<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The S\u0101\u1e43khya teachings are regarded in Indian tradition as the oldest system of philosophical thought, the original worldview, dar\u015bana<\/em>, and their promulgator, Kapila, is regarded as the first knower, \u0101di-vidv\u0101n<\/em>. Kapila, using an emanated mind, nirm\u0101\u1e47a-citta<\/em>, gave the teachings to his pupil, \u0100suri, who in turn gave them to his pupil, Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha. Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha then systematized the teachings, referred to as tantra<\/em>, into sixty topics, and wrote them down in a book, the \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em>, the \u201cSixty Topics of the Teachings.\u201d This book is long lost, but a small number of fragments from it have been quoted in other early books. One of these fragments, very little known, speaks of primordial darkness, tamas<\/em>, just like the famous \u1e5ag-veda<\/em> hymn 10.129 does, and just like the “Book of Dzyan” does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sanskrit fragments attributed to Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha were first collected by Fitz-Edward Hall in his Preface to his 1862 edition of the S\u0101nkhya-S\u0101ra<\/em> (pp. 21-25, footnotes). He found twelve of these in Vy\u0101sa’s Yoga-s\u016btra-bh\u0101\u1e63ya<\/em> that were specifically attributed to Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha by the sub-commentators V\u0101caspati Mi\u015bra, Vij\u00f1\u0101na Bhik\u1e63u, or N\u0101goj\u012b Bha\u1e6d\u1e6da. These twelve were then translated into German by Richard Garbe in an 1893 article, to which he added a reference to another fragment quoted in Vij\u00f1\u0101na Bhik\u1e63u’s commentary on S\u0101\u1e43khya-s\u016btra<\/em> 1.127. Nine more from the Yoga-s\u016btra-bh\u0101\u1e63ya<\/em> were added to these twelve in a 1912 publication by R\u0101ja R\u0101ma, making twenty-one. However, these nine are not attributed to Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha by any classical writer. Other than one attributed to V\u0101r\u1e63aga\u1e47ya, their authorship is unknown. Similarly, Harihar\u0101nanda \u0100ra\u1e47ya also added nine more from the Yoga-s\u016btra-bh\u0101\u1e63ya<\/em> to these twelve, one of which, a Vedic fragment, is not among the nine added by R\u0101ja R\u0101ma. Nandalal Sinha published all twenty-two of these as an appendix in his 1915 book, The Samkhya Philosophy<\/em>, noting that beyond the first twelve, “we do not feel we should be justified in affiliating these aphorisms to Pa\u00f1cha\u015bikha” (p.18). Additional fragments from three commentaries on the S\u0101\u1e43khya-k\u0101rik\u0101<\/em>, namely, the Yukti-d\u012bpik\u0101<\/em>, the M\u0101\u1e6dhara-v\u1e5btti<\/em>, and the Gau\u1e0dap\u0101da-bh\u0101\u1e63ya<\/em>, were collected by Udayav\u012bra \u015a\u0101stri and published in his 1950 Hindi book, S\u0101\u1e43khyadar\u015bana k\u0101 Itih\u0101sa<\/em>. These, along with twenty-one fragments from the Yoga-s\u016btra-bh\u0101\u1e63ya<\/em> accepted by previous writers, were given in a list of thirty-six fragments by Jan\u0101rdana\u015b\u0101stri P\u0101ndeya in his 1989 Sanskrit book, S\u0101\u1e43khyadar\u1e63anam<\/em>. It is only these last two sources that include the fragment on primordial darkness, tamas<\/em>.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n The S\u0101\u1e43khya-k\u0101rik\u0101<\/em> purports to summarize the \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em> in a mere seventy verses. There are five very old commentaries on the S\u0101\u1e43khya-k\u0101rik\u0101<\/em>. These are the Gau\u1e0dap\u0101da-bh\u0101\u1e63ya<\/em>, first published in 1837, the M\u0101\u1e6dhara-v\u1e5btti<\/em>, first published in 1922, the S\u0101\u1e43khya-saptati-v\u1e5btti<\/em>, published in 1973, the S\u0101\u1e43khya-v\u1e5btti<\/em>, published in 1973, and the Suvar\u1e47a-saptati-vy\u0101khy\u0101<\/em>, whose French translation was published in 1904.2<\/sup> The Suvar\u1e47a-saptati-vy\u0101khy\u0101<\/em> is not available in its original Sanskrit, but only in its Chinese translation made in the sixth century C.E. by Param\u0101rtha and found in the Chinese Tripi\u1e6daka. These five commentaries are so similar that they led to much discussion as to which copied which. However, the more obvious answer is that they all drew upon the now lost \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em> in their explanations of the S\u0101\u1e43khya-k\u0101rik\u0101<\/em>, which purports to summarize the \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em>. Three of these give the fragment on primordial darkness, tamas<\/em>, in their commentary on verse 70. These are the M\u0101\u1e6dhara-v\u1e5btti<\/em>, the S\u0101\u1e43khya-saptati-v\u1e5btti<\/em>, and the Suvar\u1e47a-saptati-vy\u0101khy\u0101<\/em>. The Gau\u1e0dap\u0101da-bh\u0101\u1e63ya<\/em> ends at verse 69, so does not comment on verse 70, and the S\u0101\u1e43khya-v\u1e5btti<\/em> manuscript omits many lines through scribal