Manu on the Senses, the Mind and the Unmanifest

Verse 1 (12.202.1)

यथा व्यक्तमिदं शेते स्वप्ने चरति चेतनम् । ज्ञानमिन्द्रियसंयुक्तं तद्वत्प्रेत्य भवाभवौ ॥

yathā vyaktamidaṃ śete svapne carati cetanam | jñānamindriyasaṃyuktaṃ tadvatpretya bhavābhavau

As this manifest body lies asleep while the conscious one moves in a dream, so knowledge joined to the senses goes, after death, through birth and death.

Verse 2 (12.202.2)

यथाऽम्भसि प्रसन्ने तु रूपं पश्यति चक्षुषा । तद्वत्प्रसन्नेन्द्रियवाञ्ज्ञेयं ज्ञानेन पश्यति ॥

yathā'mbhasi prasanne tu rūpaṃ paśyati cakṣuṣā | tadvatprasannendriyavāñjñeyaṃ jñānena paśyati

As in clear water one sees a form with the eye, so the man of clear senses sees the knowable by knowledge.

Verse 3 (12.202.3)

स एव लुलिते तस्मिन्यथा रूपं न पश्यति । तथेन्द्रियाकुलीभावे ज्ञेयं ज्ञाने न पश्यति ॥

sa eva lulite tasminyathā rūpaṃ na paśyati | tathendriyākulībhāve jñeyaṃ jñāne na paśyati

As he does not see the form when that same water is stirred, so when the senses are in turmoil he does not see the knowable by knowledge.

Verse 4 (12.202.4)

अबुद्धिरज्ञानकृता अबुद्ध्या दूष्यते मनः । दुष्टस्य मनसः पञ्च संप्रदुष्यन्ति मानसाः ॥

abuddhirajñānakṛtā abuddhyā dūṣyate manaḥ | duṣṭasya manasaḥ pañca saṃpraduṣyanti mānasāḥ

Non-understanding is made by ignorance; through non-understanding the mind is defiled; and when the mind is defiled, the five mental faculties are defiled.

Verse 5 (12.202.5)

अज्ञानतृप्तो विषयेष्ववगाढो न पश्यति । स दृष्ट्वैव तु पूतात्मा विषयेभ्यो निवर्तते ॥

ajñānatṛpto viṣayeṣvavagāḍho na paśyati | sa dṛṣṭvaiva tu pūtātmā viṣayebhyo nivartate

Sated by ignorance, plunged in the objects of sense, he does not see; but the one who has seen, of purified self, turns away from the objects of sense.

Note on the text: Recension variants, kept: Wikisource न पश्यति and स दृष्ट्वैव तु against CE na dṛśyate and adṛṣṭvaiva tu (the page's footnote cites another reading of line 1).

Verse 6 (12.202.6)

तर्षच्छेदो न भवति पुरुषस्येह कल्मषात् । निवर्तते तदा तर्षः पापमन्तर्गतं यदा ॥

tarṣacchedo na bhavati puruṣasyeha kalmaṣāt | nivartate tadā tarṣaḥ pāpamantargataṃ yadā

A man's craving is not cut off in this world by reason of taint; craving ceases when the sin lodged within has gone.

Note on the text: Recension variants, kept: Wikisource तदा and पापमन्तर्गतं यदा against CE tathā and pāpam antaṃ gataṃ yathā.

Verse 7 (12.202.7)

अन्तर्गतेन पापेन दह्यमानेन चेतसा । शुभाशुभविकारेण न स भूयोऽभिजायते ॥

antargatena pāpena dahyamānena cetasā | śubhāśubhavikāreṇa na sa bhūyo'bhijāyate

With the sin gone within, with the mind being burned, through the change of good and evil, he is not born again.

Note on the text: Removed the backtick and the closing quote mark Wikisource prints around the verse, and restored the verse-end ॥. Not in the critical edition's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension); the CE records it as the star passage 12.197.6d*0534_01–02 (antargatena pāpena dahyamānena cetasā / śubhāśubhavikāreṇa na sa bhūyo 'bhijāyate).

Verse 8 (12.202.8)

विषयेषु तु संसर्गाच्छाश्वतस्य तु संश्रयात् । मनसा चान्यथा काङ्क्षन्परं न प्रतिपद्यते ॥

viṣayeṣu tu saṃsargācchāśvatasya tu saṃśrayāt | manasā cānyathā kāṅkṣanparaṃ na pratipadyate

Through involvement with the objects of sense, even while resting on the eternal, he who in his mind longs for something else does not reach the supreme.

Note on the text: Corrected काड्क्षन् → काङ्क्षन् (misspelling in Wikisource; ड् for ङ्; the critical edition reads ākāṅkṣan). Recension variants, kept: Wikisource तु संश्रयात् and चान्यथा against CE nasaṃśrayāt and cānyad.

