back to questions
Triṃśikā (Vasubandhu) with Sthiramati's bhāṣya · 30
sa evānāsravo dhātur acintyaḥ kuśalo dhruvaḥ | sukho vimuktikāyo 'sau dharmākhyo 'yaṃ mahāmuneḥ
Translation. That very [transformation of the basis] is the uncontaminated source (anāsrava-dhātu),
inconceivable, wholesome, permanent, and blissful.
That is the liberation-body (vimukti-kāya) [of the śrāvakas];
this [same transformation] is called the Dharma-body (dharma-kāya) of the Great Sage.
Grammar check: 13 words pass / 0 flagged / 0 beyond the checkerPāṇini-verified
Every word's claimed grammar is re-derived with vidyut-prakriya, software implementing Pāṇini's rules. Flags are shown, never hidden; some are the text taking epic or Vedic liberties the classical rules do not generate.
Word by word
| surface | lemma | grammar |
|---|
| saḥ | tad | pass |
| eva | eva | pass |
| anāsravaḥ | anāsrava | pass |
| dhātuḥ | dhātu | pass |
| acintyaḥ | acintya | pass |
| kuśalaḥ | kuśala | pass |
| dhruvaḥ | dhruva | pass |
| sukhaḥ | sukha | pass |
| vimuktikāyaḥ | vimuktikāya | pass |
| asau | adas | pass |
| dharmākhyaḥ | dharmākhya | pass |
| ayam | idam | pass |
| mahāmuneḥ | mahāmuni | pass |
How the commentary settled it
Where the verse alone is ambiguous, the reading follows Sthiramati's commentary; the deciding lines are quoted below each decision.
Take sa eva, asau, and ayam as referring to the previously described transformation of the basis (āśrayaparāvṛtti), not to an otherwise unspecified person or entity.→ The same transformation of the basis; eva emphasizes this identity.
trbh [1537, 1538, 1539]sa evānāsravo dhātur iti
sa evāśrayaparāvṛttirūpaḥ
anāsravo dhātur ity ucyate nirdauṣṭhulyatvāt
As for ‘that very one is the uncontaminated source’: that very one has the transformation of the basis as its nature. It is called the uncontaminated source because it is free from rigidity.
Render anāsrava as ‘uncontaminated/free from influxes’ and dhātu as ‘source’ in the causal sense, rather than as a physical element or ontological substance.→ ‘The uncontaminated source (anāsrava-dhātu),’ because all influxes are absent and dhātu expressly has the meaning ‘cause’ here.
trbh [1539, 1540]anāsravo dhātur ity ucyate nirdauṣṭhulyatvāt
sarvāsravavigata ity anāsravaḥ
It is called the uncontaminated source because it is free from rigidity. ‘Uncontaminated’ means that all influxes have departed.
trbh [1541, 1542, 1543]āryadharmahetutvād dhātuḥ
hetvartho hy atra
dhātuśabdaḥ
It is a source because it is the cause of noble qualities; for here the word dhātu has the meaning ‘cause.’
Translate acintya as ‘inconceivable,’ with the specific scope ‘inaccessible to reasoning,’ not as absolutely unknowable.→ ‘Inconceivable’: outside the range of reasoning, personally knowable, and lacking an analogy.
trbh [1544]acintyas tarkāgocaratvāt pratyātmavedyatvād dṛṣṭāntābhāvāc ca
It is inconceivable because it is not an object of reasoning, because it is to be known personally, and because there is no example analogous to it.
Translate kuśala as the technical evaluative term ‘wholesome,’ not merely ‘skilful.’→ ‘Wholesome,’ grounded in its purified object, security, and constitution from uncontaminated qualities.
trbh [1545, 1546]kuśalo
viśuddhālambanatvāt kṣematvād anāsravadharmamayatvāc ca
It is wholesome because its object is purified, because it is secure, and because it consists of uncontaminated qualities.
Render dhruva as ‘permanent’ and sukha as ‘blissful,’ taking permanence as the stated ground for both predicates.→ ‘Permanent and blissful’: dhruva is explained through eternity and inexhaustibility, while sukha follows from that same eternity.
trbh [1547, 1548]dhruvo nityatvād
akṣayatayā
It is permanent because it is eternal—because it is inexhaustible.
trbh [1549, 1550]sukho nityatvād eva yad anityaṃ tad duḥkhaṃ ayaṃ ca nitya iti
tasmāt sukhaḥ
It is blissful precisely because it is eternal: whatever is impermanent is suffering, whereas this is eternal; therefore it is blissful.
Interpret vimuktikāya as the ‘liberation-body’ associated here specifically with the śrāvakas’ abandonment of the afflictive obstruction.→ The liberation-body of the śrāvakas; the compound is construed as vimukteḥ kāyaḥ, not as an agent causing liberation.
trbh [1525, 1526]āśrayaparāvṛttiḥ śrāvakādigatadauṣṭhulyahānitaś ca prāpyate yad āha
vimuktikāya iti
The transformation of the basis is also attained through abandoning the rigidity belonging to the śrāvakas and so forth; hence the verse says ‘liberation-body.’
trbh [1551]kleśāvaraṇaprahāṇāc chrāvakāṇāṃ vimuktikāyaḥ
Because the śrāvakas have abandoned the afflictive obstruction, it is their liberation-body.
Render dharmākhya as indicating the technical Dharma-body, rather than leaving it as the opaque phrase ‘named Dharma’; construe mahāmuneḥ with that Dharma-body.→ ‘This [same transformation] is called the Dharma-body of the Great Sage.’ The commentary explicitly expands dharmākhya to mahāmuner dharmakāya.
trbh [1552, 1553, 1554, 1555]sa evāśrayaparāvṛttilakṣaṇo dharmākhyo 'py ucyate mahāmuner
bhūmipāramitābhāvanayā kleśajñeyāvaraṇaprahāṇāt
āśrayaparāvṛttisamudāgamān
mahāmuner dharmakāya ity ucyate
That very one, characterized by the transformation of the basis, is also called ‘Dharma’ in the case of the Great Sage. Because, through cultivation of the stages and perfections, he has abandoned the afflictive and cognitive obstructions and attained the transformation of the basis, it is called the Dharma-body of the Great Sage.
Preserve the commentary’s distinction between the liberation-body associated with śrāvakas and the unsurpassed Dharma-body attained through abandonment of both obstructions.→ Two contextually differentiated attainments/designations of transformation of the basis: the former follows abandonment of the afflictive obstruction; the latter follows abandonment of both afflictive and cognitive obstructions.
trbh [1527, 1528, 1529]bodhisattvagatadauṣṭhulyahānitaś ca prāpyate yad āha
dharmākhyo 'yaṃ mahāmuner iti
dvidhā āvaraṇabhedena sottarā niruttarā cāśrayaparāvṛttir uktā
It is also attained through abandoning the rigidity belonging to bodhisattvas; hence the verse says, ‘this, called Dharma, is the Great Sage’s.’ Thus, according to the distinction between the two obstructions, transformation of the basis has been taught as twofold: one still admitting something higher and one unsurpassed.
Take Mahāmuni as a title of the Buddha, not as an unspecified eminent ascetic.→ ‘The Great Sage,’ specifically the Buddha, the Blessed One.
trbh [1558]mahāmuner iti paramauneyayogād buddho bhagavān mahāmunir iti
‘Of the Great Sage’: because he possesses supreme sagehood, the Buddha, the Blessed One, is the Great Sage.