The Sānkhya Kārikā, with the Bhāshya of Gauḍapāda — trans. H. T. Colebrooke and H. H. Wilson (1837)

Primum; animum dico mentem quam sape dicamus Esse hominis partem nihilo minus ac manus ac pes Atque oculei, partes animantes totius exstant. = Lucaxztivs, III. 94.

XXVIII.

Tue function of five, in respect to colour and the rest, is observation only. Speech, handling, treading, excretion, and generation are the functions of five (other organs).

BHASHYA.

The term ‘ only’ (mdtra) is to be understood in the sense of specialty, or the exclusion of what is not specified ; as in the sentence, “ Alms only are received; that is, nothing else is received. Thus the eyes are observant of colour (form), not of flavour and the rest; and so of thep. 101 other senses. And in this way the function of the eye is colour (vision) ; of the tongue, taste; of the nose, smell; of the ear, sound (hearing); of the skin, touch: these are the functions of the intellectual organs. Speech and the rest (are the functions) of the five organs of action; or, speech is the function of the voice (Jarynx, &c.); handling, of the hands; treading, of the feet; dejection of excrement separated from food, of the rectum ; and generation of offspring, of the sexual organs: ‘function or object’ being required for each term by the grammatical construction of the sentence. The functions of intellect, egotism, and mind are next described.

COMMENT.

The text particularizes the functions of the organs of sense severally.

The general term for the office of the senses is dlochana ®, literally ‘ seeing, beholding, perceiving, observing.’ According to ancient authorities it is said to comprise both the first undeliberative, and the second deliberative knowledge ; or, in short, what is understood by ‘ perception .’ The commentator on the S. Pravachana, who gives this explanation, observes, however, that some consider deliberative perception to be the property of the mind only, whilst simple or undeliberative perception is that of the external senses; and this appears to be the doctrine of the Sankhyas: the senses receive simple impressions from without of their own nature; whether those impressions are perceived, depends upon the cooperation of the internal sense, or mind. The term for ‘function’ is vritti, explained by vydpdra, ‘active exercise or application ;’ also by sémarthyam, ‘ ability, adequacy ;' and phada, ‘ fruit, result.’ Gaurapapa

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has vishaya, ‘ object ;' and it may be said, that the function and object of a sense is the same thing, sight being both the function and the object of the eye. There is some difficulty in translating some of the terms satisfactorily, although there is none in understanding what is meant by them. Thus ripa, ‘form,’ or, as rendered in the text, ‘ colour,’ is the object and office of the eye; it is therefore equivalent both to visible substance and sight. So of sabda, ‘sound ;’ it is both hearing and that which is heard. Spersa, ‘ touch,’ is the faculty and the substance to which contact may be applied. In rasa, ‘ taste, and gandha, ‘smell,’ we have the double equivalents, as both words in English, as well as in Sanscrit, express both the sense and the sensible property. In English, ‘ voice’ is a function; but here, at least, véch* is also the instrument of speech. In the other organs of action the function is more readily rendered ; but the difficulty in any case is only that of language, and the sense is sufficiently explicit.

XXIX.

Of the three (internal instruments) the functions are their respective characteristics: these are peculiar to cach. The common function of the three instruments is breath and the rest of the five vital airs.

BHASHYA.