Brahma-Sūtra 1.1.26

English of translation of Brahmasutra 1.1.26 by Roma Bose:

“If it be objected that on account of the mention of the metre, (Brahman is) not (denoted), (then, we reply:) no, on account of the declaration of the application of the mind (to Brahman) thus, for thus it is seen (in other passages too).”

Nimbārka’s commentary (Vedānta-pārijāta-saurabha):

If it be objected that “on account of the mention” of the metre called ‘Gāyatrī’ in the preceding text, the text referring to the feet may refer to that and not to Brahman,—(we reply:) “No, on account of the declaration of the application of the mind” to the Lord, who is denoted by the term ‘Gāyatrī’ owing to the connection of the latter with certain qualities,^[1] Compare the word ‘virāj’ which illustrates a parallel case.^[2]

Śrīnivāsa’s commentary (Vedānta-kaustubha)

If it be objected: As the Gāyatrī metre is referred to in the preceding passage viz.: ‘The Gāyatrī, verily, is all this’ (Chāndogya-upaniṣad 3.12.1), the designation of beings as the foot, viz.: ‘One foot of him are all beings’ (Chāndogya-upaniṣad 3.12.6), may refer to this very metre. It is not reasonable to hold that this text establishes Brahman,—

(We reply:) “No.” Why? “On account of the declaration of the application of the mind thus,” i.e. on account of the mention of the fixing of the mind “thus” to Brahman who is denoted by the term ‘Gāyatrī’, since the latter is predicted to be the soul of all, in the passage: ‘The Gāyatrī, verily, is all this’ (Chāndogya-upaniṣad 3.12.1). Here, the term ‘Gāyatrī’ denotes Brahman who inheres in the metre, it being impossible for a metre, which is a mere collection of letters, to he the soul of all. “For thus it is seen,” i.e. in very same manner, a parallel case is mentioned in the Aitarīya-upaniṣad, in the passage:—‘The Bahvṛcas^[3] consider Him in the great-hymn^[4], the Adhvaryus^[5] in the sacrificial fire, the Chandogas^[6] in the Mahā-vrata^[7] ceremony’ (Aitareya-upaniṣad Ār. 3.2.3, 12). The sense is that those who are conversant with the Ṛg-veda, those who are conversant with the Sāma-veda, and those who are conversant with the Yajur-veda consider, respectively in the chief Śāstra^[8], sacrificial fire, and the Mahā-vrata, Brahman who inheres in them severally; like this, Brahman inheres in the (Gāyatrī) metre.

Or, (an alternative explanation of the sūtra,) just as the Gāyatrī is a class of metre which consists of four feet, each consisting of six syllables^[9], so Brahman, too, has four feet in accordance with the text: ‘One foot of him are all beings, three feet, the immortal in the heaven’ (Chāndogya-upaniṣad 3.12.6). Accordingly, on account of the mention of the fixing of the mind to Brahman who is metaphorically denoted by the word ‘Gāyatrī’ in virtue of the fact that both possess the quality of having four feet, the Gāyatrī is not recognized here, but Brahman alone. “For thus it is seen,” i.e. in the very same manner, a term denoting a metre is found applied,—in a literal (as opposed to a metaphorical) sense,^[10]—even to a different object in virtue of the fact that both possess a common quality. Thus, beginning: ‘These five and the other five make ten, and that is the kṛta’^[11] (Chāndogya-upaniṣad 4.3.8), the text goes on to say: ‘That is the Virāj, the eater of food’ (Chāndogya-upaniṣad 4.3.8). Here under the saṃvargavidyā^[12], the term ‘Virāj’, which is a class of metre of ten syllables, is found applied to a collection of ten objects or the kṛta.

Comparative views of Śaṅkara:

This is sūtra 25 in his commentary. Reading same. He gives two alternative explanations of the sūtra. Under the first, he points out that the passage ‘The Gāyatrī, verily, is all this’ (Chāndogya-upaniṣad 3.12.1) intimates that by means of the metre Gāyatrī, the mind is to be directed to Brahman who is connected with the Gāyatrī as its cause, just as devout meditation on Brahman under the form of certain effects of Brahman is mentioned in other passages, viz. Aitereya-āraṇyaka. (See Śrīnivāsa above.) Under the second, he points out that according to some, the term Gāyatrī directly denotes Brahman, since both possess four feet, and quotes a Chāndogya passage as an example. (See Śrīnivāsa above.)^[13]

Comparative views of Rāmānuja:

