A COMMENT ON SANKARA'S COMMENTARY ON BHAGAVADGITA XVIII.1.pdf

7/27/2019 A COMMENT ON SANKARA'S COMMENTARY ON BHAGAVADGITA XVIII.1.pdf

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A R V I N D S H A R M A

A C O M M E N T O N

S A / q K A R A ' S C O M M E N T A R Y O N B H A G AVA D G I T A X V I I I . 1

I

I n t h e t e r m i n a l c h a p t e r o f th eB h a g a v a d g F t gA r j u n a i n i t i a l l y ra i s es t h e q u e s -

t i o n : a r e sare.znyfsa a n d t y ~ g a d i s t i n c t f r o m e a c h o t h e r ? 1t .

T h i s p a p e r i s a n a t t e m p t t o o b t a i n a n a n s w e r t o t h i s q u e s t i o n f r o m S a n k a r a 's

GF tfib hgs.ya.

I I

S a fi k ar a c l ea r ly p e r c e iv e s A r j u n a ' s i n q u i r y a s c e n t e r i n g o n t h e n a t u r e o f t h e

d i s t in c t i o n t o b e d r a w n b e t w e e nsa .mnyf i sa and tydga . A s a m a t t e r o f f a ct h e

e v e n s e e m s a t r i f le s u r p r i s e d a t t h i s f o r h e r e m a r k s :

Ve r i ly, t he w ho l e o f t h e do c t r i n e t augh t i n t he p r eced ing d i s cou r se s i s t o b e foun din t h i s d i s cou r se . Ar juna , howeve r, a sk s to k n ow on ly t h e d i s t i n c t i on be tw e e nsamnydsa an d ty~ga. 2

M o r e o v e r , in t h e c o n n e c t i v e n o t e w i t h w h i c h h e i n t r o d u c e s t h e n e x t v e rs e

S a h k a r a a g a i n r e m a r k s :

T h e w o r d ssamny~saa n d ty~ga have been u sed h e r e and t h e r e i n t he p r eced in gd i s cou r se s, 3 t h e i r c on no t a t i on s , ho w eve r, no t b e ing c l ea r ly d i s t i ngu i shed .Where fOre , w i t h a v i ew t o d e t e rm in ing t hem , t he Lo rd add re s ses Ar juna .. . 4

I I I

A n d w h a t , a c c o r d i n g t o S a fi k ar a , i s t h e a n s w e r t o t h e q u e s t i o n ?I

S a f ik a r a 's a n s w e r t o t h e q u e s t i o n c o m e s i n tw o p a r t s . H e s e e m s t o s a y ( 1 )

t h a t t h e t w o w o r d s a reb r o a d l y s y n o n y m o u sb u t t h e n a ls o a d d s t h a t ( 2 ) t h e

t w o w o r d s , t h o u g h b r o a d l y s y n o n y m o u s , a re n o te x a c t l y s y n o n y m o u s .H e

a c c ep t s th e g e n er a l s y n o n y m i t y o f t h e tw o w o r d s w h e n h e r e m a r k s t h a t " t h e

I Bhagavadg~taX V I I I . 1 .2 A.Mah~deva Sas t r i ,The Bhagavad-Gita wi th the Co mm entary o fS r i Sankarachffrya

(Eng l i sh Tr a ns l a t i o n ) , M a dr as : V. R am aswam y Sas t ru lu & Sons , 1961 , p . 441 . Th i s maybe com par e d w i th S~d h a r a S w ~mi ' s r emark t ha t " t h e e s sence o f t he who le GI t~ t i s t augh tc l ear l y i n t h e e i gh t een th c hap t e rb y d i s t ingu i sh ing be tw een r en unc i a t i on and r e l i nqu i sh -m e n t " [ S w a m i Vi r e s h w a r a n an d a ,Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita( Te x t , Tr a n s l a ti o n o f t h e T e x tand o f t he g los s o f S r i dha ra Swami ) , Madra s : S r i Ram akr i shn a M a th a , 19 48 , p . 472 ;eml~hasis add ed. ]

3 S r idha ra Swami i n h i s g lo s s iden t i f i e s s ome o f t he se r e f e r e nces . Fo rsam.nyl2sahe c i te sV. 1 3 , I X . 2 8 a n d f o rty~ga IVo20 and XII .11(op. cit., p p . 4 7 2 - 3 ) .4 A . M a h a d ev a ~ s t r i ,op. cir., p . 441 .

