्दविषया शेषाणि तु पञ्चविषयाणि ॥ ३४ ॥

buddhindriyāṇi teṣāṁ pañca viśeṣāviśeṣaviṣayāṇi | vāgbhavati śabdaviṣayā śeṣāṇi tu pañcaviṣayāṇi || 34 ||

Among these, the five cognitive organs have as their objects both the specific and the non-specific forms of the elements. Speech has sound alone as its object; the remaining organs of action, together with mind, engage all five kinds of object.

सान्तःकरणा बुद्धिः सर्वं विषयमवगाहते यस्मात् । तस्मात् त्रिविधं करणं द्वारि द्वाराणि शेषाणि ॥ ३५ ॥

sāntaḥkaraṇā buddhiḥ sarvaṁ viṣayamavagāhate yasmāt | tasmāt trividhaṁ karaṇaṁ dvāri dvārāṇi śeṣāṇi || 35 ||

Because buddhi, together with the rest of the internal organ, comprehends every object, the true instrument is essentially threefold, centered in the internal organ; the remaining ten external organs are its doors -- buddhi itself is the door-keeper.

एते प्रदीपकल्पाः परस्परविलक्षणा गुणविशेषाः । कृत्स्नं पुरुषस्यार्थं प्रकाश्य बुद्धौ प्रयच्छन्ति ॥ ३६ ॥

ete pradīpakalpāḥ parasparavilakṣaṇā guṇaviśeṣāḥ | kṛtsnaṁ puruṣasyārthaṁ prakāśya buddhau prayacchanti || 36 ||

These thirteen organs, like lamps differing from one another in quality, having illumined the whole object for the sake of purusha, present it to buddhi.

सर्वं प्रत्युपभोगं यस्मात् पुरुषस्य साधयति बुद्धिः । सैव च विशिनष्टि पुनः प्रधानपुरुषान्तरं सूक्ष्मम् ॥ ३७ ॥

sarvaṁ pratyupabhogaṁ yasmāt puruṣasya sādhayati buddhiḥ | saiva ca viśinaṣṭi punaḥ pradhānapuruṣāntaraṁ sūkṣmam || 37 ||

Because buddhi accomplishes every enjoyment and experience for purusha, it alone, moreover, discerns the subtle distinction between prakriti and purusha.

तन्मात्राण्यविशेषास्तेभ्यो भूतानि पञ्च पञ्चभ्यः । एते स्मृता विशेषाः शन्ता घोराश्च मूढाश्च ॥ ३८ ॥

tanmātrāṇyaviśeṣāstebhyo bhūtāni pañca pañcabhyaḥ | ete smṛtā viśeṣāḥ śantā ghorāśca mūḍhāśca || 38 ||

The tanmatras, subtle elements, are non-specific and generic. From them arise the five gross elements, which are said to be specific, particularized -- and each, whether subtle or gross, is characterized as peaceful, turbulent, or dull according as sattva, rajas, or tamas predominates.

सूक्ष्मा मातापितृजाः सह प्रभूतैस्त्रिधा विशेषाः स्युः । सूक्ष्मास्तेषां नियता मातापितृजा निवर्तन्ते ॥ ३९ ॥

sūkṣmā mātāpitṛjāḥ saha prabhūtaistridhā viśeṣāḥ syuḥ | sūkṣmāsteṣāṁ niyatā mātāpitṛjā nivartante || 39 ||

The subtle bodies, those born of mother and father, and the gross elements together -- these are the threefold specific creation. Of these, the subtle bodies are constant and enduring; those born of mother and father cease and perish.

पूर्वोत्पन्नमसक्तं नियतं महदादिसूक्ष्मपर्यन्तम् । संसरति निरुपभोगं भावैरधिवासितं लिङ्गम् ॥ ४० ॥

pūrvotpannamasaktaṁ niyataṁ mahadādisūkṣmaparyantam | saṁsarati nirupabhogaṁ bhāvairadhivāsitaṁ liṅgam || 40 ||

The subtle body, produced first at the beginning of creation, unattached, constant, extending from mahat down to the subtle elements, transmigrates -- without direct experience of its own -- but imbued with dispositions.

