Verse 1.5

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.5:

प्राप्त्युपायोऽनुकारश्च तस्य वेदो महर्षिभिः ।
एकोऽप्यनेकवर्मेव समाम्नातः पृथक् पृथक् ॥ ५ ॥

prāptyupāyo'nukāraśca tasya vedo maharṣibhiḥ |
eko'pyanekavarmeva samāmnātaḥ pṛthak pṛthak || 5 ||

5. A means of attainment and a symbol of that One is the Veda, which though one, has been handed down as though in many recensions by the sages.

Commentary

The attainment of Brahman is nothing more than going beyond the knot¹ of the ego-sense in the form of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’. Others say that it is the resolution of the effects into the original cause,² the cessation of the activity of the senses,³ satisfaction without the aid of external means, one’s own self,⁴ the yearning for the supreme Self, the absence of craving for any adventitious object, the fact of possessing complete power,⁵ escape from the influence of the functions of Time,⁶ the complete cessation of the self.⁷ Such are the alternative ways of conceiving the attainment of Brahman. The means of attainment is the collection of the Vedas. Just as making gifts, performing austerities and practising continence are means of attaining heaven. It has been said: When, by practising the Vedas, the vast darkness is removed, that supreme, bright, imperishable light comes into being in this very birth. By the word symbol (anukāra) the idea contained in the following ancient saying (purākalpa) is meant: The Ṛṣis the seers of the mantras, those who have realised the truth (dharma) see that subtle, inaudible Word and, wishing to communicate it to those who have not realised the truth, teach the symbol of it which is like a dream⁸ in their desire to tell what they have seen, heard and experienced. It has, indeed, been said:—The Ṛṣis realised that truth (dharma); they taught the mantras to those who had not realised the truth; these others, also anxious to teach, proclaimed the Vedas and the Vedāṅgas, in order that the symbol of Brahman may be understood (bilmagrahaṇāya). Bilma is bhilma which means something which illuminates (bhāsanam).⁹ By the words ‘The Veda, though One, has been handed down in many ways by the Ṛṣis,’ what is meant is this; The object called Veda, as seen by the Ṛṣis in their vision, is One. As the One cannot be communicated through the many, the Ṛṣis first transferred it to the Word to which diversity is attributed because of the diversity of the manifesting agents (i.e., the dhvanis). The Word, then, without giving up its unity, assumes different forms such as Saṃhitā, Pada, Krama etc. It is handed down by the Ṛṣis in different branches, established for the sake of convenience of study. Another view is: The Word varies in the different regions and has, therefore, many forms; but it does not deviate from its purpose of conveying the same thing everywhere. In its different forms, it becomes the cause of regional and other diversity. In the same way, the words of the Vedas, though handed down in different branches, do not deviate from the fact that everywhere they convey the same thing. The diversity in the branches is based on the diversity of forms. Others are of this view: In the old days, the Ayurveda, with its eight sections,¹⁰ was one. In the Kali era, due to the reduced capacity of men, it has been divided into sections. In the same way, the Veda, the collection of Brahman, includes an infinite number of ways and powers.

Notes

1. Granthi. See n. 7 on verse 1 and n. 3 on verse 4.

2. Aṃbākartrī understands this as the Sāṅkhya view.

3. Aṃbākartrī sees here the yoga view. The word vikaraṇabhāva occurs in Yog. Dar. 3.48 in connection with the attainment of supernatural powers.

4. ātmatattva. While explaining this, Vṛ. gives reference to Br. Up. 4.3.21. where the text, in a slightly modified form, is as follows: tad yathā priyayā striyā saṃpariṣvakto na bāhyaṃ kiñcana veda. The idea is that when Brahman is attained one is aware of nothing else.

5. paripūrṇaśaktitvam. Vṛ. explains śakti in the sense of the eight supernatural powers attained through yoga. They are: aṇimā, mahimā, garimā, laghimā, prāpti, prākāmya, īśitvam, vaśitvam. See Y. Dar. 3.45.

6. Kālavṛtti. The two functions of time, prevention (pratibandha) and permission (abhyanujñā) by virtue of which only certain effects appear at certain times and not others.

7. sarvātmanā nairātmyam. Vṛ. understands this as referring to the extreme indefinability of Brahman: naiḥsvābhāvyam, brahmasvabhāvasya nirūpayituṃ vaktuṃ cāśakyatvāt. Some scholars, however, take it as referring to the Bauddha view.

8. Svapnavṛttam iva. Just as one’s experience in a dream is a kind of reflection of our experience in the wakeful state, in the same way, the Vedas are a kind of reflection of what the Rṣis saw in their vision.

9. Ni. 1.20.2.

10. The eight sections of Ayurveda, as given by Vṛ. are: śalyacikitsā, śālākyam, kāyacikitsā, bhūtacikitsā, kaumārabhṛtyam, agadatantram, vājikaraṇatantram, rasāyanatantram.