Yajnavalkya on Sankhya: the Unmanifest and the Person

Verse 1 (12.320.1)

न शक्यो निर्गुणस्तात गुणीकर्तुं विशांपते । गुणवांश्चाप्यगुणवान्यथातत्त्वं निबोध मे ॥

na śakyo nirguṇastāta guṇīkartuṃ viśāṃpate | guṇavāṃścāpyaguṇavānyathātattvaṃ nibodha me

One who is without qualities cannot be made to have qualities, dear friend, O lord of the people. Hear from me, as it truly is, how one may be both possessed of qualities and without them.

Note on the text: Adhyaya note: the page is the right adhyaya (table rows 1-22; the colophon reads विंशत्यधिकत्रिशततमोऽध्यायः । 320). Its text is the critical edition's 12.303.1-21 (the CE numbers this adhyaya 303); verses 8-10, 14 and 19 differ in division or wording from the CE and are mapped in the notes. The page prints the adhyaya twice: first as a <poem> block (the same 22 verses with their labels) and then as the table; following the standing rule the table is the base text. The heading line (याज्ञवल्क्येन जनकंप्रति साङ्ख्यदर्शनकथनम्) and the five variant-reading notes printed after the colophon (12-320-3, -5, -6, -7, -17) are not added. Two CE star passages correspond to bracketed lines of the page: 12.303.9d*0772_01 (verse 10 below) and 12.303.13d*0773_01 (verse 14 below). No Appendix I passage occurs here and the page is not a stray copy of another adhyaya.

Verse 2 (12.320.2)

गुणैर्हि गुणवानेव निर्गुणश्चागुणस्तथा । प्राहुरेवं महात्मानो मुनयस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः ॥

guṇairhi guṇavāneva nirguṇaścāguṇastathā | prāhurevaṃ mahātmāno munayastattvadarśinaḥ

It is through the qualities that one is possessed of qualities, and in the same way one is said to be without qualities and devoid of them. So say the great-souled sages who see the truth.

Verse 3 (12.320.3)

गुणस्वभावस्त्वव्यक्तो गुणानेवाभिवर्तते । उपयुङ्क्ते च तानेव स चैवाज्ञः स्वभावतः ॥

guṇasvabhāvastvavyakto guṇānevābhivartate | upayuṅkte ca tāneva sa caivājñaḥ svabhāvataḥ

The Unmanifest, whose nature is that of the qualities, moves among the qualities alone and makes use of them; and it is ignorant by nature.

Verse 4 (12.320.4)

अव्यक्तस्तु न जानीते पुरुषोऽज्ञः स्वभावतः । न मत्तः परमोस्तीति नित्यमेवाभिमन्यते ॥

avyaktastu na jānīte puruṣo'jñaḥ svabhāvataḥ | na mattaḥ paramostīti nityamevābhimanyate

But the Unmanifest does not know; the Person is ignorant by nature, and always thinks, "There is none higher than I."

Note on the text: Wikisource reads पुरुषोऽज्ञः where the CE has पुरुषो ज्ञः (recension variant, kept).

Verse 5 (12.320.5)

अनेन कारणेनैतदव्यक्तं स्यादचेतनम् । नित्यत्वाच्चाक्षरत्वाच्च क्षरत्वान्न तदन्यथा ॥

anena kāraṇenaitadavyaktaṃ syādacetanam | nityatvāccākṣaratvācca kṣaratvānna tadanyathā

For this reason this Unmanifest must be insentient—being eternal and imperishable, yet subject to flux; it is not otherwise.

Note on the text: Wikisource reads क्षरत्वान्न तदन्यथा where the CE has क्षराणां तत्त्वतोऽन्यथा (recension variant, kept).

Verse 6 (12.320.6)

यदाऽज्ञानेन कुर्वीत गुणसर्गं पुनःपुनः । यदात्मानं न जानीते तदाऽऽत्मापि न मुच्यते ॥

yadā'jñānena kurvīta guṇasargaṃ punaḥpunaḥ | yadātmānaṃ na jānīte tadā''tmāpi na mucyate

When, through ignorance, one makes the creation of the qualities again and again, and when one does not know the Self, then even the Self is not freed.

Note on the text: Wikisource reads तदाऽऽत्मापि न मुच्यते where the CE has तदाव्यक्तमिहोच्यते (recension variant, kept).

Verse 7 (12.320.7)

कर्तृत्वाच्चापि सर्गाणां सर्गधर्मा तथोच्यते । कर्तृत्वाच्चापि योगानां योगधर्मा तथोच्यते ॥

kartṛtvāccāpi sargāṇāṃ sargadharmā tathocyate | kartṛtvāccāpi yogānāṃ yogadharmā tathocyate

Because it is the maker of creations it is said to have the nature of creations; and because it is the maker of the yogas it is likewise said to have the nature of the yogas.

Note on the text: Wikisource reads सर्गाणां सर्गधर्मा … योगानां योगधर्मा where the CE has तत्त्वानां तत्त्वधर्मी … योनीनां योनिधर्मा (recension variant, kept).