Indo-Iranian Journal17 (1975 ) 1 8 3 - 1 9 3 . A l l R i g h t s R e s e rv e dCopyr ight 9 1975 by D. Reide l Publ i sh ing Company, Dordrecht -Hol land


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1 84 A RV I N D S H A R M A

m e a n i n g o f t he w o r d ssa.mnydsa and ty~gai s i n any way one and t he s ame so

f a r a s t h e g e n e ra l i d e a is c o n c e r n e d , n a m e l y, a b a n d o n m e n t " ; s b u t a t th e s a m e

t i m e h e a ls o i m p li es t h a t t h e t w o w o r d s a re n o t e x a c t l y s y n o n y m o u s w h e n h egoes on t o add t ha t t he two wor ds " a r e no t qu i t e so d i s t i nc t i n mean ing a s t he

word s ' j a r ' and ' c l o th ' . ' 6 The imp l i ca t i on i s t ha t t he r e i ss o m e d i s t i nc t i on

tho ug h i t i s no t a s r ad ica l a s t ha t be t w e en a p i tche r o f wa t e r(ghat.a) a n d a

p i ec e o f c l o t h(pa.ta). Anand ag i r i pa raph ra se s S a f ika r a a s s ay in g t ha t " t h e tw o

word s conv ey t he s ame gene ra l i dea w i th som e d i s t i nc t ion . ' '7 Ac co rd ing ly,

t hough t he words may no t be a s d i s t i nc t a s ' j a r ' and ' c l o th ' , t h e r e does ex i s t

t he k in d o f d i ff e r ence on e f i nds b e tw e e n a p o t a nd a j a r. 8

Thus acc o rd ing t o Sa f ika r a, t h o u g h t h e r e i s a g ene ra l o v e r l a p i n me a n ing

b e t w e e n t h e t w o w o r d ssam.ny~sa and ty~ga ,t he r e i s no t a comp le t e co inc iden -

c e o f m e a n in g .

I f n o w t h e m a n n e r i n w h i c h S a fi ka ra g lo ss es th e s e t e r m s i n hi s C o m m e n t a r y

o n t h e GTtg a re s c ru t i n i zed one d i s cove r s t ha t , cons i s t en t l y w i th t he above

pos i t i on , wh i l e i n some con t ex t s Sa f i ka r a a ccep t s t he two words a s synony -

m o u s , 9 in o t h e r c o n t e x t s t h e d i s ti n c t io n b e t w e e n t h e t w o t e r m s t a k e s o n

s ign if i c ance fo r h im . 1~ One p l ac e , f o r i n s t a n ce , whe re in he c l e a r ly a cce p t s t he

s y n o n y m i t y o f t h e t w o t e r m s is i n h i s g lo ss o n X V I I I . 4 , w h e r e i n h e c o m m e n t s

o n t h e o c c u r re n c e o f t h e w o r dtygga a lone t hus : " t he Lo rd ha s u sed t h i s s i ng l ew o r d h e r e , i m p l y i n g t h a t t h e m e a n i n g o fty~ga a n d sam.nygsa i s one and t he

s a m e " . T h e k e y s e c t i o n o f t h e g lo ss r u n s :tyggasa .mnyffsagabdav~cyo h iyo

'rtha.h sa e ka eveti , x 1

On the o the r hand ,, some t im es S a f ik a r a d ra w s a d i s t i nc t i on be twe e n t he t w o

te rms and i n a mann e r wh ich is qu i t e r evea li ng o f hi s gene ra l ph i l o soph i ca l

p o s i ti o n . F o r i n s t a n ce , i n h is g lo s s o n X V I I I . 9 h e r e m a r k s t h a t " t h e a b a n d o n -

m e n t o f w o r k s a n d t h e a b a n d o n m e n t o f th e d e si re f o r t h e f ru i ts d o a g r ee in s o

f a r a s t h e y a li ke i m p l y a b a n d o n m e n t . ''~ 2 T h e t e r m u s e d f o r a b a n d o n m e n t o f

wo rks issam. ny~sa,a n d f o r t h e a b a n d o n m e n t o f t h e d e s ir e f o r t h e f r u it s is

tygga a n d t h e w o r d u s e d f o r a b a n d o n m e n t i n g e n e ra l isty~ga. Thu s fo r Sa f ika r a

t h o u g h s o m e t i m e s t h e w o r d s m a y b e u s e d i n t e r c h a n g e a b l y, a t o t h e r t im e s a sin this casesa.mnygsa and ty~gahave d i f f e r en t mean ings ; t he d i f f e r ence t hen

cons i s t s insam.nygsa b e in g re l a te d t o a b a n d o n m e n t o f a c t i o n a n dtydga t o t h e

s A. Mah~deva S~stri,op cit . ,p. 442.1x6 Ibid.7 Ibid.8 "T hey convey the same general idea with slight distinction likeghatakala~a"(Sri Swami

Sivananda,Srimad Bhagavad G ita,Rishikesh: Yoga-Vedanta Forest University, 1949, p.769).9 E.g. see glosses on V.13; V I.4; XV IIL7; etc.

lo E.g . see glosses on XV III.3, etc.al Srrgahkaragranthavalih,Sam pu.ta 8, Srivag. vilgsamudr~yantr~laya.h, Srirangam , p .408.12 A. Ma h~deva S~stri,op. cir.,p. 450.


