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A passage for editorial review. A LECTURE ON THE SANKHYA PHILOSOPHY EMBRACING THE TEXT OF THE T A T T W A S A 31 A' S A PRINTED FOR THE USE OF THE BENARES COLLEGE BY ORDER OF GOVERNMENT N. W. P. ORPHAN SCHOOL PRESS :—SUPT. R. 0. MATHER. 1850. •33^3313 125b WEBER COLLECTmm* PREFACE This Lecture, delivered in the session of 1849, is a sequel to those on the Nydya Philosophy delivered to the senior class of pupils in the English Department of the Benares College, in 1848, (C with the view of introducing them to the philosophical terminology current among their learned fellow-countrymen the pandits.' For selecting the Tattiva-samdsa as the text-book, there were two motives — the simplicity of its arrangement, and the extreme rarity of the work. Mr. Colebrooke (at p. 233. vol. 1st of his Essays) speaks of it as being uncertain whether the work were still extant ; and few of the pandits appear to know it except by name, J. R. B, Benares College,^ 31s/ My, 1850. J SYNOPSIS OF THE CONTENTS. The twenty-five Principles — consisting of — No. 5. — The eic.iit producers : — Viz. No. G. — The Undiserete — „ No. 8.— Intellect— „ No. 17. — Self-consciousness — ■ „ No. 19.— The five Subtile Elements- No. 26. — The sixteen Productions : — Viz. No. 27- — The eleven Organs — „ No. 31.— The five Gross Elements- No. 34.— Soul. The operation of the Principles — consisting in No. 54. — Developemcnt — No. 55. — Reabsorption — No. 73. — Bondage — No. 74. — Liberation. The Sankhya theory of Evidence — involving No. 7G.— Perception — No. 77. — Inference — No. 78. — Testimony. A LECTURE ON THB SANKHYA PHILOSOPHY No. 1. — [The founder of the Sdnkhya school of philosophy was Kapila, Two treatises are attributed to him — the Sdnkhya-pra- vachana and the Tatwa-samdsa. The latter will form the text of the] following observations. The commentary commences thus : — ] No. 2. — Salutation to Ganesa ! Salutation to the great sage Kapila ! Salutation to that great sage Kapila who, at the first creation, obtained, merely by birth, a knowledge of the twenty- five principles (tatwa). Now we shall explain the aphorisms of the Sdnkhya, which con- stitute what is called the Compendium of Principles. [ In saying that Kapila obtained his knowledge " merely by birth/' the author means that Kapila differed from those other tea- 2 A LECTURE ON THE chers who, after being born, received instruction before they were qualified to teach. Kapila is regarded as an incarnation of the deity.] No. 3. — A certain brahman, aggrieved by the three kinds of pain, had recourse to the great sage Kapila, the teacher of the Sdnkhya. Having declared his family, his name and race, and his desire of instruction, he said — " Holy Sir ! What is of all things the most important ? What is actual truth ? And what must I do in order that I may have done what is fitting to be done ?" Kapila replied — u I shall tell you." [ The Aphorisms of Kapila here follow.] *A V^ STT^: 1VUI ^ SR^TffTFT: 1\^ II T^^^Tf%- ^ i\8D ^sif^^nmcfw: iviii ^t^^tt ^f%; im^rsr- ^g^Pnft *T?nra : R°u fafMt *rnrt^: \^\\\ f*Pr- vftfFW w*A f*fin?t*TO: #l f^fr* *nntf i^8 SANKHYA PHILOSOPHY. 3 No. 4. — M (1) The eight ' producers' (prakriti) ; (2) the six- " teen c productions' (vikdra) ; (3) ' Soul' (purusha); (4) the " c triad of qualities' (traigunya); (5) ' emanation' or ' develope- " ment' (sanchara); (6) ' re-absorption' or 'dissolution' (pratisan- " chara); (7) the ' ministers of Soul' (adhydtma) ; (8) the 'pro- H vince of an organ' (adhibhuta); (9) the respective ' presiding " deity' (adhidaivata) ; (10) the five ' perversities of understand- " ing" (abhibuddhi) ; (11) the five 'sources of action' (karmma- cc yoni); (12) the five ' airs' (vdyuj ; (13) the five ' which consist " of action' (karmmdtma) ; (14) 'ignorance' (avidyd) under five " divisions ; (15) 'disability' (as'akti) of twenty-eight kinds; (16) Ci ' acquiescence' or 'indifference' (tushti) of nine kinds; (17) " ' perfectness' (siddhi) of eight kinds; (18) the 'radical facts' " (mulikdrtha) of ten kinds ; (19) ' benevolent nature/ (anugra- (t ha-sarga) ; (20) ' created existences' (bhuta-sarga) of ten des- " criptions; (21) 'parental creation' (dhdtu-sansarga) of three dis- " criptions ; (22) three-fold ' bondage' (bandha) ; (23) three-fold "'liberation' (moksha) ; (24) three-fold 'proof (pramdna) ; (25) "three-fold 'pain' (du'kha): — in this consists all actual truth. " He who shall have thoroughly understood this, will have done " all that is to be done. He will not again be obnoxious to the " three sorts of pain." Such are the Aphorisms of the Sdnkhya, entitled the ' Com- pendium of Principles.' [ The commentator then proceeds to dilate on each of the fore- going topics.] 