{"id":338,"date":"2012-07-01T03:17:40","date_gmt":"2012-07-01T01:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/?p=338"},"modified":"2025-10-13T21:32:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T21:32:11","slug":"creation-stories-the-cosmogony-account-from-the-mok%e1%b9%a3opaya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/creation-stories-the-cosmogony-account-from-the-mok%e1%b9%a3opaya\/","title":{"rendered":"Creation Stories: The Cosmogony Account from the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, the \u201cMeans to Liberation,\u201d we have the least mythological and most detailed account of cosmogony, especially its very early stages, found in any Sanskrit book known to me. The Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, as described here earlier (April 13, 2012), is an unrevised and considerably more original version of what has become known as the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>. Through the kindness of a friend, I have now acquired the recently published large Sanskrit volume giving its utpatti-prakara\u1e47a<\/em>, the section (prakara\u1e47a<\/em>) on the origination (utpatti<\/em>) of the world (Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya, Das Dritte Buch: Utpattiprakara\u1e47a<\/em>, Kritische Edition von J\u00fcrgen Hanneder, Peter Stephan und Stanislav Jager, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2011). The fact that ultimately the world has never really arisen, according to this text, does not prevent this text from teaching cosmogony, which it here does. A large percentage of the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> (and Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>) is teaching stories used to illustrate its ideas. Only a small percentage directly states the teachings. The core account of cosmogony is found in chapter twelve of the utpatti-prakara\u1e47a<\/em> or third section of the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>. No translation of this yet exists. Martin Gansten informs me that the projected translation of this section by him, announced in The Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya, Yogav\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha and Related Texts<\/em> (2005, p. 4), had to be abandoned years ago. Roland Steiner informs me that it is years away in the German translation that is underway by him as part of the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> Project, funded by two German universities. I have not heard of any English translation that is either planned or begun. I have therefore translated this chapter myself, since it is of fundamental importance for Book of Dzyan research.<\/p>\n

An altered version of this chapter is, of course, found in the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>. The only complete translation of the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> is that by Vih\u0101ri-l\u0101la Mitra, published in four large volumes, 1891-1899 (Calcutta). Unfortunately, it is more of an interpretation than a translation. About this translation B. L. Atreya writes in his extensive 1936 study, The Philosophy of the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> (p. 31), that it \u201cis praiseworthy only as an effort, not as a translation. It is not reliable, being wrong at numberless places. It is altogether useless for a student of the philosophy of the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>.\u201d While it may not be useless for other purposes, so that the years of labor bestowed by Mitra on the translation were not in vain, I would agree that it is useless for those who want to study the philosophy. It is just too loose. Moreover, Mitra often adds things of his own that are not in the Sanskrit. At the same time, he often omits the more difficult terms, simply leaving them out of his translation. Thus, from his translation, a reader cannot know what is and is not in the Sanskrit text. Since his time, a few summarized and paraphrased translations of the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> have been published (e.g., Vasi\u1e63\u1e6dha\u2019s Yoga<\/em>, by Swami Venkatesananda). But for the chapter in question they are too vague and general to be of much use for comparative studies of its cosmogony.<\/p>\n

B. L. Atreya gives a general summary of this chapter in his book, The Philosophy of the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>, on pp. 188-189. He then notes: \u201cThe above passages are freely rendered into English, as literal translation would appear to be unintelligible.\u201d Intelligible or not, a literally accurate translation (as accurate as English allows) is necessary for comparative research on cosmogony, especially the detailed cosmogony of the Book of Dzyan. Atreya probably here also alludes to the fact that while it is usually possible to get the text\u2019s general meaning, its precise meaning is often uncertain. The Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> uses some unusual words whose exact meaning has not been fully ascertained. This is even more the case in the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, where considerably more unusual words are found. These have often been changed into familiar words in the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>, sometimes changing the meaning entirely. On more common words, there are always questions about which of their several meanings are intended. These include many technical terms, whose meanings vary from one system to another. The metrical verse format means that in many cases more than one way to construe the words into sentences is possible. A verse can be taken in various ways. So while one may get the general sense well enough, the precise meaning cannot always be arrived at with certainty. Along with this is the fact that Sanskrit technical terms simply have no accurate English equivalents in many cases. The Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> and Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> use, for example, several different terms for consciousness, with varying shades of meaning. Sometimes these are used as synonyms, and sometimes they are not. Even when these shades of meaning are understood by the translator, they often cannot be rendered into English for lack of equivalents. These two facts make it difficult to produce a complete and literally accurate translation. Despite the difficulty, a literally accurate translation of chapter twelve of the third section of the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> must be attempted.<\/p>\n

Sanskrit texts written in verse are normally read in India with the help of commentaries, because sentences are often somewhat abbreviated when put into verse. There exists a very helpful commentary on the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, written by Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha, but unfortunately we do not have it complete. It so happens that the extant fragment of this commentary on the utpatti-prakara\u1e47a<\/em> breaks off after three and a half verses of chapter twelve (Bh\u0101skaraka\u1e47\u1e6dhas Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya-\u1e6d\u012bk\u0101: Die Fragmente des 3. (Utpatti-)Prakara\u1e47a<\/em>, ed. Walter Slaje, Graz, 1995, pp. 186-187). For the construal and meaning of the remaining verses of this chapter we have little help. The commentary by \u0100nanda-bodhendra Sarasvat\u012b on the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> comments on a text that differs substantially from the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, and does so from the standpoint of Advaita Ved\u0101nta (which is not the standpoint of the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>). Nonetheless, I have consulted this commentary and taken help from it where possible. These cases have been clearly noted.<\/p>\n

For most of this chapter of the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> there is also a carefully done translation by Samvid that attempts to be literally accurate. It is found in The Vision and the Way of Vasi\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> (Madras: Indian Heritage Trust, 1993, pp. 141-147). This book is the V\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dhadar\u015banam<\/em>, 2,461 of the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>\u2019s approximately 28,000 verses, selected by B. L. Atreya as giving the philosophy of the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>. To Atreya\u2019s collection, first published in Sanskrit in 1936, is here added a careful English translation by Samvid. He writes (p. xlviii): \u201cThe translator is aware that his obsession with exactitude in translation has led to complex constructions in several places and perhaps, some transgression of the normally accepted usage of the language. The translator hopes that the readers will pardon this apparent shortcoming, since the advantages of the translator\u2019s approach outweigh those of the usual paraphrases which are presented as translations.\u201d Where the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> and the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> coincide, I have found this translation to be very helpful, and have adopted some phrases from it. The extensive differences between Samvid\u2019s translation and my translation mostly reflect the considerable differences between the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> and the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, and sometimes the different possibilities for English translation of the same Sanskrit.<\/p>\n

