VI] Translation 133 Yoginifm etc. He, who establishes Me in his intemal orllan; who is totally addicted to devotion and faitb and who serves i.e., internally experiences Me alone, and not anything else, fallowing the method of tradition, learnt by rendering service to the revered teachers - he alone among all the Yogins, is tne best mast~r of the Yoga i.e., one who is fully absorbed in the Supreme Lord. Thus the superiority of the YOlla with Godly knowledge over all [othor means] has been
explained. (49)
MA Y THERE BE HAPPINESS TO ALL ! Here is the Catch-verse:
All is achieved just on the pn!tper attainment of the name of the Bhagavat.25 On getting the rains, the paddy crops bear good yield.
Thus ends THE SIXTH CHAPTER in the Holy Gitarthasangraha written by the revered Rajiinaka
Abhinavagllpta, tne best among the illustrious great teachcn of the Miibesvaras.
Notes
1. Playing dice etc. Cf. <Iff ~ ;;r+r~f*r~~ ~r;rl1l1:of Vamana's Vrtti under his own Kl1vy?Iiailkarasiltra (IV, iii, 24). which is itself a quotation from the Mrcchaktl{ika. Act, II. sentence preceding verse 7.
See NSP Ed. (1910), p.52.
The statement in question indicates that simply playing dice without throne cannot go to make tIte kingship, and hence indi-cates the inevitability of the throne for royalty. On the same analogy, the first verse of the chapter establishes the necessity of action for becoming a master of renunciation. The logic of the inevitability of action in this regard is indicated in the second verse.
2. Indicator: I.e., a necessary distinguishing attribute. The idea is this: The supreme quietude of the person concerned causes the on-lookers to discern that he has already mounted upon Yoga. It may be recalled that while commenting upon :rr!~~ (BS, I, I, 3)
Sankara ctc" have explained yoni, a synonym or karal.la 'cause' in the sense "means of knowledge".
Here the expressions 'one who is desirous of mounting upon Yoga', 'one who has mounted on the Yoga', and 'quietude' seem to be suggestive of the mahout-a nd-elephan t simile lndeed the mahout desirous of climbing up the animal has to perform certain action to reach the back of the elephant. When he has mounted on it, he is to sit on it well; and having his elephant in between his legs he has to remain firmly in a particular posture that would indicate that he is a well trained mahout and he would reach his goal.
3. Master of Yoga: i.e., the yuktas (those who have completely mastered the Yoga). Cf. ~: <i't1TT~: - Rk,
4. The action etc. Or 'the action that has been mentioned earlier logica lly',
~. + •
5. Cloth: Cf. "IB ~~ ••• ' •• cr~~F mll"l:TRII,- Rk.
6. Yoga. cr. <i't<T~fuf.r~l:'!Rl{~ - Rk.
6A. The time-nerve: According to the A~\angayoga system the Sun and the Moon Niidis, otherwise known as the Pingala and Ida Niidis, create the time in the form of day and night and the Susu~lna
c~n-sumes the Time. Cf. .
'l<rf"l'~l(11\ft li[~:'lil&
\1f5if~!m~
I~:ir~5ft
~r 'liT@"~:.!().li:tcr~l\TicrlI,II - HP, IV. 17, See also Gita Ch, VBI, n,39.7. The end: Here Ag, seems to explain nirvalla and samstha of the GUiJ respectively with the words sa1l}stha and priJpti. '
i) Sal:,stha (so,:,+stha 'to corne to an end') 'coming to end;
lIirvill.l0(nir+va 'to move') 'state of having no movement';
and again
ii) Sa,:,sthii (so,:,+stha 'to remain') 'remaining properly'; prapli (pra+ap 'to attain') 'attaining properly',
8. As those in the Vedic literature: Jagratah, from the root jagr (II Class), is the grammatically correct form and it is the reading io the Vulgate. Yet Ag, prefers jagaratah an,j treats it as an arsa or
obselets form, Cf. also:' .
:'I1''-':cr:, f.!'li~~fTf.r<:f+itS51'5EiF'<::~:I ~~<lTl:1I q'jORRTfqr '1i~q<rf.cr - Rk,
(as quoted in the Critical Ed., by Belvalkar).