Reading slightly different—viz. ‘nigmāt’ in place of ṇṭigadāt’. Interpretation same.^[14]

Comparative views of Baladeva:

This is sūtra 25 in his commentary too. Reading and interpretation same, only the interpretation of the phrase ‘Tathā hi darśanam’ different. He does not take it as referring to one specific parallel instance as Nimbārka does but understands ‘darśanam’ in the sense of‘consistency’, and the phrase means, according to him, ‘for by such an explanation alone the above passage gives a consistent meaning’.^[15]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

That is, the Gāyatrī is said to possess certain qualities, which can belong to the Lord alone. Hence, the Lord is really denoted by the term ‘Gāyatrī’. See Vedānta-kaustubha below.

[2]:

We find that in other passages, too, a word, primarily denoting a metre, may stand for something else, e.g. the word ‘virāj’ primarily denotes a kind of metre, yet it denotes the ‘krta’ or the group of ten substances in Chānd. 4.3.8. Similarly, though the word ‘Gāyatrī’ denotes a kind of metre, yet it may denote Brahman too. See V.K. below.

[Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series] edition reads: ‘Kṛta-para’,—meaning comes to the same, viz. the word ‘virāj’ stands for the ‘kṛta’.

 

[3]:

A Bahvṛca is one conversant with the Ṛg-veda, a priest of it, or the Hotṛ priest who represents it in the sacrificial ceremonies. Monier-Williams, p. 726.

[4]:

The Mahat-uktha (great hymn) or the Bṛhat-uktha forms a series of verses, in three sections, each containing eighty Tṛcas or triple verses, recited at the end of the Agni-cayana. An Uktha is a verse which is recited, as distinguished from the Sāman verse which is sung, and the Yajus or sacred formula which is muttered. It forms a subdivision of the Śastras. Vide op. cit., p. 172. See footnote 1, p. 78.

[5]:

An Adhvaryu is a priest of a particular class, as distinguished from the Hotṛ, the Udgātṛ and the Brāhmaṇa classes. He has to measure the ground, build the altar and so on, and while engaged in these duties, he has to repeat the hymns of the Yajurveda. Vide op. cit., p. 24.

[6]:

A Chandoga is a chanter of the Sāma-veda, an Udgātṛ priest. Vide op. cit., p. 405.

[7]:

Mahā-vrata is the name of a great religious observance. It is also the name of a Sāman or Stotra, appointed to be sung on the last day but one of the Gavāmayana. Vide Monier-Williams, p. 800.

[8]:

A Śastra is a verse recited by the Hotṛ and his assistants. Vide Monier-Williams, p, 1044.

[9]:

Vide the verse: ‘Indraś śacī -patiḥ / Balena pīḍitaḥ / duscyavano vṛṣā | samitsu sāsahiḥ’ | Śrī-bhāṣya (Madras edition) 1.1.26, p. 216, Part 1.

[10]:

See end of footnote 5 below.

[11]:

Kṛta is the name of the die marked with four points.

[12]:

The Saṃvarga-vidyā or the knowledge concerning the snatcher-unto-itself, taught by Raikva to Jānaśruti. Vide Chāndogya-upaniṣad 4.3. The wind is the snatcher-unto-itself among the gods, the vital-breath is the snatcher-unto-itself among the sense-organs. The wind absorbs fire, the sun, the moon and water. The vital-breath absorbs speech, the eye, the ear and the mind. And, the wind, together with its four kinds of food, viz. fire, the sun, the moon and water—these five, and the vital-breath, together with its four kinds of food, viz. speech, the eye, the ear and the mind—these five, make ten or the ‘kṛta’, which is called the ‘Virāj’. Here, the Kṛta has actually ten constituent parts, just as the Virāj metre has actually ten syllables. Hence these two are said to resemble each other in a literal sense, and not in a figurative one, as opposed to the case of Brahman and Gāyatrī, since when it is said that Brahman has four feet, it is not meant that He has actually four feet, but only metaphorically, while Gāyatrī has actually four feet or parts. Hence, here the term ‘gauṇa’ has been used in connection with the latter case, and the term ‘śakya’ in connection with the former. Vide Vedānta-kaustubha above.

[13]:

Brahma-sūtras (Śaṅkara’s commentary) 1.1.25.

[14]:

Śrī-bhāṣya (Madras edition) 1.1.26, p. 215, vol. 1.

[15]:

Govinda-bhāṣya 1.1.25, pp. 91-92, Chap. 1.