For the meaning of the unusual words found in the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> (and often in the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>), and to determine as accurately as possible the meaning intended for the more common words, I have spent many hours searching for and checking other passages in which they occur in the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, and for glosses of them in the extant portions of Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha\u2019s commentary on the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> (sections one through four, edited by Walter Slaje, 1993-2002). This has been made easily possible through the courtesy of Walter Slaje, in supplying a searchable electronic file of these four volumes to the GRETIL (G\u00f6ttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) project, available at: http:\/\/gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de\/gretil\/1_sanskr\/6_sastra\/3_phil\/vedanta\/motik_au.htm<\/a>. This searchable electronic file has allowed me to check a substantial portion of the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> for these terms, to a degree that was not possible with the physical printed volumes. It is never safe to attempt to translate a piece of a large work before the whole has been studied. Since it has not been possible for me to study the whole Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, due to its great size and also because much of it still remains unpublished, I have derived much benefit from J\u00fcrgen Hanneder\u2019s 2006 book, Studies on the<\/em> Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag). Hanneder\u2019s book has provided a very helpful perspective on the whole text.<\/p>\n

The Sanskrit text of this chapter has been very carefully edited, as far as I can judge. It has been a joy to work with. We have J\u00fcrgen Hanneder to thank for the extremely accurate edition of this chapter. This excellent scholarship provides a solid basis for reliable research. The translation of this chapter has likewise been done as carefully as possible, and it should provide reasonably accurate access to this important material on cosmogony. Sanskrit technical terms are given in parentheses after their English translations, which can only be approximate. Additions to what is actually stated in the Sanskrit text are given in square brackets. Sometimes they fill in what a pronoun refers to, based on its gender in Sanskrit. When explanatory material is added in brackets to make sense of a line, references to its source in other passages of the text are given in the \u201cTranslation Notes\u201d following the translation. These are marked with asterisks. The \u201cTranslation Notes\u201d also include some of the sources from which I derived the meaning of unusual terms not found in our Sanskrit dictionaries (or not found there in the appropriate meaning), and explain my choice of translation terms used for them.<\/p>\n

The first several verses give an unusually detailed account of the initial stages of the arising of the world. In this text, unlike the Book of Dzyan, the ultimate (here called brahman) is equated with pure consciousness (cin-m\u0101tra).\u00a0\u201cCreation,\u201d or more accurately and literally \u201cemanation,\u201d is called its radiance (kacana), which becomes a functioning consciousness (as opposed to pure consciousness). As this functioning consciousness takes on a sense of self-consciousness the world condenses into manifestation. The idea of self-consciousness (aha\u1e43k\u0101ra) is also found in S\u0101\u1e43khya, where it is often applied to the human constitution, so has sometimes been translated as ego or egoism or egotism. In verses 13 onward we see another idea that is found in S\u0101\u1e43khya, what is usually translated as the subtle elements (tanm\u0101tra). Both here and in S\u0101\u1e43khya, the principle of self-consciousness (aha\u1e43k\u0101ra) produces the subtle elements. The subtle elements in turn produce the great elements (mah\u0101-bh\u016btas): space (or ether), air, earth, fire, and water. These latter elements are apparently used symbolically, and not as the physical elements of those names. In order to follow this chapter of the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, it is necessary to know the S\u0101\u1e43khya teaching on the subtle elements and great elements. According to Gau\u1e0dap\u0101da\u2019s commentary on S\u0101\u1e43khya-k\u0101rik\u0101<\/em>, verse 3:<\/p>\n

(1) the subtle element sound (\u015babda) generates the great element space or ether (\u0101k\u0101\u015ba).<\/p>\n

(2) the subtle element touch (spar\u015ba) generates the great element air (v\u0101yu).<\/p>\n

(3) the subtle element smell (gandha) generates the great element earth (p\u1e5bthiv\u012b).<\/p>\n

(4) the subtle element form (r\u016bpa) generates the great element fire (tejas).<\/p>\n

(5) the subtle element taste (rasa) generates the great element water (apas).<\/p>\n

It seems that the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> is willing to refer to the subtle elements either by their own names, sound (\u015babda), etc., or by the names of the great elements that they produce, space (\u0101k\u0101\u015ba), etc. Thus, the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> may refer to the subtle element of space, meaning the subtle element of sound. This must be noted to avoid confusion.<\/p>\n

Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, Section 3, Chapter 12<\/p>\n

etasm\u0101t param\u0101c ch\u0101nt\u0101t pad\u0101t parama-p\u0101van\u0101t |<\/p>\n

yathedam utthita\u1e43 vi\u015bva\u1e43 tac ch\u1e5b\u1e47\u016bttamay\u0101 dhiy\u0101 || 1 ||<\/p>\n

1. Listen with utmost understanding to how this universe has arisen from that highest quiescent place, of the highest purity.<\/p>\n

su\u1e63upta\u1e43 svapnavad bh\u0101ti bh\u0101ti brahmaiva sargavat |<\/p>\n

sarvam eka\u1e43 ca tac ch\u0101nta\u1e43 tatra t\u0101vat krama\u1e43 \u015b\u1e5b\u1e47u || 2 ||<\/p>\n

2. [Just as] one who is asleep appears as dream, [so] also brahman appears as creation (sarga, literally, \u201cemanation\u201d). That quiescent [brahman] is the all and the one. In regard to this [emanation of the universe], listen to the sequence in its entirety.<\/p>\n

tasy\u0101nanta-prak\u0101\u015b\u0101tma-r\u016bpasy\u0101tata-cin-mane\u1e25 |<\/p>\n

satt\u0101-m\u0101tr\u0101tma kacana\u1e43 yad ajasra\u1e43 svabh\u0101vata\u1e25 || 3 ||<\/p>\n

tad \u0101tmani svaya\u1e43 ki\u00f1cic cetyat\u0101m iva gacchati |<\/p>\n

ag\u1e5bh\u012bt\u0101rthaka\u1e43 sa\u1e43vid\u012bh\u0101mar\u015bana-s\u016bcakam || 4 ||<\/p>\n