चित्रं यथाऽऽश्रयमृते स्थाण्वादिभ्यो विना यथाच्छाया । तद्वद्विना विशेषैर्न तिष्ठति निराश्रयं लिङ्गम् ॥ ४१ ॥

citraṁ yathā''śrayamṛte sthāṇvādibhyo vinā yathācchāyā | tadvadvinā viśeṣairna tiṣṭhati nirāśrayaṁ liṅgam || 41 ||

As a picture cannot exist without a support, as a shadow cannot exist apart from a post or the like, so too the linga, the subtle body, does not stand without a support -- without the specifics, whether the dispositions or a gross body.

पुरुषार्थहेतुकमिदं निमित्तनैमित्तिकप्रसङ्गेन । प्रकृतेर्विभुत्वयोगान्नटवद् व्यवतिष्ठते लिङ्गम् ॥ ४२ ॥

puruṣārthahetukamidaṁ nimittanaimittikaprasaṅgena | prakṛtervibhutvayogānnaṭavad vyavatiṣṭhate liṅgam || 42 ||

This subtle body, for the purpose of purusha, through the connection of cause and effect, and by reason of prakriti's pervasive power, takes on its various roles -- like an actor.

सांसिद्धिकाश्च भावाः प्राकृतिका वैकृताश्च धर्माद्याः । दृष्टाः करणाश्रयिणः कार्याश्रयिणश्च कललाद्याः ॥ ४३ ॥

sāṁsiddhikāśca bhāvāḥ prākṛtikā vaikṛtāśca dharmādyāḥ | dṛṣṭāḥ karaṇāśrayiṇaḥ kāryāśrayiṇaśca kalalādyāḥ || 43 ||

Innate dispositions present from birth, as well as those arising from nature and those acquired through effort -- dharma and the rest, namely knowledge, dispassion, sovereignty, and their opposites -- are observed to reside either in the instrument, buddhi, as innate faculties, or in effects, such as the embryo and the like, as inherited or acquired traits.

धर्मेण गमनमूर्ध्वं गमनमधस्ताद् भवत्यधर्मेण । ज्ञानेन चापवर्गो विपर्ययादिष्यते बन्धः ॥ ४४ ॥

dharmeṇa gamanamūrdhvaṁ gamanamadhastād bhavatyadharmeṇa | jñānena cāpavargo viparyayādiṣyate bandhaḥ || 44 ||

By righteousness, dharma, one ascends to higher states; by unrighteousness, adharma, one descends. By knowledge, liberation follows; by its opposite, ignorance, bondage results.

वैराग्यात् प्रकृतिलयः संसारो भवति राजसाद् रागात् । ऐश्वर्यादविघातो विपर्ययात्तद्विपर्यासः ॥ ४५ ॥

vairāgyāt prakṛtilayaḥ saṁsāro bhavati rājasād rāgāt | aiśvaryādavighāto viparyayāttadviparyāsaḥ || 45 ||

From dispassion, vairagya, dissolution into prakriti results; from passion born of rajas, continued transmigration, samsara, results; from yogic sovereign power, freedom from obstruction of one's will follows; from its opposite, the reverse of that, obstruction, follows.

एष प्रत्ययसर्गो विपर्ययाशक्तितुष्टिसिद्ध्याख्यः । गुणवैषम्यविमर्दात् तस्य च भेदास्तु पञ्चाशत् ॥ ४६ ॥

eṣa pratyayasargo viparyayāśaktituṣṭisiddhyākhyaḥ | guṇavaiṣamyavimardāt tasya ca bhedāstu pañcāśat || 46 ||

This is the intellectual creation, pratyaya-sarga, the psychic or dispositional order, known by the names error, incapacity, contentment, and attainment; it arises from the disturbance and imbalance of the gunas. Its divisions number fifty.

