Verse 18.14

Verse 18.14: “(To wit), the locus (of the action, viz. the body), the agent, the diverse means of action (viz., bodily organs), and the diverse and distinct operations; and, further, the Destiny (the supernatural factor) as the fifth. (314)

Commentary called Jnaneshwari by Jnaneshwar:

Hear now also of the characteristics of the five causes of actions. The body is the first of these. It is called the ‘Locus’, for the reason that the enjoyer lives in it together with the objects to be enjoyed. Prakriti secures pleasures and pains with the help of ten hands in the form of the (bodily) organs, exerting herself day and night. Purusha has no other place but the body where he could experience these, and therefore the body is called the ‘Locus’. This is the home of the family in the form of all the 24 elements, and here are disentangled the tangle of fetters and deliverance. Nay, this (body) being also the locus of the three states (viz. wakeful, sleepy and dreamy) it is, Oh Dhananjaya, aptly given the same name. And the doer (agent) is the second cause of the actions, and he is called the reflection of the sentience.

The rains descend from the sky and form a lake on the earth, and then reflected in it the sky assumes the form of the lake; or a king loses cognisance of his own position (as the king) when in profound sleep and experiences in a dream the state of a poverty-stricken person. The sentience also in the same way forgets its own self and there is created in it an illusion of a body-form and then it identifies itself with that body-form. The sentience, on account of forgetfulness on its part of its own self, is known in the parlance of philosophy as the (personal) soul, who has tacitly agreed to associate himself intimately with the body-form in all matters. Really it is Prakriti that does all the actions, yet, through illusion, the (individual) soul says that he does them all.

Therefore the soul is called the doer (agent). Vision is only one single faculty, yet it appears tom (ciralelī—split up) as a Chowri (cavarī—made of the tail of Bosgrun-neeus) on account of the eye-lashes. The lamp (wick) inside a house is only one, yet it appears more than one on account of the plurality of interstices in the lattice—windows through which it is seen: or one and the same man (actor) making a display (through his skill of acting) of the nine different emotional states (such as the erotic—śṛṅgāra and others) is felt as possessing a nine-fold personality: in that way, the discerning power of the intellect is only one, yet it displays itself in different forms through different senses such as ears, eyes, etc. Therefore, the different body-organs constitute the third cause, know ye, Prince (Arjuna).

Water-flows (currents), running separately towards the Eastern and Western directions, combine together and their water, even though one and the same, appears different in the form of big and small rivers. In that way the power of functioning pertaining to wind is constant, but when it operates in different spheres (of the body) it appears to be of different types. Operating through the faculty of speech it brings about talk, operating through the hands it brings about ‘give-and-take’ transactions, operating through the feet it results in a walk (motion), while operating through both the lower outlets (annus, etc.) it results in making urine and excreta to trickle down.

When operating in the region between the navel and the heart it displays ‘Pranava’ (oṃkāra) and there it is called the life-wind (prāṇa); when it forces itself in the upward direction it is called ‘Udana’ (udāna); when it descends in the downward direction, through the anus it is called ‘Apana’ (apāna); when it pervades the entire body, it is called ‘Vyana’ (vyāna). It distributes to the several parts of the body (the energy produced from) the food taken in and consumed, and pervades every joint (nook and corner) of the body. When in this way it (the wind) conducts all its activities and then steadies itself in the navel it is called ‘Samana’ (samāna), Oh Kiriti. The actions such as yawning, sneezing, belching, etc. that take place, are respectively called “Naga (nāga), ‘Kurma (kūrma) and ‘Krikara’ (kṛkara)’. Thus the activity of the wind even though one and the same derives different names from the part it plays. This power of the wind appearing in different forms, according to different functions, is the fourth cause of actions, know ye.

Imagine the best amongst the six seasons the Sharad [Sharada] (śarada), and then a night not only Moon lit, a night of the Full Moon; in it is a lovely garden in the Vasant (Spring) season and added to is the sweet company of the beloved, and further, the presence of all the appurtenances necessary for erotic enjoyment (upacāra),—in such an assemblage there is no limit to the happiness one feels. Or it is a lotus, Oh Son of Pandu, and that too fully open and accompanied with abundance of fragrance scattered from its pollen: or again the poetic power in the faculty of speech and added to it is the charm of the poetry and that charm is impregnated (touched) with the highest spiritual truth.

In that way the intellect is superior to all the glorious emotions (of the body) and its glory is enhanced with the happy concord of the senses, and this concord of the senses is adorned by (the agreeable disposition of) the respective Gods and Goddesses presiding over and supporting the different senses. There is, therefore, the assemblage of Gods and Goddesses viz. the Sun and others, that support through their favour the ten senses viz. the eyes and others standing at their bases. And this assemblage of Gods and Goddesses is the fifth cause of the actions, Oh Arjuna,” God said. (He again said) “In this way has been made clear to you in detail and in a way you can understand, the underlying principle (mine) of the causes of all the actions and you have heard it all. With the expansion of this mine (of causes), takes place the creation of the action-world. I shall now expose (lay bare) to you lucidly the rationale of the five-fold cause.