3-4. The radiance (kacana) [which is manifestation], having the nature of the mere state of existing (satt\u0101) of that [brahman] whose form consists of the infinite light of the jewel of all-pervading consciousness (cit), ever by its inherent nature (svabh\u0101va), in itself, by itself, becomes to a certain extent as if cognizable. Here, no objects are apprehended in consciousness (sa\u1e43vid), and there is no indication of conscious deliberation (mar\u015bana).<\/p>\n

bh\u0101vi-n\u0101m\u0101rtha-kalanai\u1e25 ki\u00f1cid \u016bhita-r\u016bpakam |<\/p>\n

\u0101k\u0101\u015b\u0101d a\u1e47u \u015buddha\u1e43 ca sarvasmin bh\u0101vi-bodhanam || 5 ||<\/p>\n

5. Through the conceiving (kalana) of future names and objects [of the universe about to be manifested], its form becomes perceived to a certain extent, being subtler and purer than space (\u0101k\u0101\u015ba). This is the awakening that is about to take place in all.<\/p>\n

tatas s\u0101 param\u0101 satt\u0101 sat\u012bta\u015b cetanonmukh\u012b |<\/p>\n

cin-n\u0101ma-yogy\u0101 bhavati ki\u00f1cil labhyatay\u0101 tay\u0101 || 6 ||<\/p>\n

6. Then that highest state of existing (satt\u0101), now being ready for [functioning] consciousness (cetana) [as opposed to pure consciousness, cin-m\u0101tra],* becomes fit to be called consciousness (cit) due to this attainability [in speech or thought] to a certain extent.<\/p>\n

ghana-sa\u1e43vedan\u0101t pa\u015bc\u0101d bh\u0101vi-j\u012bv\u0101di-n\u0101mik\u0101 |<\/p>\n

s\u0101 bhavaty \u0101tma-kalan\u0101 yad\u0101 y\u0101nt\u012b par\u0101t pad\u0101t || 7 ||<\/p>\n

7. After that, from dense [i.e., undivided] cognition (sa\u1e43vedana), [comes that consciousness (cit) which is] called future individual souls (j\u012bva), etc. It becomes the conception (kalan\u0101) of self (\u0101tman) when going from the highest place.<\/p>\n

svataika-bh\u0101van\u0101-m\u0101tra-s\u0101r\u0101 sa\u1e43sara\u1e47onmukh\u012b |<\/p>\n

tad\u0101 vastu-svabh\u0101vena tanvas ti\u1e63\u1e6dhanti t\u0101m im\u0101\u1e25 || 8 ||<\/p>\n

8. [That consciousness (cit) whose] essence is only the single ideation (bh\u0101van\u0101) of its own nature (svat\u0101) is ready for cycling in the round of rebirth. Then, through the inherent nature (svabh\u0101va) of the substance (vastu) [i.e., brahman = consciousness (cit)], these selves (tan\u016b) establish it [in manifestation].<\/p>\n

samanantaram etasy\u0101\u1e25 kha-sattodeti \u015b\u016bnyat\u0101 |<\/p>\n

\u015babd\u0101di-gu\u1e47a-b\u012bja\u1e43 s\u0101 bhavi\u1e63yad-abhidh\u0101rtha-d\u0101 || 9 ||<\/p>\n

9. Immediately thereafter, from that* arises the state of existing (satt\u0101) of space, [which state of existing of space is] emptiness (\u015b\u016bnyat\u0101). It, the giver of future names and objects, is the seed of the qualities (gu\u1e47a) beginning with sound.<\/p>\n

*j\u012bva-satt\u0101, \u201cthe state of existing of the individual souls,\u201d according to the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> commentator \u0100nanda-bodhendra, which also makes sense here in the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>. See verse 7 above for j\u012bva.<\/p>\n

ahantodeti tad-anu saha vai k\u0101la-sattay\u0101 |<\/p>\n

bhavi\u1e63yad-abhidh\u0101rthe te b\u012bja\u1e43 mukhya\u1e43 jagat-sthite\u1e25 || 10 ||<\/p>\n

10. After that the sense of individuality (aha\u1e43t\u0101, literally, \u201cI-ness\u201d) arises, along with the state of existing (satt\u0101) of time. In regard to future names and objects, these are the primary seed of the subsistence (sthiti) of the world.<\/p>\n

tasy\u0101\u015b \u015bakte\u1e25 par\u0101y\u0101s tu sva-sa\u1e43vedana-m\u0101trakam |<\/p>\n

etaj j\u0101lam asad-r\u016bpam sad ivodeti visphurat || 11 ||<\/p>\n

11. From this highest power (\u015bakti) comes mere self-cognition (sva-sa\u1e43vedana). Manifesting, this web in the form of the unreal (asat) arises as if real (sat).<\/p>\n

evam-pr\u0101y\u0101tmik\u0101 s\u0101 cid b\u012bja\u1e43 sa\u1e45kalpa-\u015b\u0101khina\u1e25 |<\/p>\n

tatr\u0101py aha\u1e45k\u0101ra-karas sa tat-spandatay\u0101 marut || 12 ||<\/p>\n

12. That consciousness (cit), of such kind, is the seed of the tree of creative thought (sa\u1e43kalpa). There also is the maker of self-consciousness (aha\u1e43k\u0101ra). That [self-consciousness], as the motion (spanda) of that [consciousness], is wind.<\/p>\n

cid ahant\u0101vat\u012b vyoma-\u015babda-tanm\u0101tra-bh\u0101van\u0101t |<\/p>\n

svato ghan\u012bbh\u016bya \u015banai\u1e25 kha-tanm\u0101tra\u1e43 bhavaty alam || 13 ||<\/p>\n

13. Consciousness (cit) possessing the sense of individuality (aha\u1e43t\u0101), gradually becoming dense, as a result of the ideation (bh\u0101van\u0101)* of the subtle element (tanm\u0101tra) of sound or space from itself, fully becomes the subtle element of space.<\/p>\n

*i.e., the developing in thought.<\/p>\n

bh\u0101vi-n\u0101m\u0101rtha-r\u016bpa\u1e43 tad b\u012bja\u1e43 \u015babdaugha-\u015b\u0101khina\u1e25 |<\/p>\n

pada-v\u0101kya-pram\u0101\u1e47\u0101\u1e0dhya-veda-v\u1e5bnda-vik\u0101ri tat || 14 ||<\/p>\n