error, so probably had the fragment on primordial darkness. Another commentary on the S\u0101\u1e43khya-k\u0101rik\u0101<\/em>, of unknown age, is the Jaya-ma\u1e45gala<\/em>, which was first published in 1926. It, too, gives the fragment on primordial darkness. This fragment is attributed to the \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em> written by Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha. Both the Suvar\u1e47a-saptati-vy\u0101khy\u0101<\/em> and the Jaya-ma\u1e45gala<\/em> attribute this quote directly to Kapila, the founder of the S\u0101\u1e43khya teachings, who taught it to \u0100suri, who in turn taught it to Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha, who wrote it down in the \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em>. The M\u0101\u1e6dhara-v\u1e5btti<\/em> and the S\u0101\u1e43khya-saptati-v\u1e5btti<\/em> give this quote to define the teaching, tantra<\/em>, the S\u0101\u1e43khya teaching of Kapila that Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha elaborated in the sixty topics of the \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n S\u0101\u1e43khya-k\u0101rik\u0101<\/em>, verses 69-70:<\/p>\n\n\n\n puru\u1e63\u0101rtha-j\u00f1\u0101nam ida\u1e43 guhya\u1e43 paramar\u1e63i\u1e47\u0101 sam\u0101khy\u0101tam | “This secret knowledge of the purpose of the puru\u1e63a, in which the abiding, arising, and dissolution of beings is described, was fully made known by the great seer [Kapila].<\/p>\n\n\n\n etat pavitryam agrya\u1e43 munir \u0101suraye ‘nukampay\u0101 pradadau | “This purifying foremost [knowledge] the muni [Kapila] out of compassion gave to \u0100suri. \u0100suri in turn [gave it] to Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha, and by him the teaching was made extensive.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha quote as found in the M\u0101thara-v\u1e5btti<\/em> commentary on verse 70 (1922, p. 83):<\/p>\n\n\n\n tama eva khalv idam agra \u0101s\u012bt | tasmi\u1e43s tamasi k\u1e63etraj\u00f1o ‘bhivartate prathamam |<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha quote as found in the S\u0101\u1e43khya-saptati-v\u1e5btti<\/em> commentary on verse 70 (1973, p. 79):<\/p>\n\n\n\n tamaiva khalv idam agryam \u0101s\u012bt | tasmin tamasi k\u1e63etraj\u00f1a\u1e25 prathamo ‘sya[bhya]vartata iti |<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha quote as found in the Jaya-ma\u1e45gala<\/em> commentary on verse 70 (1926, p. 68):<\/p>\n\n\n\n tama eva khalv idam \u0101s\u012bt | tasmi\u1e43s tamasi k\u1e63etraj\u00f1a eva prathama\u1e25 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha quote as found in the Suvar\u1e47<\/em>a-saptati-vy\u0101khy\u0101<\/em> commentary on verse 70, as re-translated into Sanskrit from Chinese by N. Aiyaswami Sastri (1944, p. 98):<\/p>\n\n\n\n tama eva khalv idam agra \u0101s\u012bt | tasmin tamasi k\u1e63etraj\u00f1o ‘vartata |<\/p>\n\n\n\n Translation of the Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha quote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “In the beginning (agre<\/em>) this (idam<\/em>) was (\u0101s\u012bt<\/em>) darkness (tamas<\/em>) alone (eva<\/em>). In that (tasmin<\/em>) darkness (tamasi\u2005<\/em>) the knower of the field (k\u1e63etraj\u00f1a<\/em>) arose (abhivartate<\/em>, abhyavartata<\/em>, avartata<\/em>) first (prathama<\/em>).”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compare “Book of Dzyan,” stanza 1, verse 5:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Darkness alone filled the boundless all, . . .”;<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compare \u1e5ag-veda<\/em> hymn 10.129, verse 3a:<\/p>\n\n\n\n t\u00e1ma \u0101s\u012bt t\u00e1mas\u0101 g\u016b\u1e37h\u00e1m \u00e1gre<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The comments on the Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha quote from the S\u0101\u1e43khya commentaries:<\/p>\n\n\n\n tama iti ucyate prak\u1e5bti\u1e25, puru\u1e63a\u1e25 k\u1e63etraj\u00f1a\u1e25 | <\/p>\n\n\n\n tama iti ucyate prak\u1e5bti\u1e25 | k\u1e63etraj\u00f1a\u1e25 puru\u1e63a\u1e25 | <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Darkness is called prak\u1e5bti; the knower of the field is puru\u1e63a.” (M\u0101\u1e6dhara-v\u1e5btti<\/em> and S\u0101\u1e43khya-saptati-v\u1e5btti\u2005<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n tama\u1e25 pradh\u0101nam, k\u1e63etraj\u00f1a\u1e25 puru\u1e63a ucyate |<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Darkness is pradh\u0101na. The knower of the field is called puru\u1e63a.” (Jayama\u1e45gala<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n k\u1e63etraj\u00f1a\u1e25 puru\u1e63a\u1e25 | <\/p>\n\n\n\n “The knower of the field is puru\u1e63a.” (Suvar\u1e47<\/em>a-saptati-vy\u0101khy\u0101<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the standard accounts of S\u0101\u1e43khya there is no mention of the idea that the “knower of the field,” i.e., puru\u1e63a, “spirit,” arose in primordial “darkness,” i.e., pradh\u0101na or prak\u1e5bti, “primary substance.” Such a teaching is quite absent in the standard