Verse 8 (12.320.8)

कर्तृत्वात्प्रकृतीनां च तथा प्रकृतिधर्मिता ॥

kartṛtvātprakṛtīnāṃ ca tathā prakṛtidharmitā

Because it is the maker of the primal natures, it likewise has the nature of the primal natures.

Note on the text: Wikisource prints this single line as its own verse (12-320-8a, one line only). It is CE 12.303.8a; the CE line 8c, कर्तृत्वाच्चापि बीजानां बीजधर्मी तथोच्यते, is the first line of the next verse.

Verse 9 (12.320.9)

कर्तृत्वाच्चापि बीजानां बीजधर्मा तथोच्यते । गुणानां प्रसवत्वाच्च प्रलयत्वात्तथैव च ॥

kartṛtvāccāpi bījānāṃ bījadharmā tathocyate | guṇānāṃ prasavatvācca pralayatvāttathaiva ca

Because it is the maker of seeds it is said to have the nature of seeds; because it is the source of the qualities and because it is their dissolution as well,

Note on the text: Corrected वीजानां → बीजानां (misprint in Wikisource; व is mistyped for ब; the next word बीजधर्मा and the CE (bījānāṃ) confirm). CE lines: the first line is CE 12.303.8c; the second line, गुणानां प्रसवत्वाच्च प्रलयत्वात्तथैव च, corresponds to CE 12.303.9a (गुणानां प्रसवत्वाच्च तथा प्रसवधर्मवान्) and differs in its second half (recension variant, kept).

Verse 10 (12.320.10)

कर्तृत्वात्प्रलयानां तु तथा प्रलयधर्मि च । कर्तृत्वात्प्रभवाणां च तथा प्रभवधर्मि च ॥

kartṛtvātpralayānāṃ tu tathā pralayadharmi ca | kartṛtvātprabhavāṇāṃ ca tathā prabhavadharmi ca

because it is the maker of dissolutions it likewise has the nature of dissolution, and because it is the maker of origins it likewise has the nature of origin;

Note on the text: Wikisource brackets these two lines (and the line that follows in the next verse) in a backtick-and-quote pair. They correspond to CE 12.303.9c (kartṛtvāt pralayānāṃ ca tathā pralayadharmitā) and the CE star passage 12.303.9d*0772_01 (kartṛtvāt prasavānāṃ ca tathā prabhavadharmitā); Wikisource has तु … धर्मि च and प्रभवाणां for the CE's ca … धर्मिता and prasavānāṃ (recension variants, kept). Removed the opening backtick.

Verse 11 (12.320.11)

बीजत्वात्प्रकृतित्वाच्च प्रलयत्वात्तथैव च । उपेक्षत्वादनन्यत्वादभिमानाच्च केवलम् ॥

bījatvātprakṛtitvācca pralayatvāttathaiva ca | upekṣatvādananyatvādabhimānācca kevalam

because it is seed, because it is primal nature, and likewise because it is dissolution; because it is indifferent, because it is non-other, and out of mere self-conceit—

Note on the text: Removed the closing quote mark and the stray daṇḍa that the page prints after the first line (the bracket opened in the previous verse closes here).

Verse 12 (12.320.12)

मन्यन्ते यतयः सिद्धा अध्यात्मज्ञा गतज्वराः । अनित्यं नित्यमव्यक्तं व्यक्तमेतद्धि शुश्रुम ॥

manyante yatayaḥ siddhā adhyātmajñā gatajvarāḥ | anityaṃ nityamavyaktaṃ vyaktametaddhi śuśruma

so hold the striving ascetics, the perfected, the knowers of the Self, who are free of fever. And we have heard that this is both transient and eternal, unmanifest and manifest.

Verse 13 (12.320.13)

अव्यक्तैकत्वमित्याहुर्नानात्वं पुरुषास्तथा । सर्वभूतदयावन्तः केवलं ज्ञानमास्थिताः ॥

avyaktaikatvamityāhurnānātvaṃ puruṣāstathā | sarvabhūtadayāvantaḥ kevalaṃ jñānamāsthitāḥ

They speak of the oneness of the Unmanifest and the plurality of the Persons—those who are full of compassion for all beings and stand firm in pure knowledge.

Verse 14 (12.320.14)

अन्यः स पुरुषोऽव्यक्तस्त्वध्रुवो ध्रुवसंज्ञकः । यथा मुञ्ज इषीकाणां तथैवैतद्धि जायते । न चैव मुञ्जसंयोगादिषीका तत्र बुध्यते ॥

anyaḥ sa puruṣo'vyaktastvadhruvo dhruvasaṃjñakaḥ | yathā muñja iṣīkāṇāṃ tathaivaitaddhi jāyate | na caiva muñjasaṃyogādiṣīkā tatra budhyate

That Person is other than the Unmanifest, which is unstable though it goes by the name of stable. As with the munja grass and its reed, so is this born; and the reed there is not aware of its union with the munja.