14. That, in the form of future names and objects, is the seed of the tree of the multitude of sounds. It has for its products the multitude of knowledge (veda), rich in the measures (pram\u0101\u1e47a) of words and sentences.<\/p>\n

tasm\u0101d ude\u1e63yaty akhil\u0101 jagac-chr\u012b\u015b \u015babda-r\u016bpi\u1e47a\u1e25<\/p>\n

\u015babdaugha-nirmit\u0101rthaugha-pari\u1e47\u0101ma-vis\u0101ri\u1e47\u012b || 15 ||<\/p>\n

15. From that [seed] in the form of sound will arise the entire splendor of the world, diffusing as the transformations of the multitude of objects formed by the multitude of sounds.<\/p>\n

cid evam-pariv\u0101r\u0101 s\u0101 j\u012bva-\u015babdena kathyate |<\/p>\n

bh\u0101vi-\u015babd\u0101rtha-j\u0101lena b\u012bja\u1e43 bh\u016btaugha-\u015b\u0101khina\u1e25 || 16 ||<\/p>\n

16. This consciousness (cit) having such a retinue is described by the word \u201cindividual soul\u201d (j\u012bva). By means of the web of future sounds and objects it is the seed of the tree of the multitude of beings.<\/p>\n

caturda\u015ba-vidha\u1e43 bh\u016bta-j\u0101tam \u0101valit\u0101mbaram |<\/p>\n

jagaj-ja\u1e6dhara-yantraugha\u1e43 prasari\u1e63yati vai tata\u1e25 || 17 ||<\/p>\n

17. From that will flow forth the fourteenfold class of beings [of the fourteen worlds],* whose space is enclosed [in the egg of Brahm\u0101],* the multitude of instruments (yantra) in the womb of the world.<\/p>\n

asampr\u0101pt\u0101bhidh\u0101-s\u0101r\u0101 cij j\u012bvatv\u0101t sphurad-vapu\u1e25 |<\/p>\n

y\u0101 saiva spar\u015ba-tanm\u0101tra\u1e43 bh\u0101van\u0101d bhavati k\u1e63a\u1e47\u0101t || 18 ||<\/p>\n

18. The same consciousness (cit) that in its essence has not acquired names, [but that] in its form is manifesting because of being the individual soul (j\u012bva), becomes the subtle element of touch in a moment through ideation (bh\u0101van\u0101).<\/p>\n

pavana-skandha-vist\u0101ra\u1e43 b\u012bja\u1e43 spar\u015baika-\u015b\u0101khina\u1e25 |<\/p>\n

sarva-bh\u016bta-kriy\u0101-spandas tasm\u0101t samprasari\u1e63yati || 19 ||<\/p>\n

19. [The subtle element of touch is] the seed of the single tree of touch, [a seed] whose expansion is the branches that comprise [the element] air. From that will flow forth the motion (spanda) [or vibrations] in the form of all beings and activities.<\/p>\n

tatra ya\u015b cid-vil\u0101sena prak\u0101\u015bo \u2019nubhav\u0101d bhavet |<\/p>\n

tejas-tanm\u0101traka\u1e43 tat tad bhavi\u1e63yad-abhidh\u0101rtha-dam || 20 ||<\/p>\n

20. There, the light that will come into existence by the play of consciousness (cit) due to [its self-]experience* is the subtle element of fire. It is the giver of future names and objects.<\/p>\n

tat s\u016bry\u0101di-vij\u1e5bmbh\u0101bhir b\u012bjam \u0101loka-\u015b\u0101khina\u1e25 |<\/p>\n

tasm\u0101d r\u016bpa-vibhedena sa\u1e43s\u0101ra\u1e25 prasari\u1e63yati || 21 ||<\/p>\n

21. That, through its manifestations as the sun, etc., is the seed of the tree of light. From that, through the division of forms (r\u016bpa), the cycle of rebirth will flow forth.<\/p>\n

bhavac catur\u1e47\u0101m avatas tatas sata iv\u0101sata\u1e25 |<\/p>\n

svadana\u1e43 tasya sa\u1e45ghasya rasa-tanm\u0101tram ucyate || 22 ||<\/p>\n

22. Being below the four [other subtle elements, arising] from that [principle of self-consciousness, which although actually] non-existing is as if existing,* is tasting. Of this group [of subtle elements], it is called the subtle element of taste.<\/p>\n

bh\u0101vi-v\u0101ri-vil\u0101s\u0101tma tad b\u012bja\u1e43 rasa-\u015b\u0101khina\u1e25 |<\/p>\n

anyo\u2019ny\u0101svadanen\u0101sm\u0101t sa\u1e43s\u0101ra\u1e25 prasari\u1e63yati || 23 ||<\/p>\n

23. That [subtle element of taste], having the nature of the manifestation (vil\u0101sa, literally, \u201cplay\u201d) of future water, is the seed of the tree of taste. From that, by mutual tasting, the cycle of rebirth will flow forth.<\/p>\n

bhavi\u1e63yad-gandha-sa\u1e45kalpa-n\u0101m\u0101sau kalan\u0101tmak\u0101 |<\/p>\n

sa\u1e45kalp\u0101tm\u0101 sa-saugandha-tanm\u0101tratva\u1e43 prayacchati || 24 ||<\/p>\n

24. That called the creative thought (sa\u1e43kalpa) of future smell, consisting of conception (kalan\u0101), having the nature of creative thought (sa\u1e43kalpa), gives forth the subtle element of smell.<\/p>\n

bh\u0101vi-bh\u016b-golakatvena b\u012bjam \u0101k\u1e5bti-\u015b\u0101khina\u1e25 |<\/p>\n

sarv\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101tmanas tasm\u0101t sa\u1e43s\u0101ra\u1e25 prasari\u1e63yati || 25 ||<\/p>\n

25. As the future sphere of the earth it is the seed of the tree of shapes (\u0101k\u1e5bti) [i.e., the modes of appearance of all things]. From that, having the nature of the support of all, the cycle of rebirth will flow forth.<\/p>\n

cit\u0101 vibh\u0101vyam\u0101n\u0101ni tanm\u0101tr\u0101\u1e47i parasparam |<\/p>\n

svaya\u1e43 pari\u1e47at\u0101ny antar ambun\u012bva nirantaram || 26 ||<\/p>\n

26. Being ideated by consciousness (cit), the subtle elements are continually transformed one by the other of their own accord within [consciousness] like [water] in water.*<\/p>\n

tathait\u0101ni vimi\u015br\u0101\u1e47i vivikt\u0101ni punar yath\u0101 |<\/p>\n

na \u015buddh\u0101ny upalabhyante sarva-n\u0101\u015b\u0101ntam eva hi || 27 ||<\/p>\n

