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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1A cow she is without beginning and end, a mother producing all beings ; white, black, and red, milking all wishes for the Lord. Many babes unknown drink her, the impartial one ; 364 VEDANTA-S^TRAS. but one God only, following his own will, drinks her submit- ting to him. By his own thought and work the mighty God strongly enjoys her, who is common to all, the milkgiver, who is pressed by the sacrifices. The Non-evolved when being counted by twenty-four is called the Evolved/ This pas- sage evidently describes the nature of Prakrzti, and so on, and the same Upanishad also teaches the Supreme Person who constitutes the Self of Prakrzti, and so on. i Him they call the twenty-sixth or also the twenty-seventh ; as the Person devoid of all qualities of the Sankhyas he is known by the followers of the Atharvan V — Other followers of the Atharvan read in their text that there are sixteen origi- nating principles (prakrzti) and eight effected things (vikara ; Garbha Up. 3). — The ^SVetlsvataras again set forth the nature of Prakrzti, the soul and the Lord as follows. ' The Lord supports all this together, the Perishable and the Imperishable, the Evolved and the Unevolved ; the other one is in bondage, since he is an enjoyer ; but having known the God he is free from all fetters. There are two unborn ones, the one knowing and a Lord, the other without knowledge and lordly power ; there is the one unborn female on whom the enjoyment of all enjoyers depends ; and there is the infinite Self appearing in all shapes, but itself inactive. When a man finds out these three, that is Brahman. The Perishable is the Pradhana, the Immortal and Imperishable is Hara ; the one God rules the Perishable and the Self. From meditation on him, from union with him, from becoming one with him there is in the end cessa- tion of all Maya' (Svet. Up. I, 8-10). And ' The sacred verses, the offerings, the sacrifices, the vows, the past, the future, and all that the Vedas declare — from that the Ruler of Maya creates all this ; and in this the other one is bound up through Maya. Know then Prakrzti to be Maya and the great Lord the ruler of Maya ; with his members this 1 These quotations are from the iTulika-Upanishad (transl. by Deussen, Seventy Upanishads, p. 638 ff.) The translation as given above follows the readings adopted by Ramanu^a and explained in the ASruta-Prakajika. I ADHYAYA, \ PADA, 8. 365
2by Deussen, Seventy Upanishads, p. 638 ff.) The translation as given above follows the readings adopted by Ramanu^a and explained in the ASruta-Prakajika. I ADHYAYA, \ PADA, 8. 365 whole world is filled' (5vet. Up.V, 9-ic). And, further on, 'The master of Pradhana and the soul, the lord of the gUTzas, the cause of the bondage, existence, and release of worldly existence' (VI, 16). Thus likewise in Smrz'ti, ' Do thou know both Nature and the soul to be without beginning, and know all effects and qualities to have sprung from Nature. Nature is declared to be the cause of the activity of causes and effects, whilst the soul is the cause of there being enjoyment of pleasure and pain. For the soul abiding in Nature experiences the qualities derived from Nature, the reason being its connexion with the quali- ties, in its births in good and evil wombs ' (Bha. Gi. XIII, 19-21). And ' Goodness, Passion, and Darkness — these are the qualities which, issuing from nature, bind in the body the embodied soul, the undecaying one ' (XIV, 5). And ' All beings at the end of a kalpa return into my Nature, and again, at the beginning of a kalpa, do I send them forth. Presiding over my own nature again and again do I send forth this vast body of beings which has no freedom of its own, being subject to Nature. — With me as ruler Nature brings forth all moving and non-moving things, and for this reason the world does ever go round ' (Bha. Gi. IX, 7, 8, 10). What we therefore refuse to accept are a Prakrzti, and so on, of the kind assumed by Kapila, i. e. not having their Self in Brahman. — We now proceed to explain the Sutra. We read in the vSveta^vatara-Upanishad ( There is one a^-a, red, white, and black, producing manifold offspring of the same nature. One a^a loves her and lies by her ; another leaves her after having enjoyed her.' A doubt arises here whether this mantra declares a mere Prakrzti as assumed in Kapila's system, or a Prakrzti having its Self in Brahman. The Purvapakshin maintains the former alternative. For, he points out, the text refers to the non-originated- ness of Prakrzti, calling her a^a, i. e. unborn, and further says that she by herself independently produces manifold offspring resembling herself. This view is rejected by the Sutra, on the ground that there is no intimation of a special circumstance determining the acceptance of the Prakrzti as 366 VEDANTA-stjTRAS.