4 A LECTURE ON THE No. 5. — Now which are those eight 'producers5? To this it is replied — (1) the ' undiscrete' (avyaJcta) ; (2) e intellect' (buddhi); (3) ' self- consciousness' (ahankdra) ; and (4 — 8) the five ' subtile rudiments' (tan-mdtra) ; — these are the eight * producers.' [ Each of these eight 'producers' is now taken up in its order.} No. 6. — Now the ' undiscrete' is described. As, in this world, jars, webs, vases, and couches are made manifest, not so is the e undiscrete5 : — that is to say — it is not apprehended by the hearing or by any other sense. Why ? Because it has neither begin- ning, middle, nor end ; nor is it made up of parts. The inaudible, intangible, invisible, indestructible, and likewise eternal, devoid of savour and odour, — without beginning or middle, anterior in or- der to mind, firm and chief — thus do the learned designate it. Subtile, devoid of characteristic attributes, unconscious, without beginning or end, — so too whose nature it is to produce, without parts, one only, the common [source of all] — such is the e undis- crete.' 8ANKHYA PHILOSOPHY. 5 No. 7- — Synonymes of the ' undiscrete' are the following — viz : the ' undistinguished,' ' unseparated/ or 'imperceptible' (avyak- ta); the 'chief (pradhdna); the 'source of emanation* (brahma): the 'receptacle' or 'abode/ (pura); the 'permanent' (dhruva) ; the 'chief/ or ' that in which all generated effect is comprehen- ded' (pradhdnaka) ; the ' indestructible' (akshara) ; the ' site' or 'field' (kshetra); 'darkness' (ta?7ias); the ' productive source' (pra- suta). [Several of these terms are not, strictly speaking, synonymes, further than as they are all applicable to the ' undiscrete*. They are epithets employed for reasons which may appear in the sequel. A similar remark applies to the- various lists of synonymes which will be met with further on. We now come to the second of the eight ' producers' (No. 5) — viz 'intellect'.] *IV* TOT: I ?Srt^TR T ST*: I T^T *ff : I No. 8.— What is ' intellect' ? To this it is replied—' intellect' is 'ascertainment' (adhyavasdya). This it is from which, in re- gard to a cow or any other thing, there is the determination ' This is so and so, and not otherwise' — ' This is a cow, not a horse' — cThis is a post, not a man.' Such is 'intellect' or 'un- derstanding.' [The various aspects under which this faculty is regarded as presenting itself, are next specified.] O A LECTURE ON THE t^TTO %%t^ ^trifw ir^rf% wf ^T*f Vniqfrqrgffir- frf I No. 9. — Of this e intellect' there are eight forms— (1) ' virtue' (dharma); (2) e knowledge' (jnydna) ; (3) l dispassion' (vairdgya); (4) superhuman c power' (aiswarya) — [the remaining four being the opposites or negatives of these. See No. 14.] Pre?: ^r^r^r^w: i No. 10. — f Virtue* {dharma) is the opposite of 'vice' (adharma) ; it is what is enjoined in the e scripture' (s'ruti) and in the ' law' (smriti) ; not opposed to the practice of the pious — of which the symptom is felicity [ — prosperity being regarded as the fruit of former virtue, and adversity as that of former vice.] No. 11, — ' Knowledge' (jnydna) is the opposite of ' ignorance' (ajnydna) — an acqaintance with the ' principles' ( tatwa ), the * forms' of intellect (bhdva~l$o, 9.), and the 'elements' (bhuta No 31.) No. 12. — c Dispassion' (vairdgya) is the opposite of e passion' (avairdgya) : — it consists in not concerning one's self about sounds or any other c objects of sense' (vishaya). No. 13. — Superhuman F power' (aiswurya) is the opposite of 6 powerlessness' (anaiswarya) ; it consists of the eight qualities/ SANKHYA PHILOSOPHY. / [the capacity of assuming a form of the utmost] ' minuteness' (animd) fyc.