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186 A RV I N D S H A R M A

r o o m f o r m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g w o u l d a p p e a r t o e x i s t h e r e . S u c h a c l a r i f ic a t i o n c a n/

b e s o u g h t b y a s k in g t w o s e a rc h i n g q u e s t i o n sin re S a f i k a r a ' s p o s i t i o n : ( 1 )

W h y d o e s S a f ik a r a s a y t h a t a ll a c t i o n m u s t b e a b a n d o n e d f o r s a l v a ti o n ? a n d ( 2 )W h a t d o e s S a f i k a r a m e a n w h e n h e s a y s t h a t a l lka rma i s t o b e a b a n d o n e d ?

T h e f i r s t q u e s t i o n i s a n s w e r e d m o r e r e a d i l y t h a n t h e s e c o n d . A c c o r d i n g t o

S a f i k a ra s a l v a ti o n is n o t p o s s i b l e s o lo n g a s t h e s l i g h t e s t t r a c e o f t h e f r u i t s o f

a c t i o n r e m a i n s t o b e e x h a u s t e d . S o lo n g a s a c ti o n i s p e r f o r m e d t h e r e w i l l b e t h e

f r u it o f a c t i o n w h i c h w i l l b a r t h e w a y t o s a l va t io n . T h e r e f o r e , i f t o a c h ie v e

s a l v a t io n o n e m u s t g e t r id o f f r u i t s o f a c t io n i n it s e n t i r e t y, t h e n i n o r d e r t o g e t

r i d o f t h e f r u it s o f a c t i o n o n e m u s t g e t r i d o f a c t io n i t s el f. F o r " a n a c t i o n d o n e ,

w h e t h e r i n t e r e s t e d( k d m y a ) o r o b l i g a t o r y a n d d i s t i n t e r e s t e d( n i t y a ) m u s t

p r o d u c e i ts e f f e c t; - ( i t c a n n o t o f c o u rs e p r o d u c e )moks .a ,w h i c h , b e i n g e t e r n a l ,c a n n o t b e p r o d u c e d b y a n a c t i o n . ' '1 6

N o w t h e s e c o n d q u e s t i o n : w h a t d o e s S a f ik a r a m e a n w h e n h e s a y s t h a t a l l

k a r m a i s t o b e a b a n d o n e d ?

T h e w o r d k a r m a h a s t h e g e n e r al m e a n i n g o f a c t io n a n d t h e m o r e s p e c i f ic

m e a n i n g o f r it u a l. C o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e s e , t h e w o r dsam.nygtsin h a s t w o

m e a n i n g s : a n a r r o w o n e a n d a b r o a d o n e . T h e n a r r o w e r , m o r e s p e c i f i c a n d

t e c h n i c a l m e a n i n g o f th e w o r dsam.nygsa r e l a t e s t o t h eca tur th~grama: t h e

f o u r t h s t ag e i n th e H i n d u s y s t e m o f t h e f o u r~s/amas. O n e n t e r i n g t h i s s t a g e a l lr i t u a l s ar e g i v en u p . T h i s i s o n e s e n s e i n w h i c h S a f i k a r a u s e s th e w o r dsam.ny~sa -

t h e a b a n d o n m e n t o f r it u a l a c t i o n . I n th i s c as e t h e a b a n d o n m e n t i n v o lv e s t h e

g iv i ng u p o f a n o u t w a r d l y i d e n t i f i a b l e a c t i o n - a s w h e n s o m e o n e , w h o a s a

g!'.hastha t e n d e d t h e h o u e e h o l d f i r e , a s asam.ny~s in c e a s e s t o d o s o . 17

B u t S a f l k a r a a l s o c o n n e c t ss am n y~saw i t h t h e m o r e g e n e r a l m e a n i n g o f th e

w o r d ka rma , n a m e l y, a c t i o npe r se. A c c o r d i n g t o S a f i k a r a " t h e G i 't ~ g~ s tr a

t e a c h e s t h a t h e w h o h a s a c q u i r e d a k n o w l e d g e o f t h e s e l f s h o u l d r e s o r t t o

r e n u n c i a t i o n o n l y, n o t t o w o r k s . ' ' 18 T h i s r a is e s t h e o b v i o u s q u e s t i o n : h o w

c a n a l l a c t i o n b e a b a n d o n e d f o r e v e n e a t i n g , s e e in g , h e a r i n g , e t c . a r e a c t i o n a n d

h o w c a n t h e y e v e r b e a b a n d o n e d e x c e p t i n d e a t h ? S a f ik a r a 's a n s w e r is r o u t e d

v i a v e r s es 8 a n d 9 o f C h a p t e r V. t 9 A n d t h e a n s w e r is t h a t t h o u g h aj a#n in m a y

a p p e a r t o b e a c t i n g o u t w a r d l y h e " s e e s o n l y i n a c t i o n i n a c t i o n - i n a ll t h e

m o v e m e n t s o f t h e b o d y a n d t h e s e n s es - . .. h e s e e s t h e a b s e n c e o f a c t i o n . ' '2 ~

as A . Mah~deva S~stri,op. cit.,p. 180.17 A. M ah~dev a Sastri,op. cit., p. 182.is Ibid., p. 48.~9 It is as ff for Sa.fikaraArjuna 's quest ion ra ised in the f i rs t verse of the e ighteenth chapter :"What is thetattva o f Samnyasa?" is to b e answered on th e basis of the clue provided inthe eighth and n inth verses of the fif th chap ter wheirein thetattvavit is described as onewho "though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling,eating, going, sleeping, breathing,speaking, lett ing go, seizing, opening and dosin g his eyes - remem bering that the sensesmo veam ong sense-objects" and "s tea dfas t" should th ink " I to nothing a t a l l" (A. Mah~-deva S~stri,op. cir.,p. 164).zo A. Mah~deva S~std,op. cit., p. 164.