Verse 9 (12.202.9)

ज्ञानमुत्पद्यते पुंसां क्षयात्पापस्य कर्मणः । अथादर्शतलप्रख्ये पश्यत्यात्मानमात्मनि ॥

jñānamutpadyate puṃsāṃ kṣayātpāpasya karmaṇaḥ | athādarśatalaprakhye paśyatyātmānamātmani

Knowledge arises in men from the destruction of sinful action; then in the self, clear as a mirror, he sees the Self.

Verse 10 (12.202.10)

प्रसृतैरिन्द्रियैर्दुःखी तैरेव नियतैः सुखी । तस्मादिन्द्रियचोरेभ्यो यच्छेदात्मानमात्मना ॥

prasṛtairindriyairduḥkhī taireva niyataiḥ sukhī | tasmādindriyacorebhyo yacchedātmānamātmanā

By senses let loose a man suffers, and by those same senses restrained he is happy. Therefore let him restrain the self by the self from the thieves of the senses.

Note on the text: Recension variant, kept: Wikisource इन्द्रियचोरेभ्यः against CE indriyarūpebhyaḥ.

Verse 11 (12.202.11)

इन्द्रियेभ्यो मनः पूर्वं बुद्धिः परतरा ततः । बुद्धेः परतरं ज्ञानं ज्ञानात्परतरं परम् ॥

indriyebhyo manaḥ pūrvaṃ buddhiḥ paratarā tataḥ | buddheḥ parataraṃ jñānaṃ jñānātparataraṃ param

Higher than the senses is the mind, higher than that the intellect; higher than the intellect is knowledge, and higher than knowledge is the supreme.

Verse 12 (12.202.12)

अव्यक्तात्प्रसृतं ज्ञानं ततो बुद्धिस्ततो मनः । मनः श्रोत्रादिभिर्युक्तं शब्दादीन्साधु पश्यति ॥

avyaktātprasṛtaṃ jñānaṃ tato buddhistato manaḥ | manaḥ śrotrādibhiryuktaṃ śabdādīnsādhu paśyati

From the unmanifest knowledge issued, from it the intellect, from it the mind. The mind, joined with hearing and the rest, perceives sound and the other objects well.

Verse 13 (12.202.13)

यस्तांस्त्यजति शब्दादीन्सर्वाश्च व्यक्तयस्तथा । प्रसृतानीन्द्रियाण्येव प्रतिसंहरति कूर्मवत् । विमुञ्चत्याकृतिग्रामांस्तान्मुक्त्वाऽमृतमश्नुते ॥

yastāṃstyajati śabdādīnsarvāśca vyaktayastathā | prasṛtānīndriyāṇyeva pratisaṃharati kūrmavat | vimuñcatyākṛtigrāmāṃstānmuktvā'mṛtamaśnute

He who gives up these — sound and the rest — and all manifestations as well, who draws in the outspread senses like a tortoise, and lets go the host of forms, having let them go, enjoys the immortal.

Note on the text: Removed the backticks and quote mark Wikisource prints around line 2 and fixed its daṇḍa. Lines 1 and 3 are CE 12.197.12a and 12c; line 2 is the CE star line 12.197.12b*0535_01 (prasṛtānīndriyāṇy eva pratisaṃharati kūrmavat), not in the CE's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 14 (12.202.14)

उद्यन्हि सविता यद्वत्सृजते रश्मिमण्डलम् । दृश्यते मण्डलं तस्य न च दृश्येत मण्डली । तद्वद्देहस्तु संदृश्य आत्माऽदृश्यः परः सदा ॥

udyanhi savitā yadvatsṛjate raśmimaṇḍalam | dṛśyate maṇḍalaṃ tasya na ca dṛśyeta maṇḍalī | tadvaddehastu saṃdṛśya ātmā'dṛśyaḥ paraḥ sadā

As the sun in rising sends forth its circle of rays, its disc is seen, but the one who bears the disc is not seen; so too the body is plainly seen, but the Self is always unseen, and beyond.

Note on the text: Removed the backtick Wikisource opens before line 2 (its closing quote mark comes at the end of verse 15). Line 1 is CE 12.197.13a; lines 2–3 are the CE star lines 12.197.13b*0536_01–02 (dṛśyate maṇḍalaṃ tasya na ca dṛśyeta maṇḍalī / tadvad dehas tu saṃdṛśya ātmādṛśyaḥ paraḥ sadā), not in the CE's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 15 (12.202.15)

ग्रस्तं ह्युद्गिरते नित्यमुद्गीथं वेत्ति नित्यशः । बाल्ये रथाभ्यां योगेन तत्त्वज्ञानं तु संमतम् ॥

grastaṃ hyudgirate nityamudgīthaṃ vetti nityaśaḥ | bālye rathābhyāṃ yogena tattvajñānaṃ tu saṃmatam

It ever sends out again what it has swallowed, and constantly knows the udgitha. In boyhood, through yoga with the two chariots, knowledge of the truth is held to be accepted.

