Verse 1.16

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

तेषां त्ववयवान् सूक्ष्मान् षण्णामप्यमितौजसाम् ।
संनिवेश्यात्ममात्रासु सर्वभूतानि निर्ममे ॥ १६ ॥

teṣāṃ tvavayavān sūkṣmān ṣaṇṇāmapyamitaujasām |
saṃniveśyātmamātrāsu sarvabhūtāni nirmame || 16 ||

Having combined the subtile components of the said six principles of illimitable potency with their own evolutes, he created even all beings.—(16)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The said six principles of their own respective evolutes,—to these he joined their subtile components, and thus created all beings.

The number ‘six,’ (mentioned in connection with the Principles) is made up of the five ‘Rudimentary Substances,’ to be described later on, and the ‘Principle of Egoism’ already described.

The ‘own envolutes’ of these Principles, are their respective products; i.e., the elemental substances, which are the products of the‘Rudimentary Substances,’ the Sense-organs which are the products of the ‘Principle of Egoism.’ The Eaṛth and the other Elemental Substances being present, like so many ‘bodies,’ he joined to them the ‘subtile components’; i.e., the Rudimentary Substances and the Principle of Egoism; that is, he placed them in their proper places, and thus ‘created all beings,’—Gods, men, animals, birds, trees and so forth.

The meaning is as follows:—The six subtile components are productive of one portion of the entire world, the whole of which is evolved out of them; that they are ‘subtile’ is proved by the fact of their being ‘rudimentary’ in their character;—these he ‘combined,’ i.e., brought together, with their own envolutes,’ i.e., their respective products; he produced the material substances and the organs (of action), and through these, the entire material world; these latter being indicated by the word ‘even.’

In place of ‘mātrāsu’ it is better to rend ‘mātrābhiḥ’.—(16)

 

Explanatory notes

Six elements—The five Rudimentary Substances and the Principle of Egoism.

Here also, and for reasons similar to the above, there is a difference of opinion among commentators.

Nandana, and Rāghavānanda take the verse as describing the creation of the bodies of things from the body of the Creator, and that of their souls from His Soul.

The ‘six’, Rāghavānanda takes as standing for the six sense-organs, and Nandana as for the six tattvas—

1. Mahat,
2. Ahaṅkāra,
3. Manas,
4. Subtile Elements,
5. Organs, of Action
6. and Organs of Sensation.

Medhātithi takes the verse simply as describing how the Creator created all beings by combining ‘the subtile components of the said six principles’ with ‘their own evolutes.’

Hopkins remarks that ‘ātmamātrā’ stands for ‘the spiritual atom as opposed to the elementary,—not reflexive elements of himself.’