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p .

A C O M M E N T O N S A N K A R A ' S C O M M E N TA RY 1 8 7

In o t he r words Sa f ika r a u se s t he wordsa.mnydsai n t w o w a y s : b o t h t o r e f e r

t o t h e a b a n d o n m e n t o f i d e n ti f ia b l e f o r m s o f o u t w a r d a c t i o n i n s o m e c a s es a n d

t o r e fe r , n o t t o t h e a b a n d o n m e n t o f id e n t if ia b l e f o r m s o f o u t w a r d a c t i o n , b u t t ot h e in w a r d a b a n d o n m e n t o f a c ti o n i n o t h e r c a se s.

/ . ,

T h u s S a n k a r a s c o n c e p t i o n o f th e a b a n d o n m e n t o f allk a r m a appl ies a t two

leve ls : phys i ca l and m en ta l , o r t o two sphe re s o f a c t i on , ou t w a rd an d i n w a r d

ac t i on . 21 How soeve r app li ed , how eve r, t he d i c t um i s c l e ar : a ll a c t i on mu s t be

aban don ed . How , t hen , does Sa f i kar a ma ke h i s pos i t i on ji ve w i th t heGr ta ' s

w h i c h i s c o n s t a n t l y u rg i ng A r j u n a t o a c t ?

T h e m a n n e r i n w h i c h S a fi ka ra g o e s a b o u t h is w o r k c a n b e s e e n b y m a k i n g a

ca se s t ud y o f t he ve r se s in t heGi'tg w h i c h a r e l ik e l y t o c r e a te a ' p r o b l e m ' f o r

h i s p o s i t io n . S o m e o f t h e se m a y b e i d e n t if i e d : 1 I I - 4 , 5 , 3 0 ; V - 2 ; V I - 1 , 2 ;

X I I - 1 2 ; a n d X V I I I - 3 , 7 , 9 , 11 a n d 1 2. T he s e m a y n o w b e i n d iv i du a ll y e x a m i-

ned .

(1 ) I I I . 4 .

T h is ve rs e d e a r l y s t a te s t h a t p e r f e c t i o n c a n n o t b e a t t a i n e d b ysam.ny~sa. H o w/does Sa f ika r a hand l e t h i s?

Sa f ika r a wh o leh ea r t ed ly ag ree s; ho w can pe r f ec t i on , he r emarks , be a t t a i nedb y " m e r e r e n u n c i a t io nu n a c c o m p a n i e d b y k n o w l e d g e ? ''2 2

(2) I I1 .5

Th i s v e r s e a s s e r t s t ha t none even fo r an i n s t an t , eve r r ema ins w i thou t pe r fo rm-

i ng som e fo rm o f a c t ion . Th i s s t a t em en t i s d i ame t r i c a l l y opp osed t o ga f i ka r a 'ss

p o s i t i o n t h a t all a c t io n m u s t b e a b a n d o n e d . H o w d o e s S a fi k ar a g et o u t o f th is

b i n d ?

S a h k a r a r e m a r k s t h a t o n e m u s t d i st in g u is h ( a c c o r d i n g t o I I I . 3 ) b e t w e e n t h e

] adn ayog in a n d t h e ka rmayog in . T h i s v e rs e is m e a n t f o r K a r m a y o g i n a n d " t h e

K a r m a y o g a d e v o t i o n t o a c t i o n is i n d e e d m e a n t f o r t h e i g n o r a n t o n l y, n o t f o r

the w ise . ' '2a Th e wise see non -ac t ion in a l l ac t ion .

21 This ~afikaxa states clearly in his intr od uc tion to C hapter V wherein he rem arks th at"Thissamnydsa,which consists of renouncing a few actions o nly w hile ye t there is idea ofagency, is different fro m ... the renunciation o f all actions - which is resorted t o by theman w ho has realised the self"(1bid.,p. 158).22 Ibid ., p. 95; em phasis added.23 Ibid ., p. 96.


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(3) I l l . 30 .