Note on the text: Corrected तत्वज्ञानं → तत्त्वज्ञानं (misspelling in Wikisource; the conjunct of tattva has a doubled त), and removed the closing quote mark and the doubled daṇḍa Wikisource prints after line 2 (restoring the verse-end ॥). Not in the critical edition's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension); the CE records it as the star lines 12.197.13b*0536_03–04 (grastaṃ hy udgirate nityam udgīthaṃ vetti nityaśaḥ / bālye rathābhyāṃ yogena tattvajñānaṃ tu saṃmatam). The wording of line 2 is obscure; rendered closely.

Verse 16 (12.202.16)

स एवास्तमुपागच्छंस्तदेवात्मनि यच्छति । आदत्ते सर्वभूतानां रसभूतं विकासवान् ॥

sa evāstamupāgacchaṃstadevātmani yacchati | ādatte sarvabhūtānāṃ rasabhūtaṃ vikāsavān

That same sun, as it goes to its setting, gathers the rays into itself. Shining, it draws up the essence of all beings.

Note on the text: Removed the backtick and the closing quote mark Wikisource prints around line 2 and restored the verse-end ॥. Line 1 is CE 12.197.13c; line 2 is the CE star line 12.197.13d*0537_01 (ādatte sarvabhūtānāṃ rasabhūtaṃ vikāsavān), not in the CE's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 17 (12.202.17)

अन्तरात्मा तथा देहमाविश्येन्द्रियरश्मिभिः । प्राप्येन्द्रियगुणान्पञ्च सोऽस्तमावृत्त्य गच्छति । रश्मिमण्डलहीनस्तु न चासौ नास्ति तावता ॥

antarātmā tathā dehamāviśyendriyaraśmibhiḥ | prāpyendriyaguṇānpañca so'stamāvṛttya gacchati | raśmimaṇḍalahīnastu na cāsau nāsti tāvatā

So the inner self, having entered the body through the rays of the senses and taken up the five qualities of the senses, turns back and goes to its setting. Though without its orb of rays, it is not non-existent on that account.

Note on the text: Corrected प्राप्येन्द्रि गुणान् → प्राप्येन्द्रियगुणान् (misprint in Wikisource; the य of the compound is dropped and a stray space left; the critical edition reads prāpyendriyaguṇān) and रश्मिमण्ड हीनस्तु → रश्मिमण्डलहीनस्तु (misprint in Wikisource; the ल is dropped and a stray space left; the CE star line reads raśmimaṇḍalahīnas tu). Removed the backtick and the closing quote mark Wikisource prints around line 3 and restored the verse-end ॥. Lines 1–2 are CE 12.197.14a and 14c; line 3 is the CE star line 12.197.14d*0538_01, not in the CE's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 18 (12.202.18)

प्रणीतं कर्मणा मार्गं नीयमानः पुनः पुनः । प्राप्नोत्ययं कर्मफलं प्रवृत्तं धर्ममाप्तवान् ॥

praṇītaṃ karmaṇā mārgaṃ nīyamānaḥ punaḥ punaḥ | prāpnotyayaṃ karmaphalaṃ pravṛttaṃ dharmamāptavān

Carried again and again along the course traced by action, this one gains the fruit of action, having reached the dharma on which he has set out.

Note on the text: Recension variant, kept: Wikisource प्रवृत्तं धर्ममाप्तवान् against CE pravṛddhaṃ dharmam ātmavān.

Verse 19 (12.202.19)

विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः । रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते ॥

viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ | rasavarjaṃ raso'pyasya paraṃ dṛṣṭvā nivartate

The objects of sense turn away from an embodied being who abstains from food; only taste remains, and even that turns away from him when he has seen the supreme.

Verse 20 (12.202.20)

बुद्धिः कर्मगुणैर्हीना यदा मनसि वर्तते । तदा संपद्यते ब्रह्म तत्रैव प्रलयं गतम् ॥

buddhiḥ karmaguṇairhīnā yadā manasi vartate | tadā saṃpadyate brahma tatraiva pralayaṃ gatam

When the intellect, stripped of the qualities of action, abides in the mind, then Brahman is attained, dissolved right there.