पञ्च विपर्ययभेदा भवन्त्यशक्तिश्च करणवैकल्यात् । अष्टाविंशतिभेदा तुष्टिर्नवधाऽष्टधा सिद्धिः ॥ ४७ ॥

pañca viparyayabhedā bhavantyaśaktiśca karaṇavaikalyāt | aṣṭāviṁśatibhedā tuṣṭirnavadhā'ṣṭadhā siddhiḥ || 47 ||

Error, viparyaya, has five divisions; incapacity, ashakti, due to the defectiveness of the organs, has twenty-eight divisions; contentment, tushti, is ninefold; attainment, siddhi, is eightfold.

भेदस्तमसोऽष्टविधो मोहस्य च दशविधो महामोहः । तामिस्रोऽष्टादशधा तथा भवत्यन्धतामिस्रः ॥ ४८ ॥

bhedastamaso'ṣṭavidho mohasya ca daśavidho mahāmohaḥ | tāmisro'ṣṭādaśadhā tathā bhavatyandhatāmisraḥ || 48 ||

The division of tamas, the basic error of ignorance, is eightfold; and of moha, delusion, called mahamoha, great delusion, tenfold; tamisra, gloom, is eighteenfold, and likewise andhatamisra, blind gloom, is also eighteenfold.

एकादशेन्द्रियवधाः सह बुद्धिवधैरशक्तिरुद्दिष्टा । सप्तदश वधा बुद्धेर्विपर्ययात् तुष्टिसिद्धीनाम् ॥ ४९ ॥

ekādaśendriyavadhāḥ saha buddhivadhairaśaktiruddiṣṭā | saptadaśa vadhā buddherviparyayāt tuṣṭisiddhīnām || 49 ||

Incapacity is declared to be the impairments of the eleven organs together with the impairments of buddhi; the impairments of buddhi, seventeen in number, arise from the failure to attain contentment and the eight attainments.

आध्यात्मिक्यश्चतस्रः प्रकृत्युपादानकालभाग्याख्याः । बाह्या विषयोपरमात् पञ्च च नव तुष्टयोऽभिमताः ॥ ५० ॥

ādhyātmikyaścatasraḥ prakṛtyupādānakālabhāgyākhyāḥ | bāhyā viṣayoparamāt pañca ca nava tuṣṭayo'bhimatāḥ || 50 ||

The nine contentments are held to be: four internal ones, called reliance on nature, on the means of attainment, on time, and on fate; and five external ones, arising from abstention from the pursuit of sense-objects.

ऊहः शब्दोऽध्ययनं दुःखविघातास्त्रयः सुहृत्प्राप्तिः । दानं च सिद्धयोऽष्टौ सिद्धेः पूर्वोऽङ्कुशस्त्रिविधः ॥ ५१ ॥

ūhaḥ śabdo'dhyayanaṁ duḥkhavighātāstrayaḥ suhṛtprāptiḥ | dānaṁ ca siddhayo'ṣṭau siddheḥ pūrvo'ṅkuśastrividhaḥ || 51 ||

The eight attainments are: reasoning, hearing the word of instruction, study, the threefold removal of suffering, the gaining of good friends, and generosity. Prior to attainment comes the threefold restraint of the causes of error and incapacity.

न विना भावैर्लिङ्गं न विना लिङ्गेन भावनिर्वृत्तिः । लिङ्गाख्यो भावाख्यस्तस्माद् द्विविधः प्रवर्तते सर्गः ॥ ५२ ॥

na vinā bhāvairliṅgaṁ na vinā liṅgena bhāvanirvṛttiḥ | liṅgākhyo bhāvākhyastasmād dvividhaḥ pravartate sargaḥ || 52 ||

The linga, subtle body, does not exist without the dispositions, bhava; nor is the fulfillment of the dispositions possible without the linga. Therefore a twofold creation proceeds -- called the linga creation and the bhava creation.