This verse uses the cont inua t ivesam.nyasya wi th karm~n.i a s ob j ec t , wh i ch

c l ea r l y means t ha t a c t i on i s pe r fo rmed andt h e n cas t on K~.na .24 In Saf ikara ' ss y s t e m , s a m n y g s ais t he r en unc i a t i o n o f a c t i on i n t h e s e n se o f i ts u t t e r non -

p e r f o r m a n c e ,n o t i n th e s en s e o f r e n u n c i a t i o n a f t e r p e r f o r m a n c e - f o r o n c e

a c t i o n i s pe r fo rm ed r e su lt s m us t en s u e . H ow t h en does S a f ika r a squa r e t h i s ve rs ew i th h i s pos i t i on?

Sa f ika r a i n t roduces t he ve r s e w i th t he no t e t ha t i t t e l l s u s how the i gno ran t

(a/ha) , de s i rous o f l i be r a t i on and f i t f o rka rmayoga , shou ld ac t . 2 s Thus by

cas t ing o f f t he ve r se o n t he i gno ran t Sa f ika r a p ro t ec t s h i s pos i t i on v i s ~ v is thejhdn in .

(4 ) V. 2 .

Th i s v e r se c l e a r l y s ta t e s t ha t K a rm ayo ga i s to be p r e f e r r ed t o K a rmasam. ny~sa

wh ich runs coun t e r t o Sa f i ka r a ' s pos i t i on .

Sa f ika r a r emarks t ha t K a rm ayo ga is be ing ex to l l ed he r e and w ha t is r e a l ly

m e a n t is t h a t " K a r m a y o g a is b e t t e r t h a n m e r e - i .e . u n a c c o m p a n i e d w i t hkn ow ledg e - Ka rm asa nmy~sa. ' 'z6

( 5 ) v I . 1 .I n th is v e rs e o n e w h o p e r f o r m s h is b o u n d e n d u t y w i t h o u t d e p e n d i n g o n t h e

f ru i t s o f ac t ion i s ca l led asam.nyds in . A n d w h a t i s w o r s e ( f r o m S a f ik a r a' s

s t a n d p o i n t ) o n e w h o is ' w i t h o u t f i re ' a n d ' w i t h o u t a c t i o n ' s e e m s t o h a v e b e e n

d en i ed t ha t de sc r i p t i on ! T hus (1 ) no t on ly is one wh op e r f o r m s ac t i ons ca l led

a sam.ny~s in ( a n a b a n d o n e r o f a c t io n s ) b u t ( 2 ) o n e w h o a b a n d o n s a c t i o n isn o t

cal led asam.ny~s in o r a b a n d o n e r o f a c t io n . L e t S a h k a r a g e t o u t o f th i s o n e !

Sa r ika r a 's r e sponse t o t he f ir s t po in t i s t o d i s ti n g u i sh be t w e e n two k inds o f

sam. ny ~s a - p r i m a r y ( m u k h y a )a n d s e c o n d a r y(gau.na). 27In these verses,

a cco rd i ng t o Sa f ika ra , i t is no t p r im a r ysamny~sa w h i c h c o n s t i t u t e s t h e s u b-

j e c t o f d i s co u r s e b u t s e c o n d a r ysamnyYtsa.P r i m a r y samnydsa cons i s t s o f g iv ing

u p a l l a c t i ons ; s econd a rysamny~sa cons i s ts o f on ly g iv ing up t h e de s ir e f o rt h e f r u i t o f a c t io n . A c c o r d i n g t o g a r i k a ra t h e a b a n d o n m e n t o f t h e

des i re fo r the f ru i t s o f ac t io n i s ca l leds a m n y g s ah e re o u t o f c o u r te s y ; o u t o f a

de s ir e t o p r a is e K a rm ayo ga fo r w h i ch a lon e A r juna is e li gib le .

On t h e s econ d po in t Sa f ika r a r emarks t ha t w ha t i s m ean t i s t ha t " I t is no t

24 In his com me nt on 11.21 Safikara uses the argument that elsewhere (V.13) th e w orduy~sa ~dthsa m prefix means ' to renou nce' and not ' to deposit' . Grammar wo uldn 't allowsuch an option here.25 Ibid ., p. 110~ Ibid., p. 160; emphasis added.27 Ibid ., p. 183; also seeSrrd~hkaragranth~valih.,Sampu.ta 8,op. cit.,p. 157.


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A C O M M EN T O N S A N K A R A ' S C O M M E N TA RY 1 89

he a lonewh o i s w i th ou t f ir e and wi thou t ac t ion th a t i s bo th a Samny~s inand a yogin bu t a l so one d evo ted to ac t ion '28 in the same ve in of pra ise .

(6 ) XI I .12 .This verse gloriestydga as supe r ior todhy~na, wh ich in turn is descr ibed assuper ior tojhdna. In San ka ra ' s sys t em the p r ide o f p l ace is acco rded tofauna,a place i t has lost in this verse. How does Saftkara explain this reversal?

Sanka ra po in t s o u t t ha t t he p reced ing ve rses o ff e r va rious op t ions in de -scend ing o rde r f rom the w orsh ip o f t he Im per sona l t o t he Pe r sona l and tha t i tis only as a last resort thatty~ga (which in th is verse is c lear ly ident i f ied wi thsarvakarmaphalaty~ga) i s g lo ri fi ed fo r the sake o f A r juna fo r wh om Karma-yog a has be en r ecom me nde d . 29 Th i s ove r, t heGFtd n the n ex t few verses s ta r t seulogising the]h~nin.