Verse 21 (12.202.21)

अस्पर्शनमशृण्वानमनास्वादमदर्शनम् । अघ्राणमवितर्कं च सत्त्वं प्रविशते परम् ॥

asparśanamaśṛṇvānamanāsvādamadarśanam | aghrāṇamavitarkaṃ ca sattvaṃ praviśate param

He enters the supreme being, which has no touch, no hearing, no taste, no sight, no smell, and no reasoning.

Note on the text: Corrected सत्वं → सत्त्वं (misspelling in Wikisource; the conjunct of sattva has a doubled त; the critical edition reads sattvaṃ). The page's footnote cites another reading of line 2 (अघ्राणमवितर्षं च).

Verse 22 (12.202.22)

अव्यक्तात्प्रसृतं ज्ञानं ततो बुद्धिस्ततो मनः । आत्मनः प्रसृता बुद्धिरव्यक्तं ज्ञानमुच्यते ॥

avyaktātprasṛtaṃ jñānaṃ tato buddhistato manaḥ | ātmanaḥ prasṛtā buddhiravyaktaṃ jñānamucyate

From the unmanifest knowledge issued, from it the intellect, from it the mind. The intellect issued from the self; the unmanifest is called knowledge.

Note on the text: Removed the backtick that opens a block of three verses (22–24) Wikisource prints in quotation (its closing quote mark comes at the end of verse 24). Not in the critical edition's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension); the CE records verses 22–24 as one star passage, 12.197.18d*0539_01–07 (verse 22 is lines 01–02; line 01 repeats CE 12.197.11a, which is also verse 12 here).

Verse 23 (12.202.23)

तस्माद्बुद्धिः स्मृता तज्ज्ञैर्मनस्तस्मात्ततः स्मृतम् । तस्मादाकृतयः पञ्च मनः परममुच्यते ॥

tasmādbuddhiḥ smṛtā tajjñairmanastasmāttataḥ smṛtam | tasmādākṛtayaḥ pañca manaḥ paramamucyate

From that, those who know it say, the intellect is held to come; from it the mind is held to come; from it the five forms; and the mind is called the highest.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension); the CE star passage 12.197.18d*0539_03–04 (see verse 22).

Verse 24 (12.202.24)

तस्मात्परतरा बुद्धिर्ज्ञानं तस्मात्परं स्मृतम् । ततः सूक्ष्मस्ततो ह्यात्मा तस्मात्परतरं न च । इन्द्रियाणि निरीक्षन्ते मनसैतानि सर्वशः ॥

tasmātparatarā buddhirjñānaṃ tasmātparaṃ smṛtam | tataḥ sūkṣmastato hyātmā tasmātparataraṃ na ca | indriyāṇi nirīkṣante manasaitāni sarvaśaḥ

Higher than that is the intellect; higher than it is held to be knowledge; subtler than that is the Self, and beyond it there is nothing. The senses look out, and all these are surveyed by the mind on every side.

Note on the text: Removed the closing quote mark and the doubled daṇḍa Wikisource prints after line 3 (restoring the verse-end ॥). Not in the critical edition's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension); the CE star passage 12.197.18d*0539_05–07 (see verse 22). The sense of line 3 is obscure; rendered closely.

Verse 25 (12.202.25)

मनस्याकृतयो मग्ना मनस्त्वभिगतं मतिम् । मतिस्त्वभिगता ज्ञानं ज्ञानं चाभिगतं महत् ॥

manasyākṛtayo magnā manastvabhigataṃ matim | matistvabhigatā jñānaṃ jñānaṃ cābhigataṃ mahat

The forms are sunk in the mind; the mind has approached the intellect; the intellect has approached knowledge; and knowledge has approached the Great.

Note on the text: Recension variants, kept: Wikisource मनस्त्वभिगतं मतिम्, मतिस्त्वभिगता and ज्ञानं चाभिगतं महत् against CE manas tv atigataṃ matim, matis tv atigatā and jñānaṃ tv abhigataṃ param.

Verse 26 (12.202.26)

नेन्द्रियैर्मनसः सिद्धिर्न बुद्धिं बुध्यते मनः । न बुद्धिर्बुध्यतेऽव्यक्तं सूक्ष्मं त्वेतानि पश्यति ॥

nendriyairmanasaḥ siddhirna buddhiṃ budhyate manaḥ | na buddhirbudhyate'vyaktaṃ sūkṣmaṃ tvetāni paśyati

The mind has no accomplishment through the senses; the mind does not grasp the intellect; the intellect does not grasp the unmanifest; but the subtle one sees all these.

Note on the text: Recension variants, kept: Wikisource नेन्द्रियैर्मनसः सिद्धिः (न + इन्द्रियैः) against CE indriyair manasaḥ siddhiḥ, which has no negative; and सूक्ष्मं against CE sūkṣmas.