अष्टविकल्पो दैवस्तैर्यग्योनश्च पञ्चधा भवति । मानुषकश्चैकविधः समासतो भौतिकः सर्गः ॥ ५३ ॥

aṣṭavikalpo daivastairyagyonaśca pañcadhā bhavati | mānuṣakaścaikavidhaḥ samāsato bhautikaḥ sargaḥ || 53 ||

In brief, the elemental creation is: the divine, eightfold; the animal realm, fivefold; and the human, of a single kind.

उर्ध्वं सत्त्वविशालस्तमोविशालश्च मूलतः सर्गः । मध्ये रजोविशालो ब्रह्मादिस्तम्बपर्यन्तः ॥ ५४ ॥

urdhvaṁ sattvaviśālastamoviśālaśca mūlataḥ sargaḥ | madhye rajoviśālo brahmādistambaparyantaḥ || 54 ||

Above, in the higher realms, the creation abounds in sattva; at the base, in the lower realms, it abounds in tamas; in the middle, it abounds in rajas -- this creation extends from Brahma down to a motionless blade of grass.

तत्र जरामरणकृतं दुःखं प्राप्नोति चेतनः पुरुषः । लिङ्गस्याविनिवृत्तेस्तस्माद् दुःखं स्वभावेन ॥ ५५ ॥

tatra jarāmaraṇakṛtaṁ duḥkhaṁ prāpnoti cetanaḥ puruṣaḥ | liṅgasyāvinivṛttestasmād duḥkhaṁ svabhāvena || 55 ||

In that creation, the conscious purusha experiences the suffering brought on by old age and death, because the linga, subtle body, has not ceased to accompany it. Therefore suffering, in truth, belongs to the linga's own nature.

इत्येष प्रकृतिकृतो महदादिविशेषभूतपर्यन्तः । प्रतिपुरुषविमोक्षार्थं स्वार्थ इव परार्थ आरम्भः ॥ ५६ ॥

ityeṣa prakṛtikṛto mahadādiviśeṣabhūtaparyantaḥ | pratipuruṣavimokṣārthaṁ svārtha iva parārtha ārambhaḥ || 56 ||

Thus this creation, wrought by prakriti, from mahat down to the particularized gross elements, operates for the liberation of each individual purusha: an undertaking for another's sake, carried out as though it were for its own.

वत्सविवृद्धिनिमित्तं क्षीरस्य यथा प्रवृत्तिरज्ञस्य । पुरुषविमोक्षनिमित्तं तथा प्रवृत्तिः प्रधानस्य ॥ ५७ ॥

vatsavivṛddhinimittaṁ kṣīrasya yathā pravṛttirajñasya | puruṣavimokṣanimittaṁ tathā pravṛttiḥ pradhānasya || 57 ||

As the unthinking milk flows forth for the nourishment of the calf, so prakriti acts for the sake of purusha's liberation.

औत्सुक्यविनिवृत्यर्थं यथा क्रियासु प्रवर्तते लोकः । पुरुषस्य विमोक्षार्थं प्रवर्तते तद्वदव्यक्तम् ॥ ५८ ॥

autsukyavinivṛtyarthaṁ yathā kriyāsu pravartate lokaḥ | puruṣasya vimokṣārthaṁ pravartate tadvadavyaktam || 58 ||

As people engage in activities to satisfy their own desire, so the unmanifest prakriti acts for the sake of purusha's liberation.

रङ्गस्य दर्शयित्वा निवर्तते नर्तकी यथा नृत्यात् । पुरुषस्य तथाऽत्मानं प्रकाश्य विनिवर्तते प्रकृतिः ॥ ५९ ॥

raṅgasya darśayitvā nivartate nartakī yathā nṛtyāt | puruṣasya tathā'tmānaṁ prakāśya vinivartate prakṛtiḥ || 59 ||

As a dancer, having displayed herself to the audience, ceases from the dance, so prakriti, having revealed herself to purusha, withdraws.