(7 ) XVl I I .3 .

Sahkara is com m i t t ed to t he p os i t ion tha t a ll works a re to be ab andon ed . In

th is ve r se, how ever, two v iews a re r eco rded : nam e ly tha t wh i l e acco rd ing to

som e a ll ac t ion i s to be a ban don ed as ev il , according to o thers "sacr i f ice , g i f tand au s t e r i ty ' 3~ shou ld n o t b e g iven up . C e r ta in k inds o f ac t ion thus m ay no t

be reno unc ed: Ho w is th is to be take n v is -h-v is Saf ikara 's pos i t ion tha t a llac t ion i s t o be aband oned?

Acco rding to Saf ikara i t i s no t]~Snins b u t " t h e K a r m a - Yo g in s t h a t f o r m t h esubjec t o f d iscuss ion here ; and i t is wi th re fere nce to th em tha t these d iver-gen t v i ews a re he ld , bu t n o t w i th r e fe rence to]aSnani.s.thas( w i s d o m -devotees) , thesam.nySsinswho have r is en ( above a ll wo rd ly conce rns ) . " As fo rth e ]h~nins t hey "wh o see the Su preme Rea l i ty have on ly to fo l low the p a tho f know ledge , accom pan ied w i th the r enunc ia t ion o f al l works ; and they have

no th ing e l se to do , and do no t t he re fo re fo rm the sub jec t o f t he a l t e rna t iveviews set for th here. ' '31

(8 ) XVII I .7 .

This verse ca tegor ica l ly s ta tes tha t the ren unc ia t ion of prescr ibed a c t ion(n iyata karma )is no t p rope r, and thus t akes a pos i ti on an t ipoda l t o ga l ika ra ' st lmt a ll ac t ion shou ld be abando ned .

Fo r Saf lkara th is verse i l lus t ra tes , not the case of thej gdn in bu t t he ' c a se o f

28 1b id.,p. 181.29 SeelbM.,pp. 309-11 .so Ibid.,p. 443.31 Ib id .,p. 445.


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t h e i g n o r a n t m a n ' . M o r e o v e r , h e a d d s , b e c a u s e " t h i s s o r t o f a b a n d o n m e n t isdue t o i g no ra nce " i t is ca l ledtYm asic. 32

( 9 ) X V I I I . 9 .

Th i s ve rs e r e f er s t o t he b e s t k ind o ftySga - t h e Sa t t v i c t yp e w h ich i s de -

s c ri b ed a s c o n si s ti n g o f t h e p e r f o r m a n c e o f p r e s cr i be d w o r k s w i t h t h e a b a n -

d o n m e n t o f a t t a c h m e n t a n d a ls o t h e f r u i t. H e n c e o n c e m o r e t h e a c t u a l

p e r f o r m a n c e o f a c t i o n is r e c o m m e n d e d a s a g a in s t S a f ik a r a' s p o s i t i o n t h a t

a l l a c t i on shou ld be abandoned . How does Sa f ika r a r e so lve t he s i t ua t i on?

Sa f lka r a f ir s t pose s t he p rob l e m qu i t e po i n t ed ly. I fsamnydsais bein gdiscussed , and i fsa.mnySsai m pl ie s t h e a b a n d o n m e n t o f w o r k s a n d i f th ep r e v io u s v e rs es ( X V I I I .7 , 8 ) h a v e a ls o r e f e rr e d t o t h e a b a n d o n m e n t o f w o r k s ,h o w d o e s t h e q u e s t i o n o f a b a n d o n m e n t o f t h ef ru i t s o f a c t i o n c r o p u p h e r e?And t hen Sa f ika r a an swer s h i s own ques t i on by r emark ing t ha t s i nce t he pu r-

p ose o f th i s ve rs e is t o p r a i s e ab a nd on m en t , and s i nce t he g iv ing up o f f ru i t s is

a ls o a b a n d o n m e n t " t h e a b a n d o n m e n t o f t h edesire for the f ru i t so f a c t i o n isp r a is ed a s be ing Sa t t v i c ab and onm en t . ' '33

( 1 0 ) X V I I I . 11 .

Th i s ve r se , l ike I I I . 5 e a r li e r, p o in t s o u t t ha t t he r enun c i a t i on o f a l l wo rks i san imposs ib i l i ty. Sankara ' s response i s s imi la r ; i t i s to say " the meaning i s : i t i s

no t pos s ib l e f o r anignorant m a n t o a b a n d o n a c t i o n s c o m p l e t e l y. ' 3 4

( 11 ) X V I I I . 1 2 .

Th i s ve r se s eems t o u se t he wo rdstydga an d sam.ny~sa i n t e r c h a n g e a b l y. H o wdoes Saf ikara reac t to th i s?

