Sūtra 2.26

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Sūtra 2.26:

विवेकख्यातिरविप्लवा हानोपायः ॥ २.२६ ॥

vivekakhyātiraviplavā hānopāyaḥ || 2.26 ||

26 The means of avoidance is the manifestation of undisturbed discriminative knowledge.

The Rajamartanda commentary by King Bhoja:

[English translation of the 11th century commentary by Bhoja called the Rājamārtaṇḍa]

[Sanskrit text for commentary available]

Now, by way of describing the means of avoidance he points out the cause of the acceptable.

[Read Sūtra 2.26]

“Discriminative knowledge” (viveka) is the name of the knowledge (which shows) that qualities are distinct from soul. Its “manifestation” (khyāti) is the means (upāya) or cause of the “avoidance” (hāna) or rejection of the visible. How should this be? It should be “undisturbed,” (aviplavā). That which has no interruptions, or breaks or repeated intervals of waking from meditation, is called undisturbed.

The purport of it is this: on the disolution of ignorance, from the contemplation of that which is adverse to it, the cessation of all ideas of relationship, agency, &c., the vanishing of the dirt of foulness and darkness, and the refluent modification of the intellect, the reflection of soul on intellect is called discriminative knowledge. And by the constant or uninterrupted prevalance of it the function of the spectacle ceases, and this is isolation.

Notes and Extracts

[Notes and comparative extracts from other commentaries on the Yogasūtra]

[The object of the aphorism is twofold; 1st, to point out the means of avoiding the avoidable, 2nd, to indicate, by implication what should be accepted. The means of avoiding the avoidable, that is ignorance, is the cultivation of discriminative knowledge without any break or interruption. Light and darkness cannot exist conjointly, light must always destroy darkness, and as discriminative knowledge is light, and ignorance darkness, the one disappears on the other becoming manifest. Were, however, the light to be fitful, or interrupted, there would be certain periods of light and others of darkness, and to preclude this the injunction is added that the light “should be undisturbed” or uninterrupted.

The second object is implied, but not pointed out. If continuous light is necessary it follows as a matter of course that that is what should be accepted.]

Having described the enlightenment which takes place in the soul on the taking place of discriminative knowledge, he defines the nature of the discriminative knowledge.