नानाविधैरुपायैरुपकारिण्यनुपकारिणः पुंसः । गुणवत्यगुणस्य सतः तस्यार्थमपार्थकं चरति ॥ ६० ॥

nānāvidhairupāyairupakāriṇyanupakāriṇaḥ puṁsaḥ | guṇavatyaguṇasya sataḥ tasyārthamapārthakaṁ carati || 60 ||

Beneficent by manifold means toward purusha, who offers nothing in return, prakriti, endowed with the gunas, acts without any self-interest for the sake of him who is without gunas.

प्रकृतेः सुकुमारतरं न किञ्चिदस्तीति मे मतिर्भवति । या दृष्टाऽस्मीति पुनर्न दर्शनमुपैति पुरुषस्य ॥ ६१ ॥

prakṛteḥ sukumārataraṁ na kiñcidastīti me matirbhavati | yā dṛṣṭā'smīti punarna darśanamupaiti puruṣasya || 61 ||

Nothing, in my view, is more delicate or modest than prakriti, who, thinking 'I have been seen,' never again comes into purusha's view.

तस्मान्न बध्यतेऽद्धा न मुच्यते नापि संसरति कञ्चित् । संसरति बध्यते मुच्यते च नानाश्रया प्रकृतिः ॥ ६२ ॥

tasmānna badhyate'ddhā na mucyate nāpi saṁsarati kañcit | saṁsarati badhyate mucyate ca nānāśrayā prakṛtiḥ || 62 ||

Therefore, in truth, no one, no purusha, is ever bound, nor liberated, nor does it transmigrate. It is prakriti alone, resting on the many individual subtle bodies, that transmigrates, is bound, and is liberated.

रूपैः सप्तभिरेव तु बध्नात्यात्मानमात्मना प्रकृतिः । सैव च पुरुषार्थं प्रति विमोचयत्येकरूपेण ॥ ६३ ॥

rūpaiḥ saptabhireva tu badhnātyātmānamātmanā prakṛtiḥ | saiva ca puruṣārthaṁ prati vimocayatyekarūpeṇa || 63 ||

Prakriti binds herself by herself through seven forms, the dispositions other than knowledge; and she alone, through the one form of knowledge, releases herself for the sake of purusha.

एवं तत्वाभ्यास्यान्नास्मि न मे नाहमित्यपरिशेषम् । अविपर्ययाद्विशुद्धं केवलमुत्पद्यते ज्ञानम् ॥ ६४ ॥

evaṁ tatvābhyāsyānnāsmi na me nāhamityapariśeṣam | aviparyayādviśuddhaṁ kevalamutpadyate jñānam || 64 ||

Thus, from the repeated contemplation of the twenty-five principles, tattvas, the complete, residueless realization arises: 'I am not, nothing is mine, there is no I.' Pure, unerring, absolute knowledge is produced.

तेन निवृत्तप्रसवामर्थवशात् सप्तरूपविनिवृत्ताम् । प्रकृतिं पश्यति पुरुषः प्रेक्षकवदवस्थितः स्वस्थः ॥ ६५ ॥

tena nivṛttaprasavāmarthavaśāt saptarūpavinivṛttām | prakṛtiṁ paśyati puruṣaḥ prekṣakavadavasthitaḥ svasthaḥ || 65 ||

By that knowledge, purusha, abiding like a spectator, self-established, beholds prakriti, who has ceased from productive activity and has withdrawn from her sevenfold form, her purpose having been fulfilled.

रङ्गस्थ इत्युपेक्षक एको दृष्टाहमित्युपरमत्यन्या । सति संयोगेऽपि तयोः प्रयोजनं नास्ति सर्गस्य ॥ ६६ ॥

raṅgastha ityupekṣaka eko dṛṣṭāhamityuparamatyanyā | sati saṁyoge'pi tayoḥ prayojanaṁ nāsti sargasya || 66 ||

'I am like one seated in the audience' -- thus the one, purusha, looks on with indifference. 'I have been seen' -- thus the other, prakriti, ceases her activity. Even though the two remain in conjunction, there is no further motive for creation.