I t was po in t ed ou t e a r l i e r t ha t i n some con t ex t s Sa f i ka r a does u se t he two

wo rd s i n t e r chan geab ly. Th i s i s one o f t he p l ace s whe re he d oes so . He g lo s se s

atydgin~mas aparamffrthasamny~sin~m,and sam. ny Ss inS mas paramSrthasam-ny5sinSrn.But t he ca t ch l ie s i n t h e exp r e s s ionparam5rtha. Sa f ika r a, wh o hadea r l i e r d i s t i ngu i shed be tween p r ima ry and s econda rysamnydsa, no w d i st in -gu i she s be tween r ea lsam.nydsa and no t so r ea lsamnydsa. An d he re aga in th i sd i s t in c t i o n is m a d e n o t w i t h t h e w o r dtySgab u t w i th samny~sa. A n d t heKa ' rma yog ins a r e c a l led t he p r ac t i t i one r s o f no t - so - rea lsam.nydsa a n d o n l y th e/~Snanis.t..hasare cal led realsamnySsins.

32 Ibid .,p. 448. tamasis associated with ignorance through XIV.8.33 Ibid .,p. 450. There is also the h int th at this is done fo r Arjuna's benefit wh o is ex-plicity addressed in th e v erse. Arjuna is fit o nly fo r Karm ayoga, which involves therenunciation o f the fruit o f action rather than actio n and so "Accordingly, b y despisingthe two sorts of abando nm ent ofworks,as Rajasic and Tamasic," the abandonm ent of thefruit o f works is praised.34Ibid., p. 452 ; emphasis added.


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A C O M M E N T O N S A I ~ K A R A ' S C O M M E N TA RY 1 91

W hy th is subt le ty ? B ecause according to Saf ikara , unless the ac t ion i t se l f i sg iven up , f ru i t of ac t ion wi l l ensue . G iving up th e f ru i t of ac t ion isn o t e n o u g h

for sa lva t ion; ac t ion i t se l f mus t be g iven up . as Thus , ~ aan dag i r i ex pla insSaf ikara ' s d is t inc t ion be tween rea l and not -so- rea ls a m n y ~ s ab y p o i n ti n g o u ttha t " thos e who pe r fo rm w orks wi tho u t des ir e fo r t he i r f ru i t s w i ll necessa r il yreap , a f te r de a th , th e f ru i t s of the i r respec t ive ac t ions . ''36 An d Saf ikarahimsel f , in h is gloss on X VI II .2 , c lear ly s ta tes tha t ' eve n ' ord inary occas ionaldut ies - n i t y a an d n a i m i t n ' k a k a r m a -" p r o d u c e t h e i r o w n f r u i ts " a n dt h o s e w h o a r e " n o ts a m n y d s i n swill have to reap the f ru i t of ord inary wo rks . '37

I t is c lear, therefo re , th a t Saf ikara cons is ten t ly s t icks to h is bas ic po s i t ionth rou gho u t h i s exege t ica l exe rc ise - nam e ly, t ha t s a lva t ion is t o beach ieved b yj ~ n a , which invo lves the com ple t e r enun c ia t ion o f a l l works .

In h is he rmeneu t i ca l e ffo r t t o m a in ta in h i s pos i t i on th rough theG r t ~ asexem pl i f ied by the cases c i ted abo ve , it is qui te c lear tha t the d is t inc t ionb e t w e e n sam. ny~ saand t ydga is qui te im po r tan t for Saf ikara . This i s so because

o f th e p r i m a c y o f t h e c o n c e p to f s a m , n y ~ saas a concomi tan to f ] a d n a , t h r o u g hwh ich sa lva t ion co m es in h is sys tem . The ke y to sa lva t ion in Saf ikara ' s v iew is no t

ty~ga b u t sam. ny~ sa,3s because sa lva t ion is t i ed wi th the com ple t e r enunc ia t ion

of a ll wo rks and th i s mean ing shines th rough m ore b r igh t ly th rou gh the t e rms a m n y ~ s at h a n t h r o u g h t h e w o r dtydga .

The ' p ro b le m ' fo r Sa f ika ra, i f we m ay use the w ord , i s c r ea t ed by the f ac t

tha t Ar juna , be ing ana- jhdnin , is f it on ly fo r Karm ayog a and so ac t ion has tobe pe r fo rme d by h im . To ge t h im to pe r fo rm ac t ion , Krsna has to g lo r ify ac t ionand thus theGFta a t s eve ra l po in t s s eem s to swing away f rom the seve r i ty o fsam. nya sai n to to l e rance o fty~ga. Yet the re i s t he r ea l iza t ion too tha t ' a c t ion

p e r f o r m e d w i thb h a k t i , wi th ou t conce rn fo r imm ed ia t e r eward leads to pu r i tyo f m i n d ' a n d t h e " m a n w h o s e m i n d is p u r e is c o m p e t e n t t o t r e a d t h e p a t h o fknow ledge , and to h im com es know ledge , and thus ( ind i r ec t ly ) t he Re l ig ion o fWo rks form s a lso a m eans o f Su prem e Bl iss. '39

V I

One f ina l que s t ion rema ins to b e asked: in h is exeget ica l exerc ise ho w fa i thfu lhas Sa f ika ra been to the t ex t o f t heGFtd?

