Verse 1.8

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.8:

तस्यार्थवादरूपाणि निश्रिताः स्वविकल्पजाः ।
एकत्विनां द्वैतिनां च प्रवादा बहुधा मताः ॥ ८ ॥

tasyārthavādarūpāṇi niśritāḥ svavikalpajāḥ |
ekatvināṃ dvaitināṃ ca pravādā bahudhā matāḥ || 8 ||

8. Based on the explanatory comments and similar passages, conflicting views have been set forth by the exponents of Monism and Dualism according to their own taste.

Commentary

It is generally seen that human speculations are based upon explanatory comments and similar Vedic sentences.¹ Because of the diversity of the human intellect, diversity of speculation takes place. For example, there is the explanatory comment (arthavāda): “In the beginning, all this was nothing,” meant to praise the place where the fire is to be kindled.² On the basis of an imaginary interpretation of it, the following Absolutism is constructed: ‘The non-existent is born of the non-existent, the action-less from the action-less, the non-substratum from the non-substratum, the inexpressible from the inexpressible, the essenceless from the essenceless.’

“The One Self is differentiated by means of existence and non-existence, neither of which is prior or posterior. How can the undifferentiated One be both expressible and inexpressible?”

Similarly—

“There was no non-existent nor was there the existent.”³

“In the beginning, all this was only darkness.”⁴

“This (the world) is like foam, it is nothing, it is like bubble, it is nothing. It is mere illusion, not easily set aside. So do the learned see it.”

“The blind one saw the jewel, the finger-less one threaded it, the neck-less one wore it and the tongue-less one praised it.”⁵

The sentence

“In the beginning, all this, was water”.⁶

Is an explanatory comment relating to the new and full moon sacrifice. From that arises the following speculation:—

“Of these waters, there is the effect (pāka) in the form of consciousness and there is the effect in the form of matter. And life (prāṇa) is the essence of the waters and that comes back and also does not come back.”⁷

Really speaking, it is the one having the form of all knowledge and appears in all this diversity. Dualists also have their views:—

“There are the eternal things and the non-eternal things, the causes of all objects, things which have a form and things which have no form, subtle and gross, in which the Similarly

“Two birds, companions, united together, occupy the same tree. Of the two, one eats the tasty fig fruit, the other one does not eat, but shines.”⁸

“By ‘two birds’, the senses and the inner Controller, the intelligence and the soul are meant.” Others,⁹ on the other hand, say:—

“The differentiated and the undifferentiated consciousness, full of seeds, are meant.”

“It moves, it does not move, it is far, ‘it is near, it is within everything and so is it without.”¹⁰

Notes

1. The Vṛtti explains arthavādarūpāṇi in the verse as arthavādān arthavādaprakārāṇi. Thus the word rūpāṇi is explained as arthavādaprakārāṇi. For Vṛ., the word arthavādarūpāṇi in the verse is an ekaśeṣa; arthavādān arthavādarūpāṇi cety arthavādarūpāṇi on the analogy of the ekaśeṣa in P. 7. 4. 82. guṇo yaṅlukoḥ which means: yaṅi yaṅluki ceti yaṅlukoḥ.

2. Vṛ. quotes the following prescription—

Sa vai saptapuruṣo vā

He adds: catvāra ātmānaḥ, trayaḥ pakṣapucchānīti. te ca puruṣā prāṇatvena stūyante. Cf. Ś. Br. 6.1.1.6.

3. RV. 10. 129. 1. Vṛ. calls this passage also an arthavāda. The idea is that by giving the place of kindling the fire the same attributes as Brahman, one is praising it.

4. Cf. Mai. Up. 5.2. where the text is: Tamo vā idam agra āsīd ekam.

5. Tai. Ar. 1. 11. 5. runs as follows—

Sa taṃ maṇim avindat,
So'naṅgulir āvayat;
So'grīvaḥ pratyamuñcat
So'jihvo asaścata.

6. Ś. B. 14.8.6.1. See also Jai. Up. 1.56.1.

7. Vṛ explains āvarttī and anāvarttī as ‘coming back’ in the case of those who have not yet attained ‘mokṣa’ and ‘not coming back’ in the case of those who have attained it.

8. Cf. RV. 1.164.20 and Śve. Up. 4.6. where the text is:

Dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṃ
vṛkṣaṃ pariṣasvajāte.
tayor anyaḥ pippalaṃ svādvatti
anaśnann anyo'bhicākaśiti.

9. According to Vṛ, these are again the Monists who hold this view.

10. ŚYV. 40.5.

Since there are these different speculations in regard to the one Brahman beyond all differentiation on account of its being endowed with all powers, therefore it is that