27. These [subtle elements], so being mixed, are not perceived as again distinct and pure up to the very end at the universal destruction.<\/p>\n

sa\u1e43vitti-m\u0101tra-r\u016bp\u0101\u1e47i sthit\u0101ni gaganodare |<\/p>\n

bhavanti va\u1e6da-j\u0101l\u0101ni yath\u0101 b\u012bja-ka\u1e47\u0101ntare || 28 ||<\/p>\n

28. Situated in the womb of space in the form of mere consciousness (sa\u1e43vitti), they are like hosts of banyan trees inside tiny seeds.<\/p>\n

prasava\u1e43 paripa\u015byanti \u015bata-\u015b\u0101kha\u1e43 sphuranti ca |<\/p>\n

param\u0101\u1e47v-antare m\u0101nti k\u1e63a\u1e47\u0101t kalp\u012bbhavanti ca || 29 ||<\/p>\n

29. They picture progeny and manifest a hundred branches. They are contained inside an ultimate atom (param\u0101\u1e47u) and in a moment become all-creating thought (kalpa).<\/p>\n

vivartam eva dh\u0101vanti nirvivart\u0101ni santi ca |<\/p>\n

cid-vedit\u0101ni sarv\u0101\u1e47i k\u1e63a\u1e47\u0101t pi\u1e47\u1e0d\u012bbhavanti hi || 30 ||<\/p>\n

30. Being without modification (vivarta) they flow [out to become] the [apparent] modification [that is the world], and experienced (vedita) [or felt] in consciousness (cit) they all become solidified in a moment.<\/p>\n

tanm\u0101tra-ga\u1e47am etat s\u0101 sva-sa\u1e45kalp\u0101tmaka\u1e43 citi\u1e25 |<\/p>\n

vedan\u0101vasare \u2019\u1e47v-augham an\u0101k\u0101raiva pa\u015byati || 31 ||<\/p>\n

31. This group of subtle elements is that consciousness (citi) consisting of its own creative thought (sa\u1e43kalpa). In the scope of experience (vedana), [that consciousness,] which is quite without forms (\u0101k\u0101ra) [i.e., modes of appearance], pictures [into existence] the multitude of atoms (a\u1e47u).<\/p>\n

b\u012bja\u1e43 jagatsu nanu pa\u00f1caka-m\u0101tram asya<\/p>\n

b\u012bja\u1e43 par\u0101 vyavahit\u0101 citi-\u015baktir \u0101dy\u0101 |<\/p>\n

tajja\u1e43 tad eva bhavat\u012bti sad\u0101nubh\u016bta\u1e43<\/p>\n

cin-m\u0101tram ekam ajam \u0101dyam ato jagacchr\u012b\u1e25 || 32 ||<\/p>\n

32. Surely the seed of the worlds is only the group of five [subtle elements]. The seed of that is the concealed highest primordial power of consciousness (citi-\u015bakti). That [group of five subtle elements] indeed becomes born from that [power of consciousness]. Thus is always experienced (anubh\u016bta) [or known] the one unborn primordial pure consciousness (cin-m\u0101tra). From it [arises] the splendor of the world.<\/p>\n

Comparison with the Book of Dzyan<\/p>\n

The Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> provides an account of cosmogony that is complementary to the cosmogony account given in the Book of Dzyan. The Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> account is given from the standpoint of an ultimate consciousness, while the Book of Dzyan account is given from the standpoint of an ultimate substance. According to The Secret Doctrine<\/em> (vol. 1, pp. 14-15), these are the two aspects under which our finite intelligence must symbolize or conceive the one ultimate \u201cbe-ness.\u201d A very helpful comparison of the two systems of cosmogony was made by the Advaita Ved\u0101ntin Theosophist T. Subba Row, in his article, \u201cA Personal and an Impersonal God.\u201d The Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> has long been considered an Advaita Ved\u0101nta work, and from the terminology used by T. Subba Row, it is clear that this was his source for describing the Advaita system. He uses the term cid-\u0101k\u0101\u015ba, which is not found in the standard Advaita Ved\u0101nta works of \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101c\u0101rya, etc., and also cin-m\u0101tra and cit-\u015bakti, all of which are basic terms of the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>. Indeed, in T. Subba Row\u2019s third lecture on the Bhagavad-g\u012bt\u0101<\/em> (December 29, 1886), he says about the g\u0101yatr\u012b that: \u201cIt is stated to be Cit-\u015bakti by Vasi\u1e63\u1e6dha\u201d (T. Subba Row Collected Writings<\/em>, comp. Henk J. Spierenburg, vol. 2, p. 511). In comparing the two systems of cosmogony, he refers to the system of the Book of Dzyan as the Arhat system. He concludes in this article:<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, it will be easily seen that the undifferentiated Cosmic matter, Purush<\/em>, and the ONE LIFE of the Arhat<\/em> philosophers, are the Mulaprakriti<\/em>, Chidakasam<\/em> and Chinmatra<\/em> of the Adwaitee<\/em> philosophers. As regards Cosmogony, the Arhat<\/em> stand-point is objective, and the Adwaitee<\/em> stand-point is subjective. The Arhat<\/em> Cosmogony accounts for the evolution of the manifested solar system from undifferentiated Cosmic matter, and Adwaitee<\/em> Cosmogony accounts for the evolution of Bahipragna<\/em> from the original Chinmatra<\/em>. As the different conditions of differentiated Cosmic matter are but the different aspects of the various conditions of pragna<\/em>, the Adwaitee<\/em> Cosmogony is but the complement of the Arhat<\/em> Cosmogony. The eternal Principle is precisely the same in both the systems and they agree in denying the existence of an extra-Cosmic God.\u201d<\/p>\n

(The Theosophist<\/em>, vol. 4, March 1883, pp. 138-139; reprint in Five Years of Theosophy<\/em>, London, 1885, pp. 208-209; Second and Revised Edition, London, 1894, p. 133; reprint in A Collection of Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row<\/em>, published by Tookaram Tatya, Bombay, 1895, pp. 97-98; reprint in T. Subba Row Collected Writings<\/em>, compiled by Henk J. Spierenburg, San Diego, 2001, vol. 1, p. 127; the concluding portion of the article, including this paragraph, was mistakenly left out in the reprint in Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row<\/em>, Second Edition\u2014Revised and Enlarged, Madras, 1931, ending on p. 470; reprint, 1980)<\/p>\n