VI] Notes
135
SA. Itself being Its own nature: 'i'Ilil'1T'f~, Dissolve 'i'I~'f 'i'Ili"T1ft<r~
~\'!ll
8B.
~f.Iim
close contact seems to be correct reading: However, Raniero Onoli prefers to correct it into sanmyasa 'renouncing (of)'.9, In order to renounce etc.: Or 'Renouncing completely etc.' if the reading of the Vulgate ~"q-$fli"l[T~ 'liTl1il;~~lJT is taken into
account. '
10. The rendering is rather tentative. According to Ag. the na 'nega-tion' in the verse should be construed with the verb cintayet, so as to bring out the meaning 'let him not think any object'. Thus we have here ~<r>IT1Ner. According to the other commentators, whom Ag. refutes, seem to have naconstrued with the immediately follow-ing kindt, so as to brfollow-ing out the meanfollow-ing 'let him contemplate on 'negation (abhava)'. So there would be here a qi"Tff. These com-mentators seem to claim to rece! ve inspiration fr~m il"fu if~Tc+rrof the Upanieod. Ag. thinks that this sort of negative approach to the Self will lead to nihilism. According to him the om: verse teaches here only the abandoning of th thoughts of lower categories, in order to achieve a concentration on the Self. Hence Negation should not be meditated upon, lest the meditator himself should be negation itself.
Elsewhere Ag. quotes this Gila verse comments and makes his point clear thus: •.•••• ~<rCf1c+r-iTi:tfu :tfu ~ i!fJ1;l3"<r1 ff~RqE['i'I"ll"l"-ClfT~i!f'VJ:~"! af"lTlI"i't!fii\1l +I;:<fctijrq.r
-~~~~~q\~(1 ~'lT
C£Rr'lit~
Iam+I~~ +Ii'f:'~'i:!fTi'f R;r~"fit F.r;:q-it;;r1\ '(m-
,
'0151~ 'J"liZiRi;~f1r\~lI" '01Rl:r~~fqm- '3"qqr~q-l1., <l1!;"f\~fqilir:rR:~T<i mi!fi'\T~Cf1fq~TWti!, i'f ~ ~lI" q~ ~'i:'fl1. I ~l:\~
"roC'!
l:~lITTl:~-';n11T1ft"lio<rcWtRr'
l\~Tf<ti'f1-'01l1rerI1FI~T'fa:. <r1'lW+r<1aT
m,
- IPVV under I, VI, 4-5 (Vol. II, p.298) Cf. also af~'f ff '1'fRr I '01tr;;~fu~" ~ - TV, II, 6.
11. Bliss, assuming the roll of an azent etc : Here the idca is: The B1i~s comes on Its own accord to the Yogin, who, as an object, remains passi ve; and not vice-versa.
llA. Everything equally: See Ag. on Ch, V; verse 8 above.
12, Here Ag. gives us the basic principle of Abhasaviida or Manifesta-tion Theory of the Saiva Absolutists. According to this theory all that exists-whether it is subject or object-is only an abllasa or manifestation of the Para Samvid, Absolute Consciousness. Ag.
says that in order to realise the Supreme, a person should first under-stand that all abhasaj are identical wIth Samvid. He says:
'la:'n.iT-~mit'Uit"m'i"l '1\l'IT>[f['!{mlfott~: 'if~'l'~~'!: - IPV, under II, iii, 13.
Utpaladeva describes how a Yogin would view the world of objects: He would view that a pot, itself being identical with the observer Yogin, is conscious, he too, being identical with object like pot, is consciolls; he. being identical with Sadlisiva, is conscious; and the latter, being identical with himself (Yogin), is also conscious; [the Absolute] 8i va Himself remains conscious of His own Self, being identical with different beings. Cf.
<i<::TWfT'lir
ijfu ~~
1fT'iTa:Tc;{TfT\~fu'iTWfT ~ 'if 'IT
~fu
<!~()iTfT II lit'! liT'fTc+!'l>Tl'{T'lT:ll'ii' 'if~~liiqCT: I ll~~ ll~~~';IFn~T'lrc~q~: II'fA'rl'{r~: ~+!Tc+!r;f ~Fr~ ~
rolf:
,-1J;cf'if'if~l'{r~~ 'if~~ O<T'fRmf \
~ 'if~<rci 'if~fu'f~q l1mrn(i'l: II
- rho Sivadr~!i, V. verses. 105-110 (pp. 194-195).