Note on the text: The page prints three lines here (12-320-14a, b, c); the third, bracketed in a backtick-and-quote pair, is the CE star passage 12.303.13d*0773_01 (na caiva muñjasaṃyogād iṣīkā kartṛ budhyate), printed in the CE apparatus after 13c; Wikisource reads तत्र for kartṛ. The other two lines are CE 12.303.13a + 13c. Removed the backtick, the closing quote mark and the doubled daṇḍa.

Verse 15 (12.320.15)

अन्यच्च मशकं विद्यादन्यच्चोदुम्बरं तथा । न चोदुम्बरसंयोगैर्मशकस्तत्र लिप्यते ॥

anyacca maśakaṃ vidyādanyaccodumbaraṃ tathā | na codumbarasaṃyogairmaśakastatra lipyate

Know the gnat to be one thing and the fig tree another; and the gnat that lives there is not stained by contact with the fig.

Note on the text: Corrected च चोदुम्बरसंयोगैर् → न चोदुम्बरसंयोगैर् (misprint in Wikisource; न is mistyped as च; the sense requires a negative and CE reads na codumbarasaṃyogaiḥ).

Verse 16 (12.320.16)

अन्य एव तथा मत्स्यस्तदन्यदुदकं स्मृतम् । न चोदकस्य स्पर्शेन मत्स्यो लिप्यति सर्वशः ॥

anya eva tathā matsyastadanyadudakaṃ smṛtam | na codakasya sparśena matsyo lipyati sarvaśaḥ

The fish is one thing, and the water is held to be another; and the fish is not tainted in any way by touching the water.

Note on the text: Corrected तदन्यदुदुकं → तदन्यदुदकं (misprint in Wikisource; a doubled vowel mark in उदक; CE reads udakaṃ).

Verse 17 (12.320.17)

अन्यो ह्यग्निरुखाऽप्यन्या नित्यमेवमवेहि भोः । न चोपलिप्यते सोऽग्निरुखासंस्पर्शनेन वै ॥

anyo hyagnirukhā'pyanyā nityamevamavehi bhoḥ | na copalipyate so'gnirukhāsaṃsparśanena vai

The fire is one thing and the cooking pot another—know this always, good sir. And that fire is not touched by contact with the pot.

Verse 18 (12.320.18)

पुष्करं त्वन्यदेवात्र तथाऽन्यदुदकं स्मृतम् । न चोदकस्य स्पर्शेन लिप्यते तत्र पुष्करम् ॥

puṣkaraṃ tvanyadevātra tathā'nyadudakaṃ smṛtam | na codakasya sparśena lipyate tatra puṣkaram

The lotus is one thing here, and the water is held to be another; and the lotus is not touched by contact with the water.

Verse 19 (12.320.19)

एतेषां सहवासं च निवासं चैव नित्यशः । याथातथ्येन पश्यन्ति न नित्यं प्राकृता जनाः ॥

eteṣāṃ sahavāsaṃ ca nivāsaṃ caiva nityaśaḥ | yāthātathyena paśyanti na nityaṃ prākṛtā janāḥ

The common people do not rightly see, as it truly is, the abiding together and dwelling of these always.

Note on the text: The alignment found no match; this is CE 12.303.18 (eteṣāṃ saha saṃvāsaṃ vivāsaṃ caiva nityaśaḥ / yathā tathainaṃ paśyanti na nityaṃ prākṛtā janāḥ). Wikisource reads निवासं and याथातथ्येन पश्यन्ति where the CE has vivāsaṃ and yathā tathainaṃ paśyanti (recension variants, kept).

Verse 20 (12.320.20)

ये त्वन्यथैव पश्यन्ति न सम्यक्तेषु दर्शनम् । ते व्यक्तं निरयं घोरं प्रविशन्ति पुनः पुनः ॥

ye tvanyathaiva paśyanti na samyakteṣu darśanam | te vyaktaṃ nirayaṃ ghoraṃ praviśanti punaḥ punaḥ

Those who see otherwise have no right view; they enter manifest, dreadful hell again and again.

Verse 21 (12.320.21)

साङ्ख्यदर्शनमेतत्ते परिसङ्ख्यानमुत्तमम् । एवं हि परिसंख्याय साङ्ख्याः केवलतां गताः ॥

sāṅkhyadarśanametatte parisaṅkhyānamuttamam | evaṃ hi parisaṃkhyāya sāṅkhyāḥ kevalatāṃ gatāḥ

This is the Sankhya view I have laid out for you, the highest reckoning. Having reckoned thus, the Sankhyas attain aloneness.

Verse 22 (12.320.22)

ये त्वन्ये तत्त्वकुशलास्तेषामेतन्निदर्शनम् । अतः परं प्रवक्ष्यामि योगानामनुदर्शनम् ॥

ye tvanye tattvakuśalāsteṣāmetannidarśanam | ataḥ paraṃ pravakṣyāmi yogānāmanudarśanam

As for the others who are skilled in the principles, this is the illustration for them. Beyond this I shall teach the doctrine of the Yogas.

Note on the text: Wikisource reads योगानामनुदर्शनम् where the CE has योगानामपि दर्शनम् (recension variant, kept).