3e. unborn, and further says that she by herself independently produces manifold offspring resembling herself. This view is rejected by the Sutra, on the ground that there is no intimation of a special circumstance determining the acceptance of the Prakrzti as 366 VEDANTA-stjTRAS. assumed by the Sankhyas, 1. e. independent of Brahman ; for that she is a^a, i. e. not born, is not a sufficiently special characteristic. The case is analogous to that of the ' cup.' In the mantra * There is a cup having its mouth below and its bottom above' (Bri. Up. II, 2, 3), the word £amasa conveys to us only the idea of some implement used in eating, but we are unable to see what special kind of £amasa is meant ; for in the case of words the meaning of which is ascertained on the ground of their derivation (as * £amasa ' from ' kam,' to eat or drink), the special sense of the word in any place cannot be ascertained with- out the help of considerations of general possibility, general subject-matter, and so on. Now in the case of the cup we are able to ascertain that the cup meant is the head, be- cause there is a complementary passage ' What is called the cup with its mouth below and its bottom above is the head ' ; but if we look out for a similar help to determine the special meaning of a^a, we find nothing to convince us that the 3g&, i. e. the * unborn ' principle, is the Prakrzti of the Sankhyas. Nor is there anything in the text to convey the idea of that a^a having the power of independent crea- tion ; for the clause ' giving birth to manifold offspring ' declares only that she creates, not that she creates unaided. The mantra does not therefore tell us about an c unborn ' principle independent of Brahman. — There moreover is a special reason for understanding by the a^a something that depends on Brahman. This the following Sutra states. 9. But she begins with light ; for thus some read in their text. The ' but ' has assertory force. ' Light ' in the Sutra means Brahman, in accordance with the meaning of the term as known from texts such as ' On him the gods medi- tate, the light of lights' (Br/. Up. X, 4, 16); < That light which shines beyond heaven' (Kk. Up. Ill, 13, 7). 'She begins with light ' thus means ' she has Brahman for her cause.' — ' For thus some read in their text,' i. e. because the members of one .Sakha, viz. the Taittiriyas read in their I ADHYAYA, 4 PAD A, 9. 367
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1A cow she is without beginning and end, a mother producing all beings ; white, black, and red, milking all wishes for the Lord. Many babes unknown drink her, the impartial one ; 364 VEDANTA-S^TRAS. but one God only, following his own will, drinks her submit- ting to him. By his own thought and work the mighty God strongly enjoys her, who is common to all, the milkgiver, who is pressed by the sacrifices. The Non-evolved when being counted by twenty-four is called the Evolved/ This pas- sage evidently describes the nature of Prakrzti, and so on, and the same Upanishad also teaches the Supreme Person who constitutes the Self of Prakrzti, and so on. i Him they call the twenty-sixth or also the twenty-seventh ; as the Person devoid of all qualities of the Sankhyas he is known by the followers of the Atharvan V — Other followers of the Atharvan read in their text that there are sixteen origi- nating principles (prakrzti) and eight effected things (vikara ; Garbha Up. 3). — The ^SVetlsvataras again set forth the nature of Prakrzti, the soul and the Lord as follows. ' The Lord supports all this together, the Perishable and the Imperishable, the Evolved and the Unevolved ; the other one is in bondage, since he is an enjoyer ; but having known the God he is free from all fetters. There are two unborn ones, the one knowing and a Lord, the other without knowledge and lordly power ; there is the one unborn female on whom the enjoyment of all enjoyers depends ; and there is the infinite Self appearing in all shapes, but itself inactive. When a man finds out these three, that is Brahman. The Perishable is the Pradhana, the Immortal and Imperishable is Hara ; the one God rules the Perishable and the Self. From meditation on him, from union with him, from becoming one with him there is in the end cessa- tion of all Maya' (Svet. Up. I, 8-10). And ' The sacred verses, the offerings, the sacrifices, the vows, the past, the future, and all that the Vedas declare — from that the Ruler of Maya creates all this ; and in this the other one is bound up through Maya. Know then Prakrzti to be Maya and the great Lord the ruler of Maya ; with his members this 1 These quotations are from the iTulika-Upanishad (transl. by Deussen, Seventy Upanishads, p. 638 ff.) The translation as given above follows the readings adopted by Ramanu^a and explained in the ASruta-Prakajika. I ADHYAYA, \ PADA, 8. 365