33 Ibid.,p. 45 3.3~ Ibid .37 Ibid .,p. 443.3e U nless the wo rdtyaga is used as an exact syn onymofsam, ny~saand is stripped of itsother meanings such as the renunciation of the fruit o f works.39 Ibid., p. 6.


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192 ARVIND SHARMA

The quest ion can be answered in two parts: h ow fa ithful has he been to the

letter of the GFt~ and how faithful has he be en to its spirit?

The first que stion is perhaps more easily answered than the second. Asemantic differential analysis of the two words sa.mnydsa and tyfiga with theirgrammatical variants in the Bhagavadgftg reveals that in the tex t of the GFt~,althou gh the two words are often used interchan geabl y, there is a clear associ-

ation of the word sam.ny~sa with karma, action, and of ty~ga with karmaphalaor fruit of action. As a matter of fact, although the word samny~sa is used inthe GFtg for giving up t he desire for the fruit of action, or attachment to thefruit of action (VI.2, 4), or depen dence on the fruit of actio n (VI.1), it is not

used for giving up the fruit o f actio n itself.I .

Thus Sankara seems to be on the same semantic wave-length as the GFt~'s.He is justifie d in not regarding the two words as on all fours, alth ough he

recognises the trem endo us overlap in the meani ng of the two words. Moreover,

he is also justifie d in working primaril y with t he word sam.ny~sa rather thanty~ga, consist ently with his overall position on Jfi~nayoga as the Yoga par

excellence.

But in regarding the Jfi~nayoga as the Yoga par excellence he seems to have

somewhat gone bey ond the Grtd. 4~ In fairness to Safikara it must be poin ted

out that he recognises the fact that the Grt~ is mean t for Arjuna and espouseskarmayoga 41 in that sense, but in his interpr etatio n of the response of the Grtfi

to some of the qu estions raised by Ar juna (for insta nce, of verses 2 th rough 12

of the 1 8th chapter), Safikara seems to use Jfigna rather than Karmayog a as

the guiding light.42 One wonders wheth er a more direct inte rpr eta tion of these

4o It is true that at some places the Gtt~ seems to go all out for Jfigna Yoga, as for in-stance in IV: 36-42. It is also true that the connection which Safikara makes betweenJfifma yoga and Samny~sa can be seem as coming right out of the Grta directly (seeXVIII.49). It can also be seen as emerging indirectly through the equation of Jfi~na with

Sgrhkhya and then of Sftri~khya with Yoga (V.5) and of Yoga with Samny~sa (VI.2).Nevertheless, it would perhaps be truer to say that the Gtta espouses a kind ofphilosophical kathenotheism so far as the Yogas are concerned. It successively accordsprimacy to one and/or the other. This is true for the entire work and is most obvious inthe latter half of the eighteenth chapter wherein the emphasis shifts from karma(XVIII: 41 -47) to ]fiana (XVIII: 49 -5 3) to bhakti (XVIII: 61-69) .41 A. Mah~deva S~stri, op. cit., pp. 5-6.42 This procedure has elicited a strong adverse comment from W. D. P. Hill (TheBhagavadgita, Oxford University Press, 1928, p. 257, fn. 4), who remarks that !'Safikaramost perversely twists the doctrine of 2-12 to agree with his preconceived philosophy."A less extreme position would be to regard Safikara as perhaps unconsciously, rather thanperversely, colouring the text with his interpretation. What K. Satchidananda Murty(Revelation and Reason in Advaita Vedanta, New York: Columbia University Press,1959, pp. 331-2) has to say on Safikara vis-a-vis he Veda may then be applied to hisinterpretation of the Gttm Dr. Murty writes: "The allegation of some European authorsthat Safikara has no consistent principles of interpretation is unfounded; what waswrong with him was his notion of what was important in the Scripture. Since he startedwith the presumption that the Veda is meant for teaching Advaita, and that only passagesinculcating this are important he found Advaita in the Veda."


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A COMMENT ON SA~qKARA'S COMMENTARY 193

lines would not be more in keeping with the spirit of the GFt& at least at thatpoint. Jfi~nayoga is one o f the yogas mentioned in the Gft& to interpret the

Grt~ as if it is the Yoga of the Gftg rather than a Yoga within the Grtawould not seem to reflect its true spirit.

On comparing Safikara's Commentary , then, wi th the text o f theBhagavadgftg on issues related to samnyrsa and tydga a metaphorical conclusionmay not be out of place. Although Sahkara seems to be on the same semanticwave-length as the Bhagavadgft~ is, the message being thus broadcast seems tobe intended for a wider audience of spiritual aspirants than just the seekers onthe path of knowledge.

Harvard, Cambridge, Mass.

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