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Yoga-sūtra with Vyāsa's bhāṣya · 1.36
35 viśokā vā jyotiṣmatī
Translation. Or [an arisen] cognitive manifestation (pravṛtti), sorrowless and luminous, [is a support for the mind’s steadiness].
Grammar check: 3 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 |
|---|
| viśokā | viśokā | pass |
| vā | vā | pass |
| jyotiṣmatī | jyotiṣmatī | pass |
How the commentary settled it
Where the verse alone is ambiguous, the reading follows Vyāsa's commentary; the deciding lines are quoted below each decision.
Both viśokā and jyotiṣmatī are feminine nominative singular modifiers of the elided pravṛttiḥ. The full inherited construction is pravṛttir utpannā manasaḥ sthitinibandhanī, so the translation restores both ‘arisen’ and ‘is a support for the mind’s steadiness.’→ Take both as modifiers of pravṛttiḥ and restore the inherited predicate.
ys [1]pravṛttir utpannā manasaḥ sthitinibandhanīty anuvartate.
‘An arisen cognitive manifestation is a support for the mind’s steadiness’ is carried forward.
Viśokā is translated adjectivally as ‘sorrowless,’ not as the proper name of a Yogic perfection. Its supplied head is pravṛttiḥ, while the commentary’s description of the corresponding mind as śāntam corroborates the absence of distress. The lexical sense is also supported by [MW s.v. viśokā, 953,1], ‘exemption from grief.’→ The adjective ‘sorrowless’ qualifying pravṛttiḥ.
ys [1]pravṛttir utpannā manasaḥ sthitinibandhanīty anuvartate.
The term pravṛttiḥ and its predicate are carried forward.
ys [3]tathāsmitāyāṃ samāpannaṃ cittaṃ nistaraṅgamahodadhikalpaṃ śāntam anantam asmitāmātraṃ bhavati.
Likewise, the mind absorbed in I-am-ness becomes like a waveless great ocean—tranquil, infinite, and consisting solely of I-am-ness.
Jyotiṣmatī means ‘luminous’ or ‘possessed of light’ here, rather than ‘night,’ a sacrificial brick, or a metre. The bhāṣya explicitly calls the intellect’s sattva luminous and says that the resulting pravṛtti appears in forms resembling radiance.→ The adjective ‘luminous’ qualifying pravṛttiḥ.
ys [2]hṛdayapuṇḍarīke dhārayato yā buddhisaṃvit, buddhisattvaṃ hi bhāsvaram ākāśakalpaṃ, tatra sthitivaiśāradyāt pravṛttiḥ sūryendugrahamaṇiprabhārūpākāreṇa vikalpate.
For one concentrating on the heart-lotus there is awareness of the intellect; for the intellect’s sattva is luminous and like space. Through proficiency in steadiness there, the cognitive manifestation appears in forms resembling the radiance of the sun, moon, planets, and jewels.
Vā scopes over the whole phrase viśokā jyotiṣmatī pravṛttiḥ and presents it as another means of stabilizing the mind; it does not contrast viśokā with jyotiṣmatī as ‘sorrowless or luminous.’→ ‘Or’ introduces the whole sorrowless-and-luminous pravṛtti as an alternative method.
ys [1]pravṛttir utpannā manasaḥ sthitinibandhanīty anuvartate.
The preceding statement that an arisen pravṛtti supports the mind’s steadiness carries forward into this alternative.
Pravṛtti, though elided in the sūtra, is rendered ‘cognitive manifestation’ rather than merely ‘activity.’ The commentary identifies its basis as buddhisaṃvit and describes it as taking on luminous phenomenal forms.→ ‘Cognitive manifestation (pravṛtti).’
ys [2]hṛdayapuṇḍarīke dhārayato yā buddhisaṃvit, buddhisattvaṃ hi bhāsvaram ākāśakalpaṃ, tatra sthitivaiśāradyāt pravṛttiḥ sūryendugrahamaṇiprabhārūpākāreṇa vikalpate.
For one concentrating on the heart-lotus there is awareness of the intellect; the luminous pravṛtti manifests in forms like the radiance of celestial bodies and jewels.
Vyāsa's commentary on this unit
1pravṛttir utpannā manasaḥ sthitinibandhanīty anuvartate.
2hṛdayapuṇḍarīke dhārayato yā buddhisaṃvit, buddhisattvaṃ hi bhāsvaram ākāśakalpaṃ, tatra sthitivaiśāradyāt pravṛttiḥ sūryendugrahamaṇiprabhārūpākāreṇa vikalpate.
3tathāsmitāyāṃ samāpannaṃ cittaṃ nistaraṅgamahodadhikalpaṃ śāntam anantam asmitāmātraṃ bhavati.
4yatredam uktam