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Yoga-sūtra with Vyāsa's bhāṣya · 1.45
44 sūkṣmaviṣayatvaṃ cāliṅgaparyavasānam
Translation. And the condition of having a subtle object has as its endpoint the unmanifest (aliṅga), primordial nature (pradhāna).
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 |
|---|
| sūkṣmaviṣayatvam | sūkṣmaviṣayatva | pass |
| ca | ca | pass |
| aliṅgaparyavasānam | aliṅgaparyavasāna | 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.
Interpret sūkṣmaviṣayatvam as the abstract condition of ‘having a subtle object,’ based on the bahuvrīhi sūkṣmaviṣaya plus -tva, rather than separating tvam or taking the expression merely as an object's inherent subtlety.→ The condition of having a subtle object: bahuvrīhi sūkṣmaviṣaya plus -tva
ys [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]pārthivasyāṇor gandhatanmātraṃ sūkṣmo viṣayaḥ.
āpyasya rasatanmātram.
taijasasya rūpatanmātram.
vāyavīyasya sparśatanmātram.
ākāśasya śabdatanmātram iti.
teṣām ahaṃkāraḥ.
asyāpi liṅgamātraṃ sūkṣmo viṣayaḥ.
liṅgamātrasyāpy aliṅgaṃ sūkṣmo viṣayaḥ.
The subtle object of an earthly atom is the odor subtle-element; that of a watery one is the taste subtle-element; that of a fiery one is the form subtle-element; that of an airy one is the touch subtle-element; and that of space is the sound subtle-element. Their subtle object is egoity; that too has the mere-mark as its subtle object, and the mere-mark in turn has the unmanifest as its subtle object.
Take aliṅga as the technical ‘unmanifest,’ identified by the commentary with primordial nature (pradhāna), not simply as an ordinary absence of marks.→ The technical unmanifest, namely pradhāna
ys [8, 13]liṅgamātrasyāpy aliṅgaṃ sūkṣmo viṣayaḥ.
ataḥ pradhāne saukṣmyaṃ niratiśayaṃ vyākhyātam.
The unmanifest is the subtle object even of the mere-mark. Therefore unsurpassed subtlety has been explained as belonging to primordial nature.
Analyze aliṅgaparyavasānam as a predicative bahuvrīhi, ‘having its endpoint in aliṅga,’ qualifying the nominative sūkṣmaviṣayatvam. Paryavasāna consequently has its sense ‘end, termination’ ([MW s.v. paryavasāna, 607,2]).→ Predicative bahuvrīhi: ‘having its endpoint in aliṅga’
ys [8, 9]liṅgamātrasyāpy aliṅgaṃ sūkṣmo viṣayaḥ.
na cāliṅgāt paraṃ sūkṣmam asti.
The unmanifest is the subtle object even of the mere-mark, and there is nothing subtle beyond the unmanifest.
The endpoint concerns the hierarchy of subtle causal objects; it does not place puruṣa beyond aliṅga as a still subtler object. The mention of puruṣa in line 10 is an objection, answered by distinguishing puruṣa from the antecedent, continuant cause of the mere-mark.→ Aliṅga alone is the endpoint of the subtle-object hierarchy
ys [10, 11, 12, 13]nanv asti puruṣaḥ sūkṣma iti satyam.
yathā liṅgāt param aliṅgasya saukṣmyaṃ na caivaṃ puruṣasya.
kiṃtu, liṅgasyānvayikāraṇaṃ puruṣo na bhavati, hetus tu bhavatīti.
ataḥ pradhāne saukṣmyaṃ niratiśayaṃ vyākhyātam.
Objection: ‘But puruṣa exists and is subtle.’ True; yet puruṣa is not subtle beyond the mere-mark in the same way that the unmanifest is. Rather, puruṣa is not the continuant cause of the mere-mark, although it is a causal factor. Therefore unsurpassed subtlety has been explained in primordial nature.
Read ca in its ordinary enclitic additive sense, ‘and’ ([MW s.v. ca, 380,1]), connecting this statement with the preceding account.→ and
ys []
This is the ordinary grammatical and lexical construal; the commentary supplies no special gloss for ca.
Vyāsa's commentary on this unit
1pārthivasyāṇor gandhatanmātraṃ sūkṣmo viṣayaḥ.
2āpyasya rasatanmātram.
3taijasasya rūpatanmātram.
4vāyavīyasya sparśatanmātram.
5ākāśasya śabdatanmātram iti.
6teṣām ahaṃkāraḥ.
7asyāpi liṅgamātraṃ sūkṣmo viṣayaḥ.
8liṅgamātrasyāpy aliṅgaṃ sūkṣmo viṣayaḥ.
9na cāliṅgāt paraṃ sūkṣmam asti.
10nanv asti puruṣaḥ sūkṣma iti satyam.
11yathā liṅgāt param aliṅgasya saukṣmyaṃ na caivaṃ puruṣasya.
12kiṃtu, liṅgasyānvayikāraṇaṃ puruṣo na bhavati, hetus tu bhavatīti.
13ataḥ pradhāne saukṣmyaṃ niratiśayaṃ vyākhyātam.
141.45
15tā eva sabījaḥ samādhiḥ