Verse 2.89

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

एकादशेन्द्रियाण्याहुर्यानि पूर्वे मनीषिणः ।
तानि सम्यक् प्रवक्ष्यामि यथावदनुपूर्वशः ॥ ८९ ॥

ekādaśendriyāṇyāhuryāni pūrve manīṣiṇaḥ |
tāni samyak pravakṣyāmi yathāvadanupūrvaśaḥ || 89 ||

Those eleven organs which the ancient sages have named I shall now fully describe in due order.—(89)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

This enumeration of the organs is as laid down in other sources of information; and the present text is not intended to lay down the number of organs. The description is provided by our author only on account of his good will towards his audience. The organs have been named by the ancient sages; and I shall now describe their names and also their function.

‘In due order.’— Implies absence of confusion.

The reference to the ‘ancient sages’ is meant to indicate that the enumeration of the organs is not something invented by the logicians, it was something already known among the ancient teachers. In fact, people not knowing this are ridiculed by men as ‘not learned in the scriptures’; hence these should be properly understood.

The meaning of the words of the text are well known, and have been already explained.—(89)

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(Verses 89-92)

Sāṅkhya-sūtra, 2. 17-20.—‘The eleven rudimentary elements are its products;—the internal organ, along with the five organs of action and ṭhe five organs of sensation constitute the group of eleven;—the Manas is of the nature of both.’

Sāṅkhya-Kārīkā (26-27).—‘The organs of sensation are the Eye, the Ear, the Nose, the Tongue and Skin; and speech the hands, the feet, the arms and the reproductive organs are the organs of action.’

Śaṅkha (7. 25).—‘Eye, Ear, Skin, Taste, Nose should be known as the organs of sensation in the body; the two hands, ṭhe two feet, the reproductive organ, the tongue (organ of speech) and the arms are the five organs of action in the body.’

Kāmandaka (1. 31, 33).—‘The Auditory, the Tactile, the, Visual, the Gustatory and the Olfactory organs,—these five and the arms, the penis, the arms, the legs and the organ of speech constitute what is called the conglomeration of sense-organs. The soul and the mind are styled the internal senses:... by the conjoint action of these two, volition is engendered.