In this light the comments of Ag. on this verse and on the following ones are to be understood.
13. Ago's Bhedavadavidara(la, and his commentary on the Devlstotra are said to be known so far only from references to them in other works.
For see K.C. Pandey, op. cil. p.40.
14. Illumination and manifestation of ihese objects etc.; The idea seems to be this: The subject-object relationship is possible provided they meet one another somewhete on a common basis i.e., on the Supreme
Vlj Notes
131
Consciousness. Otherwise ho\V can the subject and object meet?
Can the grass, pebbles etc" drifting in different streamlets ever meet?
Thtis the ablzasavadins ask. Cf.
~~~111~l,He:<ITS'i!l'F:<lm ~: ~.Wf<l: - IPK, I, vii, 3.
and
3H1'1- l.111-9<1:'i!!i,\1111~'1.••.•. <n~rB<r l.H!;T~ llJ1'f<IT'11'<1'11I '1
m:
'l>!f1i 'l~ifirffi:aft~.m~
~111TfT: Q:•.ftq-~,,<r: 'i!l1"'!<Ti~<mfu....~....A~. thereunder.
Elsewhere Ag, quotes the present GIla verse partly, calls it Adisi-ddhasiitra and summarises its purport as:
'In fact every gi yen object is nothing but the Consciousness;
and the Consciousness is the object, and hence there is no duality among them'
-'f~SIa:~: '9<;: ~f'!q,~M-~<;~fcfTfT?l$:::'fi~a:.
~fu
'\fWrmfit-~~ '<IT l1i q~<1fer' ~l~'ifl - IPVV, under 1,Y,2 (Vol.n,
p.73).
15, Not an if/junction' It is so because what has to be undertaken viz., the ekatvadarSalZa (the realization of oneness in all) has not been prescribed in the iast two verses. Rather they describe what result comes from that tlarsalZa. Regarding apiirva-vidhi as "f>!ll;(fmm M-ft:1':
'injunction pres~ribing what is otherwise \mknown', cf. Ag. under Ch. IX, 26-27.
16. Author of the Bhafya: The authority quoted below is probably from the Yogasiitra of pataiijali. Hence Bha~yakft may denote patanjali.
But, how is it that Ag. prefers to refer to him as Bhiifyakft instead of 8ii.trakft? Does he then mean the VyiikaraIJa-MahabhlIfya by the simple expression Bhiisya? Does he then subscribe to the tradition identifying Patanjali the Mahabhasyakara with his namesake, the author of the Yogasiitra 1 •
17. This quotation is from Pataiijali's yozasiitra. However there the sUlra in question reads
"fl'<rT'i!~~:r<<lTl'<li(i~!;T: (I, 12)
Hence Ago's quotation may be what is called 'O{~mS~9T": 'Quota-tion of idea'.
18, Scriptures rest. What scriptures Ag. means here is not clear.
Maybe SiddhalZta in this context means the sixth system of the list of seven given in the KullIrlJal'a. These systems are the Vedic, Vai~~ava,
Saiva, Dak~ina, Vama, Siddhanta and Kaula, There each succeeding one is consid~red to be higher than the preceeding one.
Cf.-ff'ifl'"1:fllfr;:j'fl'iti'\l
~1'<IT
~11[q''RB; I~WJ"I~~.r ~<i
~'l1~fa:rur~11+f,II if>.:rI1[I~'\i'+iiifT.r '11'f1'l.fu~l~g~l1. I fu'W;:(11~wi ~'1it~Ia:
If@: iT fu II(quoted by K.C. Pandey, p.845).
So, by ~idd"anta and the rest, does Ag. mean only the Siddhanta and Kaula systems? However, the Siddhanta is said to be a dualistic school which seems to have been accepted by Ag., only partially.
Therefore it may be much better if we take f~f'ilF(i1~- to be what is known as
3{(1?:"'m~R'fQmfu:
(i,e. a Bah"vr'hi where the quali-ties implied are~ not take: into account with the thing itself):dissolve the expression as fu~f;:(1: <ll1fi'\: <{\If, (i\lf ~~\lf ~; and understand it in the sense of 'Kaula literature' only.
