त्रिगुणमविवेकि विषयः सामान्यमचेतनं प्रसवधर्मि ।
व्यक्तं तथा प्रधानं, तद्विपरीतस्तथा च पुमान् ॥ ११ ॥
triguṇamaviveki viṣayaḥ sāmānyamacetanaṁ prasavadharmi ।
vyaktaṁ tathā pradhānaṁ, tadviparītastathā ca pumān ॥ 11 ॥
Triguṇam=having the three gunas – sattva, rajas, tamas; aviveki=non-discriminative; viṣayaḥ=object of experience; sāmānyam=common; acetanaṁ=without consciousness; prasavadharmi=productive; vyaktaṁ=manifested; tathā=similar; pradhānaṁ=prakriti; tadviparītaḥ=the reverse of this; tathā=similar; ca=and; pumān=Purusha
The manifest is composed of the three gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas), is indiscriminative, objective, common, without consciousness, and productive. Prakriti (Pradhana) is also like this. Purusha, though similar in some ways, is yet the reverse of all these mentioned in this karika.
In this karika, we are presented with those attributes which are common to both the manifest (23 elements of vyakta) and unmanifest (mula prakriti). However, these attributes cannot be applied to Purusha.
Triguṇam (having the three gunas – sattva, rajas, tamas): The concept of the three gunas is a key contribution of the Samkhya philosophy. Every entity within Prakriti , the mula prakriti as well as the 23 elements, is a composite of the three gunas. As given in karika #12, sattva is identified with pleasure, rajas with pain and tamas with delusion or dejection.
aviveki (non-discriminative): there doesn’t seem to be an agreement among the commentators as to what this attribute might imply. The word “viveka” means the power to discriminate. Aviveki is one who does not possess such a power. One way of looking at it is that Prakriti and all the manifest elements are “aviveki” as they can function only because of the reflected consciousness from the Purusha.
I am reproducing below the English translation of the commentary by two of the most recognized commentators:
Vachaspati Mishra: “Indistinguishable because just as Pradhana cannot be distinguished from itself, so also Mahat and the rest cannot be distinguished from Pradhāna, because of their being identical with Pradhāna; or, indistinguisability may mean the characteristic of creating things by uniting together; because none of them is capable of evolving even its own product singly but only by uniting together.”
Gaudapada: “It is not possible to discriminate as this is the Manifest and these are the Attributes, as this is a bull and this is a horse, for those which are the Attributes are the Manifest, and that which is the Manifest are the Attributes.”
As you can see, even they don’t seem to be sure of what this attribute really means.
The attribute is common to both unmanifest and manifest.
viṣayaḥ (object of experience): All the elements in the manifest domain are objects of experience, enjoyment and are knowable. Once apprehended by the buddhi, objects are presented to the Purusha.
sāmānyam (common): the manifest and the unmanifest are both available to all the Purushas for experience and are hence common to all.
acetanaṁ (without consciousness): As mentioned earlier, only Purusha represents consciousness. Mula Prakriti and the manifest domain are non-conscious. They function with the reflected consciousness from Purusha.
prasavadharmi (productive): The word “prasava” means to give birth. As mentioned in karika #3, seven of the elements in the manifest domain can produce other elements. From the Mula Prakriti comes buddhi, from buddhi is produced ego (ahamkara), from the ego are produced the eleven organs and the five tanmatras, and the tanmatras further produce the five gross elements. Thus, being productive is their basic nature (dharma).
The last part of the karika says that Purusha, even though it has some similarities with Prakriti (to be listed later on), is reverse of the attributes mentioned in this karika. That is, the attributes mentioned above, cannot be applied to the Purusha.
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