A few points of comparison between the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> chapter (section 3, chapter 12) and the \u201cBook of Dzyan\u201d stanzas given in The Secret Doctrine<\/em> may be noted:<\/p>\n

Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya <\/em>verses 3 and 8 say that manifestation is due to the inherent nature (svabh\u0101va) of brahman, or pure consciousness. Similarly, the Book of Dzyan teaches that manifestation is due to the inherent nature (svabh\u0101va) of the one element.<\/p>\n

Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya <\/em>verse 9 describes the state of existing of space as emptiness, \u015b\u016bnyat\u0101. While the relatively few stanzas we have from the Book of Dzyan do not explicitly mention emptiness, their use of Mah\u0101y\u0101na Buddhist terminology would indicate that it is part of their system. It is basic to Mah\u0101y\u0101na Buddhism. Note that for \u201cspace\u201d the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> here uses the generic \u201ckha,\u201d and that this is before the manifestation of the element \u201cspace\u201d (or \u201cether\u201d), \u0101k\u0101\u015ba.<\/p>\n

Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya <\/em>verse 12, describing the principle of self-consciousness (aha\u1e43k\u0101ra), says that as the motion (spanda) of consciousness (cit) it is wind (marut). Again, this is before the manifestation of the element wind or air. So perhaps this wind is the fohat of the Book of Dzyan, the whirlwind that hardens the atoms.<\/p>\n

Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya <\/em>verse 11 in fact speaks of \u015bakti (\u201cpower\u201d), used by T. Subba Row as a synonym of fohat, and the concluding Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya <\/em>verse 32 makes it very clear that the power of consciousness, citi-\u015bakti, is responsible for the manifestation of the worlds. This is very much like fohat as found in the Book of Dzyan.<\/p>\n

Translation Notes:<\/p>\n

verse 2: The \u201c[Just as] . . . [so]\u201d are added by me following the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> commentator \u0100nanda-bodhendra\u2019s yath\u0101 . . . tath\u0101. The word t\u0101vat is glossed by the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> commentator Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha as s\u0101kalya, \u201centirety,\u201d which I have followed. The translation by Samvid in The Vision and the Way of Vasi\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> (p. 141, no. 406) takes the word t\u0101vat as \u201cfirst,\u201d which is equally plausible.<\/p>\n

verses 3-4: The word kacana, which I have translated as the \u201cradiance (that is manifestation),\u201d is not in the dictionaries, neither the Sanskrit-Sanskrit dictionaries \u015aabdakalpadruma\u1e25<\/em> (5 vols.) and V\u0101caspatyam<\/em> (6 vols.), nor in the Sanskrit-English dictionaries by Monier Monier-Williams and by Vaman Shivaram Apte (publication of the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Sanskrit on Historical Principles<\/em> has not yet progressed to the letter \u201cka\u201d). It is glossed in the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya-\u1e6d\u012bk\u0101<\/em> here as sphura\u1e47a. Sphura\u1e47a can mean vibration or pulsation, radiance or shining, emanation or manifestation, etc. In the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya-\u1e6d\u012bk\u0101<\/em>, sphura\u1e47a and its cognates usually gloss words meaning manifestation (e.g., bh\u0101ti, avabh\u0101sate, udeti, bh\u0101nam, bh\u0101sanam, pratibh\u0101nam, etc.). Nonetheless, the primary meaning of kacana seems to be radiance or shining. Two meanings of the root kac are given in the P\u0101\u1e47in\u012bya-dh\u0101tu-p\u0101\u1e6dha<\/em>: bandhana, \u201cbinding\u201d (1.181), and d\u012bpti, \u201cshining\u201d (1.182). Another meaning is given elsewhere: rava, \u201csounding.\u201d The relevant one here is obviously d\u012bpti, \u201cshining.\u201d This meaning of kacana can be seen in the following verses:<\/p>\n

sa\u1e43vid-\u0101k\u0101\u015ba-kacanam ida\u1e43 bh\u0101ti jagattay\u0101 |<\/p>\n

\u201cThis radiance of the space of consciousness appears as the world.\u201d (Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>, section 6.2, chapter 171, verse 1 = Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, section 6, chapter 330, verse 1)<\/p>\n

yath\u0101 ma\u1e47i\u1e25 prakacati svabh\u0101s\u0101\u2019vyatiriktay\u0101 |<\/p>\n

\u0101tmano \u2019nanyay\u0101 s\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e6dy\u0101 cid-vyoma kacita\u1e43 tath\u0101 ||<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as a jewel shines by its own light not separate from it, so the space of consciousness has radiated as creation not other than itself.\u201d (Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>, section 6.2, chapter 171, verse 28 = Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, section 6, chapter 330, verse 28)<\/p>\n

ya\u015b cin-ma\u1e47i\u1e25 prakacati prati-deha-samudgake |<\/p>\n

\u201cThat jewel of consciousness shines in each \u2018casket\u2019 of body.\u201d (Laghu-Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>, section 3, chapter 1, verse 79 = Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, section 3, chapter 5, verse 18, -samudgakam; prakacati is glossed here in \u0100tmasukha’s commentary as sphuranti)<\/p>\n

The word satt\u0101 is from the present participle sat, \u201cbeing,\u201d with the suffix t\u0101, \u201c-ness.\u201d So it is literally \u201cbeingness,\u201d or \u201cstate of being,\u201d \u201cstate of existing.\u201d It has usually been translated simply as \u201cexistence\u201d or \u201cbeing.\u201d It is a technical term. To show this, and to distinguish it from other words for being or existence, I have translated it as \u201cstate of existing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The extant manuscript of Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha\u2019s Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya-\u1e6d\u012bk\u0101<\/em> commentary is missing folios here after the first three and a half verses, so we do not have his commentary for the rest of the verses of this chapter.<\/p>\n