19. Like a broken cloud: The simile here seems to suggest a question 'whether the person would get lost temporarily like a broken cloud that gets lost temporarily and again rejoins'. Cf.
q'li'[~1!J.'ralf ~ <{;ql 'T~<rRr(1[(1,~iT: ff;:<Jl'flll~ - Rk.
The second question that follows, however, dealS with the loss once for all, which is indicated by theVI of vini1sa.
20, Caprices of mind IScertainly due to lack of faith.
21. Three years ofVi~,!u: Dissolve ~T1W: as l(\l~ ~1: 1!Jl~:, (1"1:
lJl..reT:
(Objecti ve case). S?isvata is one of the names of the Lord Vip:)u and it is the 56th name in the Vi~,!usahasran?ima-stotra.We are going to see, in the Gita (VIII, 17), that 2,000 world-ages make one full day for Brahma (personal god). Elsewhere Ag. has stated, on the authority of the Agama literature, that 100 years of Brahma go to make a day and 100 years a night for Vi~l)u. Cf.
~'!~Uffi'~S~ >.:r~ ~6l1f1ift.fl=J, \1f5{llf Q1~lf+l. ••••••
- TA, VI. 145-46.
And
flr~Vf[llfCift.;f
m'li
1:.1f,fcf ~ \1'itCi, I~ crR'fIQj;f (1\<lT;~\b ~l:l'~<fflII
- Quoted by Jayaratha thereunder.
VIj Notes
139
Thus it is certain that Ag. believes that thc person who has fallen from Yoga, lives in the heaven for three years of Visou according to this standard. Ag. arrives at the number 'three; (not actually mentioned in the Gita text) obviously in vie", of the plural number sama!" that requires the minimum number three, following the well-known Kapiiijaliidhikarana pri nciple of the Mimamsakas, according to which the plural nu~ber denotes only 'three' as long as there is no authority against it (if~'f~
ffi':ij
q<hf~fT;:f'fTor~\1fct). See PMS, XI, i, 36ff. and the commentaries thereunder.Though Sasvata generally should mean 'perennial', 'constant' etc., Ag. has to interepret in the above fashion, of course with a bit of text-twisting and jugglery, because a permanent stay for the fallen-from-yoga in the heaven of pleasure is not the intention of the text. The glosses of other commentators
m"ilaT:
;:r111:, ~lil..lir'f(;:rU~(Sankara); <f@l 'fflr: (Bhaskara); ~f,{B<;;<rr1firRr'Ili{fm(Rk.);
>f~R:l1liiF; "i1(Tlfr: 'fm: (Ms) etc. are not answering the question 'how many years? and Ag. has somethi ng like an answer.
22. The body: Cf. Ag.'s comments on
~"r~l'l'ro
l;[:;rr~ (GHa, IV, 7above) and l1~'ft~r:;fr'f~tili(OWi, XV, 7 below).
23. Elsewhere Ag. sllmmarises beautifully the contents of the GWI verses 43-47 as;
24. Yogin's superiority etc. This follows the principle 'the meal's are more important than the end'.
25. All i.achieved. etc.: It may be noted that nowhere in the sixth chapter of the Gita, the importance of thenamaor the name of the Bhagavat has been extolled even in the light of Ag.'s interpretation.
On the othel hand, the importance:of the Yoga with godly knowledge
is fonnd stressed upon as we have seen in the last verse of the chapter as explained by Ag. Hence can we take the liberty to change drastically the text I1lT'f.if[l'f into I1lT1f::r~rif
1
Or, may we understand l1lT1f'lfTli""$rrr:li+TT'f1iJ in the sense 'Just on the proper attainment of Him, bearing the 'name Bhagavot (11'f'Tf'l;~ffi
if1'11 <R<!CR'!l ~-+TT'f1iJJ! Or, may we believe that Ag. gives - beyond the scope of the chaptet - his own idea about the efficacy of the Lord's name!Of course, theBhofovanniima is a sure means for a devotee to achieve all, inclUding the Bhagavajjiiiina.