S\u0101\u1e43khya teachings. On the contrary, pradh\u0101na or prak\u1e5bti is routinely subordinated to puru\u1e63a; put crudely, matter is subordinated to spirit. In the great Ved\u0101nta teachings, which completely eclipsed the S\u0101\u1e43khya teachings in India, the absolute brahman <\/em>is defined as “pure consciousness” or “only consciousness” (cin-m\u0101tra<\/em>). Indeed, \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101c\u0101rya in his most definitive work, his Brahma-s\u016btra-bh\u0101\u1e63ya<\/em>, takes S\u0101\u1e43khya as his primary opponent, and refutes it on the basis of the premise that the absolute cannot be unconscious, as pradh\u0101na or prak\u1e5bti is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The original S\u0101\u1e43khya teaching found in this Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha quote, of a primordial darkness in which the conscious puru\u1e63a arose, but which itself is not conscious, finds an exact parallel in the Theosophical teaching of a primordial darkness, in which during pralaya, the night of the universe, “life pulsated unconscious” (“Book of Dzyan,” stanza 1, verse 8).3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. The writers who gathered these fragments assumed that Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha wrote the \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em>, in accordance with what is said in the S\u0101\u1e43khya-k\u0101rika<\/em>, verses 70-72, and the commentaries thereon. However, other fragments from the \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em> are attributed to V\u1e5b\u1e63aga\u1e47a or V\u0101r\u1e63aga\u1e47ya. This has led researchers such as G. Oberhammer to conclude that all of the fragments attributed to Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha are actually from the \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em> written by V\u1e5b\u1e63aga\u1e47a. See his 1960 article, \u201cThe Authorship of the \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6ditantram.\u201d Of course, this does not rule out the possibility of an original \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em> written by Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha, and another later one written by V\u1e5b\u1e63aga\u1e47a. Perhaps most of the known fragments do indeed come from the one written by V\u1e5b\u1e63aga\u1e47a, since in most cases the authorities attributing them to Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha are not ancient. In the case of the fragment on primordial darkness, however, we have four old authorities agreeing that it comes from the \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em> written by Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha. For examples of the fragments from the \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6di-tantra<\/em> that are in some cases attributed to V\u1e5b\u1e63aga\u1e47a or V\u0101r\u1e63aga\u1e47ya, see the 1999 article by Ernst Steinkellner, \u201cThe \u1e62a\u1e63\u1e6ditantra on Perception, a Collection of Fragments.\u201d These were elaborated in his 2017 book, Early Indian Epistemology and Logic: Fragments from Jinendrabuddhi\u2019s Pram\u0101\u1e47asamuccaya\u1e6d\u012bk\u0101 1 and 2<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. All these books are posted here with the Sanskrit Hindu Texts, including a 1932 English translation of the 1904 French translation of the Suvar\u1e47a-saptati-vy\u0101khy\u0101<\/em>, as well as a 1944 re-translation of it back into Sanskrit directly from the early Chinese translation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. In the commentary preceding this Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha quote, the Suvar\u1e47<\/em>a-saptati-vy\u0101khy\u0101<\/em> says that this secret knowledge taught by Kapila was established before the four Vedas arose. The Theosophical teachings, too, say about its secret doctrine \u201cthat its teachings antedate the Vedas.\u201d (The Secret Doctrine<\/em>, vol. 1, p. xxxvii).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The S\u0101\u1e43khya teachings are regarded in Indian tradition as the oldest system of philosophical thought, the original worldview, dar\u015bana, and their promulgator, Kapila, is regarded as the first knower, \u0101di-vidv\u0101n. Kapila, using an emanated mind, nirm\u0101\u1e47a-citta, gave the teachings to his pupil, \u0100suri, who in turn gave them to his pupil, Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha. Pa\u00f1ca\u015bikha then […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-darkness","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1962"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1968,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1962\/revisions\/1968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
sthity-utpatti-pralay\u0101\u015b cintyante yatra bh\u016bt\u0101n\u0101m || 69 ||<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u0101surir api pa\u00f1ca\u015bikh\u0101ya tena ca bahul\u012bk\u1e5bta\u1e43 tantram || 70 ||<\/p>\n\n\n\n