verse 5: The word kalana, which I have translated as \u201cthe conceiving,\u201d is used in the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> in a meaning that is not given in the dictionaries. Its basic meaning, when found at the end of a compound (as it is here), is given in Vaman Shivaram Apte\u2019s Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary<\/em> as \u201ccausing, effecting.\u201d It is here glossed by the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> commentator \u0100nanda-bodhendra as anusa\u1e43dh\u0101na, which in a related meaning is \u201cplanning, arranging, getting ready\u201d (Apte, meaning no. 3). But in Advaita Ved\u0101nta, which this commentator follows, anusa\u1e43dh\u0101na usually means \u201cinquiring into, examination, investigation, contemplation\u201d (e.g., as the function of the citta in Sure\u015bvara\u2019s Pa\u00f1c\u012bkara\u1e47a-v\u0101rttika<\/em>, verse 34; cp. \u015aa\u1e45kar\u0101c\u0101rya\u2019s Upade\u015ba-pa\u00f1caka<\/em>, verse 1: bhava-sukhe do\u1e63o \u2019nusa\u1e43dh\u012byat\u0101m, translated by Y. Subrahmanya Sarma as \u201cponder deeply about the evil consequences of worldly pleasures\u201d). He probably intends it as \u201ccontemplating.\u201d At Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> 3.13.2-4, where kalana is used five times, \u0100nanda-bodhendra glosses it as kalpana. Kalpana, like these and many other Sanskrit words, has multiple meanings, including \u201cconstruction, fabrication, the forming, fashioning, making,\u201d etc., often in the sense of \u201cthought construction, forming an image in the mind, imagination,\u201d etc. This appears to correctly reflect the meaning of kalana as found in the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, as we may deduce by looking at its usage of the closely related term kalan\u0101. The feminine noun kalan\u0101 is described in Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> 4.12.5 as sa\u1e45kalpa-r\u016bpa, \u201cin the form of sa\u1e43kalpa,\u201d and is glossed in extant portions of Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha\u2019s commentary as sa\u1e43kalpa at least twice (1.15.7, 4.10.47). The neuter noun kalana is likewise glossed in \u0100tmasukha’s commentary on Laghu-<\/em>yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha <\/em>3.15 as sa\u1e43kalpa. Sa\u1e43kalpa, too, has multiple meanings, including \u201cthought, conceptual thought, conception, imagination, will, resolve,\u201d etc. Here kalan\u0101 or kalana and sa\u1e43kalpa apparently refer to the formative thought or creative thought that forms or creates everything in the universe. I have used \u201ccreative thought\u201d for sa\u1e43kalpa, and \u201cconception\u201d for kalan\u0101. The feminine noun kalan\u0101 would refer to a particular conception, while the neuter noun kalana, which we have here, would be the act of conceiving. Hence, I have translated kalana as \u201cthe conceiving.\u201d It would also have the sense of \u201cthe forming in thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

verse 6: We have in English few ways to distinguish cit, cetas, cetana, sa\u1e43vid, sa\u1e43vedana, etc., all meaning consciousness in some way.<\/p>\n

*[functioning] consciousness (cetana) [as opposed to pure consciousness, cin-m\u0101tra]: Cetana as being lower is clearly distinguished from the ultimate cit (cin-m\u0101tra) at Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> 3.7.2-14.<\/p>\n

verse 8: The first word of this verse, svat\u0101 (joined with eka making svataika-), is apparently used in a meaning that is not recorded in the dictionaries. It is sva, \u201cself, own,\u201d plus the suffix t\u0101, \u201c-ness,\u201d the state or condition of being something, in this case, itself. Svat\u0101 is found in a similar compound at Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> (and Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>) 3.3.14, svatodaya\u1e25, where Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha glosses svat\u0101 as svabh\u0101va, \u201cinherent nature\u201d (svatay\u0101 svabh\u0101vena). Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha again uses svat\u0101 (in the instrumental case, svatay\u0101) at Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> 4.31.32 to explain cin-m\u0101tra-svar\u016bpe, the \u201cessential nature of pure consciousness.\u201d Svar\u016bpa (\u201cessential nature\u201d) is practically synonymous with svabh\u0101va (\u201cinherent nature\u201d). I have followed Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha in understanding svat\u0101 in this way, and have translated svat\u0101 as \u201cits own nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

While vastu can mean a \u201cthing\u201d in general, there is good reason to think that it is here used in its more specific meaning of \u201csubstance.\u201d This is especially so when we find it in the compound, vastu-svabh\u0101vena, \u201cthrough the inherent nature of the substance,\u201d as we have here. On this, see the section titled \u201cConsciousness as a \u2018Substance\u2019,\u201d in J\u00fcrgen Hanneder\u2019s 2006 book, Studies on the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, pp. 188-192. B. L. Atreya, too, in The Philosophy of the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>, p. 572, understands that \u201cthe Absolute Reality . . . is a distinctionless, homogeneous Substance.\u201d Likewise, Vih\u0101ri-l\u0101la Mitra here translated vastu as the \u201cdivine essence,\u201d adding in parentheses, \u201cas the fallacy of the snake, depends on the substance of the rope\u201d (vol. 1, p. 278). This, of course, is the famous example of where the illusion of the world arises on the basis of the real brahman, like the illusion of a snake arises on the basis of a real rope, an actual substance.<\/p>\n

I understand tanvas (feminine nominative plural of tan\u016b, \u201cbody, self\u201d) to refer the \u201cindividual souls\u201d (j\u012bva) or \u201cself\u201d (\u0101tman) spoken of in the previous verse. So I have taken it in the sense of its usage as a pronoun, \u201cselves,\u201d rather than as the noun, \u201cbodies.\u201d<\/p>\n

verse 12: The word aha\u1e43k\u0101ra, literally \u201cI-maker,\u201d is well known as a major principle in the S\u0101\u1e43khya worldview. It has often been translated as \u201cego\u201d or \u201cegoism\u201d or \u201cegotism.\u201d However, as it there applies to both a person and the cosmos, I have chosen to translate it as \u201c[the principle of] self-consciousness\u201d in my unfinished translation of the S\u0101\u1e43khya-k\u0101rik\u0101<\/em>. Here in this chapter of the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, where it is clearly a cosmic principle, it is all more appropriate to translate it as \u201cself-consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The word spanda means \u201cpulsation, vibration, motion, movement.\u201d In this text, it is often associated with wind. See, for example, Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>, section 6.2, chapter 84, verse 3, translated by Samvid, The Vision and the Way of Vasi\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>, p. 299, no. 1130:<\/p>\n

yathaika\u1e43 pavana-spandam ekam au\u1e63\u1e47y\u0101nalau yath\u0101 |<\/p>\n

cin-m\u0101tra\u1e43 spanda-\u015bakti\u015b ca tathaivaik\u0101tma sarvad\u0101 ||<\/p>\n

\u201cAs wind and its motion are the same and as fire and its heat are identical, even so, mere Consciousness and its power of movement are always identical in essence.\u201d<\/p>\n