2by Deussen, Seventy Upanishads, p. 638 ff.) The translation as given above follows the readings adopted by Ramanu^a and explained in the ASruta-Prakajika. I ADHYAYA, \ PADA, 8. 365 whole world is filled' (5vet. Up.V, 9-ic). And, further on, 'The master of Pradhana and the soul, the lord of the gUTzas, the cause of the bondage, existence, and release of worldly existence' (VI, 16). Thus likewise in Smrz'ti, ' Do thou know both Nature and the soul to be without beginning, and know all effects and qualities to have sprung from Nature. Nature is declared to be the cause of the activity of causes and effects, whilst the soul is the cause of there being enjoyment of pleasure and pain. For the soul abiding in Nature experiences the qualities derived from Nature, the reason being its connexion with the quali- ties, in its births in good and evil wombs ' (Bha. Gi. XIII, 19-21). And ' Goodness, Passion, and Darkness — these are the qualities which, issuing from nature, bind in the body the embodied soul, the undecaying one ' (XIV, 5). And ' All beings at the end of a kalpa return into my Nature, and again, at the beginning of a kalpa, do I send them forth. Presiding over my own nature again and again do I send forth this vast body of beings which has no freedom of its own, being subject to Nature. — With me as ruler Nature brings forth all moving and non-moving things, and for this reason the world does ever go round ' (Bha. Gi. IX, 7, 8, 10). What we therefore refuse to accept are a Prakrzti, and so on, of the kind assumed by Kapila, i. e. not having their Self in Brahman. — We now proceed to explain the Sutra. We read in the vSveta^vatara-Upanishad ( There is one a^-a, red, white, and black, producing manifold offspring of the same nature. One a^a loves her and lies by her ; another leaves her after having enjoyed her.' A doubt arises here whether this mantra declares a mere Prakrzti as assumed in Kapila's system, or a Prakrzti having its Self in Brahman. The Purvapakshin maintains the former alternative. For, he points out, the text refers to the non-originated- ness of Prakrzti, calling her a^a, i. e. unborn, and further says that she by herself independently produces manifold offspring resembling herself. This view is rejected by the Sutra, on the ground that there is no intimation of a special circumstance determining the acceptance of the Prakrzti as 366 VEDANTA-stjTRAS.
3e. unborn, and further says that she by herself independently produces manifold offspring resembling herself. This view is rejected by the Sutra, on the ground that there is no intimation of a special circumstance determining the acceptance of the Prakrzti as 366 VEDANTA-stjTRAS. assumed by the Sankhyas, 1. e. independent of Brahman ; for that she is a^a, i. e. not born, is not a sufficiently special characteristic. The case is analogous to that of the ' cup.' In the mantra * There is a cup having its mouth below and its bottom above' (Bri. Up. II, 2, 3), the word £amasa conveys to us only the idea of some implement used in eating, but we are unable to see what special kind of £amasa is meant ; for in the case of words the meaning of which is ascertained on the ground of their derivation (as * £amasa ' from ' kam,' to eat or drink), the special sense of the word in any place cannot be ascertained with- out the help of considerations of general possibility, general subject-matter, and so on. Now in the case of the cup we are able to ascertain that the cup meant is the head, be- cause there is a complementary passage ' What is called the cup with its mouth below and its bottom above is the head ' ; but if we look out for a similar help to determine the special meaning of a^a, we find nothing to convince us that the 3g&, i. e. the * unborn ' principle, is the Prakrzti of the Sankhyas. Nor is there anything in the text to convey the idea of that a^a having the power of independent crea- tion ; for the clause ' giving birth to manifold offspring ' declares only that she creates, not that she creates unaided. The mantra does not therefore tell us about an c unborn ' principle independent of Brahman. — There moreover is a special reason for understanding by the a^a something that depends on Brahman. This the following Sutra states. 9. But she begins with light ; for thus some read in their text. The ' but ' has assertory force. ' Light ' in the Sutra means Brahman, in accordance with the meaning of the term as known from texts such as ' On him the gods medi- tate, the light of lights' (Br/. Up. X, 4, 16); < That light which shines beyond heaven' (Kk. Up. Ill, 13, 7). 'She begins with light ' thus means ' she has Brahman for her cause.' — ' For thus some read in their text,' i. e. because the members of one .Sakha, viz. the Taittiriyas read in their I ADHYAYA, 4 PAD A, 9. 367
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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