सम्यग्ज्ञानाधिगमाद् धर्मादीनामकारणप्राप्तौ । तिष्ठति संस्कारवशाच् चक्रभ्रमिवद् धृतशरीरः ॥ ६७ ॥

samyagjñānādhigamād dharmādīnāmakāraṇaprāptau | tiṣṭhati saṁskāravaśāc cakrabhramivad dhṛtaśarīraḥ || 67 ||

When, through the attainment of right knowledge, dharma and the other dispositions cease to be causes of further births, one still remains, bearing the body, owing to the force of past impressions, samskara -- like a potter's wheel that keeps turning by its own momentum after the potter's hand has stopped.

प्राप्ते शरीरभेदे चरितार्थत्वात् प्रधानविनिवृतौ । ऐकान्तिकमात्यन्तिकमुभयं कैवल्यमाप्नोति ॥ ६८ ॥

prāpte śarīrabhede caritārthatvāt pradhānavinivṛtau | aikāntikamātyantikamubhayaṁ kaivalyamāpnoti || 68 ||

When, upon the separation of the body, prakriti, her purpose fulfilled, has ceased her activity, purusha attains isolation, kaivalya, that is both absolute and final.

पुरुषार्थज्ञानमिदं गुह्यं परमर्षिणा समाख्यातम् । स्थित्युत्पत्तिप्रलयाश्चिन्त्यन्ते यत्र भूतानाम् ॥ ६९ ॥

puruṣārthajñānamidaṁ guhyaṁ paramarṣiṇā samākhyātam | sthityutpattipralayāścintyante yatra bhūtānām || 69 ||

This secret knowledge, taught for the sake of purusha, has been proclaimed by the supreme sage Kapila, in which the existence, origin, and dissolution of all beings, the twenty-five principles, are contemplated.

एतत्पवित्रमग्र्यं मुनिरासुरयेऽनुकम्पया प्रददौ । आसुरिरपि पञ्चशिखाय तेन च बहुधा कृतं तन्त्रम् ॥ ७० ॥

etatpavitramagryaṁ munirāsuraye'nukampayā pradadau | āsurirapi pañcaśikhāya tena ca bahudhā kṛtaṁ tantram || 70 ||

This pure and foremost teaching, the sage Kapila, out of compassion, gave to Asuri; Asuri, in turn, gave it to Panchashikha; and by him the system was elaborated in many ways.

शिष्यपरम्परयाऽऽगतमीश्वरकृष्णेन चैतदार्यादिभिः । संक्षिप्तमार्यमतिना सम्यग्विज्ञाय सिद्धान्तम् ॥ ७१ ॥

śiṣyaparamparayā''gatamīśvarakṛṣṇena caitadāryādibhiḥ | saṁkṣiptamāryamatinā samyagvijñāya siddhāntam || 71 ||

This teaching, having come down through a succession of pupils, was condensed by Ishvarakrishna, of noble understanding, into arya verses, having thoroughly grasped the established doctrine.

सप्तत्यां किल येऽर्थास्तेऽर्थाः कृत्स्नस्य षष्टितन्त्रस्य । आख्यायिकाविरहिताः परवादविवर्जिताश्चापि ॥ ७२ ॥

saptatyāṁ kila ye'rthāste'rthāḥ kṛtsnasya ṣaṣṭitantrasya | ākhyāyikāvirahitāḥ paravādavivarjitāścāpi || 72 ||

Indeed, whatever topics are contained in these seventy verses are the topics of the entire Shashtitantra, the earlier, comprehensive 'system of sixty topics' -- rendered here without the illustrative tales, and also free of the refutation of rival doctrines.