Text 135

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Text 135:

अविदुषो रागद्वेषवतः प्रवर्तकाद्धर्मात् प्रकृष्टात् स्वल्पाधर्मसहितात् ब्रह्मेन्द्रप्रजापतिपितृमनुष्यलोकेष्वाशयानुरूपैरिष्टशरीरेन्द्रियविषयसुखादिभिर्योगो भवति । तथा प्रकृष्टाद् अधर्मात् स्वल्पधर्मसहितात् प्रेततिर्यग्योनिस्थानेष्वनिष्टशरीरेन्द्रियविषयदुह्खाभिर्योगो भवति । एवं प्रवृत्तिलक्षणाद् धर्माद् अधर्मसहिताद् देवमनुष्यतिर्यङ्नारकेषु पुनः पुनः संसारबन्धो भवति ॥ १३५ ॥

aviduṣo rāgadveṣavataḥ pravartakāddharmāt prakṛṣṭāt svalpādharmasahitāt brahmendraprajāpatipitṛmanuṣyalokeṣvāśayānurūpairiṣṭaśarīrendriyaviṣayasukhādibhiryogo bhavati | tathā prakṛṣṭād adharmāt svalpadharmasahitāt pretatiryagyonisthāneṣvaniṣṭaśarīrendriyaviṣayaduhkhābhiryogo bhavati | evaṃ pravṛttilakṣaṇād dharmād adharmasahitād devamanuṣyatiryaṅnārakeṣu punaḥ punaḥ saṃsārabandho bhavati || 135 ||

Text (135):—When the man does not attain true knowledge, and is still under the influence of affections and aversions, the doing of excellent virtuous deeds endowed with great motive power, accompained by a slight taint of sin, leads him to contact with desirable bodies and sense-organs and consequent experience of pleasures &c., in accordance with the impressions (left by his previous actions).—in such regions as those of Brahmā, of Indra, of Prajāpati, of Pitṛs, or of Men. Similarly the performance of bad sinful acts, accompained by a alight touch of virtue, brings about his contact with bodies and sense-organs and consequent experience of pains &c.,—in such regions as those of ghosts and of the lower animals. Aṇḍ thus by the performance of such virtuous deeds as are in the form of out-going activity ṭof the soul), accompained by sin, the man passes through the various divine, human and animal regions, again and again; and this is what constitutes his ‘wheel of bondage.’—(VI-ii-15).

Commentary: The Nyāyakandalī of Śrīdhara.

(English rendering of Śrīdhara’s commentary called Nyāyakandalī or Nyāyakaṇḍalī from the 10th century)

Having, described the causes of Adharma, the author proceeds to explain its affects, One who thinks himself to be the Doer and the Enjoyer, and who takes the external and internal objects of experience (i.e., the objects and the experiences produced by them) to be real sources of pleasure,—though in reality they are sources of pain and trouble,—is called ‘ignorant,’ ‘without true knowledge;’ such a person being hammed in on all sides by desires for his own experience, becomes attached to such objects as he considers to be conducive to pleasure to him; and acquires an aversion to those whom he considers to be obstructive of his pleasure; and when such a man performs certain acts productive of Dharma with the motive of being born again as a divine being or a Gandharva, he actually becomes connected with—i. e, obtains—the body, the sense-organs &c., in due accordance with the impressions and effects of the acts he has performed. But there is a touch of pain even in the regions of Brahmā himself (to say nothing of the regions of the lower gods); and as pain is never produced except by Adharma, the author has added the qualification—‘accompained by a slight taint of sin.’ One whose Dharma is of the ordinary kind, obtains a good enough body and organs; whose Dharma is of a better kind has a better body;—and he who has Dharma of the best mind has the best of bodies &c.;—this is what is meant by the qualification in accordance with the impressions left by his previous actions.’ The word ‘iṣṭa’ ‘desirable’ is to be construed with each of the things mentioned, body and the rest; as it appears at the end of the Dvandva or copulative compound.

Similarly by an excess of Adharma one goes to the regions of ghosts and lower animals, being equipped with undesirable bodies and sense-organs &c. But there is some slight pleasure in these regions also; and this could only he due to Dharma; hence the qualification—‘accompained by a taint of virtue.’