While we may speak of the pulsation or vibration of consciousness, we must speak of the motion or movement of wind. Since wind is mentioned here in verse 12, I have translated spanda as \u201cmotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

verse 17: *[of the fourteen worlds]: The Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> commentator \u0100nanda-bodhendra says: caturda\u015ba-bhuvana-bhed\u0101c caturda\u015ba-vidha\u1e43 pr\u0101\u1e47i-j\u0101la\u1e43, \u201cthe fourteenfold group of living beings due to the division of the fourteen worlds,\u201d which makes perfect sense here.<\/p>\n

*[in the egg of Brahm\u0101]: This is suggested by the following jagaj-ja\u1e6dhara, \u201cthe womb of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The word \u0101valita is not found in Monier-Williams\u2019 Sanskrit-English Dictionary<\/em>, and is found in Vaman Shivaram Apte\u2019s Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary<\/em> only as \u201cslightly turned\u201d (from the K\u0101dambar\u012b<\/em>), which is not relevant here. In the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> it is in the compound \u0101valit\u0101ntaram rather than \u0101valit\u0101mbaram, as we have here in the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>. So \u0100nanda-bodhendra\u2019s gloss, khena vy\u0101pt\u0101ntar\u0101lam, \u201cthat whose interior is pervaded by space,\u201d does not really help us. Samvid translates \u0101valit\u0101ntaram in the Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> verse as \u201cmoving all around the interior\u201d (p. 144, no. 419), which also does not help us. We must now search for other occurrences of \u0101valita in the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, where the meaning may be clearer, and in Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha\u2019s commentary thereon.<\/p>\n

Two occurrences where the word is clearly \u0101valita (and not just valita preceded by a word ending in \u0101) can be found in the published volumes of the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> with the extant portions of Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha\u2019s Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya-\u1e6d\u012bk\u0101<\/em> thereon, sections one through four, edited by Walter Slaje (1993-2002). These can now be easily searched, thanks to the electronic file of them that Dr. Slaje made available online through GRETIL (G\u00f6ttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages). The first of these is in Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> 1.19.46 (= Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> 1.20.43), where we find \u0101valita\u1e43 gunai\u1e25. Here the meaning is not entirely clear. In form, \u0101valita is a past passive participle, usually translated by English words ending in \u201c-ed.\u201d This occurrence tells us only that youth is \u201c\u0101valita by\/with good qualities.\u201d It could be endowed (with), accompanied (by), surrounded (by), etc.<\/p>\n

In the second occurrence, the meaning is clear. In Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> 4.11.63 (= Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> 4.11.64) \u0101valita clearly means \u201cenclosed,\u201d like the third meaning of valita (without the prefix \u201c\u0101\u201d) listed by Apte, \u201csurrounded, enclosed.\u201d Here is the verse:<\/p>\n

yadaiva citta\u1e43 kalitam akalena kil\u0101tman\u0101 |<\/p>\n

ko\u015ba-k\u012b\u1e6davad \u0101tm\u0101yam anen\u0101valitas tad\u0101 ||<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the mind (citta) is formed in thought (kalitam) by the partless self (\u0101tman), this self is then enclosed (\u0101valita) by it like a pupa in a cocoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha here glosses \u0101valita with \u0101v\u1e5bta, \u201ccovered, concealed, enclosed, surrounded,\u201d giving the expected meaning.<\/p>\n

For the compound \u0101valit\u0101mbaram, since it begins with a past passive participle, we expect a bahuvr\u012bhi compound such as: \u201cthat by which space is enclosed.\u201d That which encloses space is the egg of Brahm\u0101. However, this compound here appears to be an adjective describing the fourteenfold class of beings. They do not enclose space; they are enclosed by space inside the egg of Brahm\u0101. So this meaning is not appropriate. Since we now know that \u0101valita means the same as valita in its meaning of \u201csurrounded, enclosed,\u201d we may search for the compound valit\u0101mbaram. At Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> 4.26.28 (= Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> 4.26.29) we find valan\u0101-valit\u0101mbaram. There, valit\u0101mbaram is glossed by Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha as t\u0101bhi\u1e25 valita\u1e43 v\u1e5bttam ambara\u1e43 yasya tat, \u201cthat whose space is surrounded, i.e., encircled, by those.\u201d It is a battle scene, between the gods and the demons. It is their individual space that is surrounded by moving armies. This shows us how the compound \u0101valit\u0101mbaram is to be understood here in verse 17, \u201cwhose space is enclosed.\u201d It is apparently enclosed in the egg of Brahm\u0101.<\/p>\n

The word yantra, \u201cinstrument\u201d (also \u201cmachine\u201d), here presumably refers, if not to the beings themselves, to their bodies, minds, and faculties. The blood, flesh, and bones that compose the body are referred to as instruments, yantra, at Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> 1.32.32 (= Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em> 1.33.35). At Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> (and Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>) 2.19.26 the faculties of action are compared to instruments (yantravat). Verse 27 speaks of the instrument of the mind (mano-yantra).<\/p>\n

verse 20: *[its self-]experience: For the self-experience of consciousness, see Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> 3.10.17 and its commentary by Bh\u0101skara-ka\u1e47\u1e6dha (same verse number in Yoga-v\u0101si\u1e63\u1e6dha<\/em>). See also the reference to \u201cthe inner self-experience of consciousness\u201d from Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em> 6.230.10 given by J\u00fcrgen Hanneder, Studies on the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya<\/em>, p. 188.<\/p>\n

verse 22: *that [principle of self-consciousness, which although actually] non-existing is as if existing: For this idea, see verse 11.<\/p>\n

verse 24: The Sanskrit phrase, sa-saugandha-tanm\u0101tratva\u1e43<\/em>, \u201cthat which has the state of the subtle element of good smell,\u201d is a rather cumbrous way of saying \u201cthe subtle element of smell.\u201d But it fits the meter.<\/p>\n

verses 29, 31: The translation of the verb pa\u015byati as \u201cpicture\u201d is because, when creating in thought, things are \u201cpictured,\u201d not \u201cobserved.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya, the \u201cMeans to Liberation,\u201d we have the least mythological and most detailed account of cosmogony, especially its very early stages, found in any Sanskrit book known to me. The Mok\u1e63op\u0101ya, as described here earlier (April 13, 2012), is an unrevised and considerably more original version of what has become known as the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-creation-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338","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=338"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2150,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions\/2150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prajnaquest.fr\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}