Sūtra 1.45

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Sūtra 1.45:

सूक्ष्मविषयत्वं चालिङ्गपर्यवसानम् ॥ १.४५ ॥

sūkṣmaviṣayatvaṃ cāliṅgaparyavasānam || 1.45 ||

Sūkṣma, of the subtle. viṣayatvam—province both mean the quality of having the subtle for its object. Ca and. ā—up to. liṅga—the noumenal. paryavasānam—ending, extremity. āliṅgaparyavasānam—Reaching up to the noumenal.

45. And the province o.f the subtle reaches up to the noumenal.

The Sankhya-pravachana commentary of Vyasa

[English translation of the 7th century commentary by Vyāsa called the Sāṅkhya-pravacana, Vyāsabhāṣya or Yogabhāṣya]

[Sanskrit text for commentary available]

The odoriferous ether (gandha tanmātra) is the subtle object in relation to the atoms of the earthly class (pṛthvī); the gustiferious (rasa tammātra) to the liquid (āpas) atom; the lumniferous ether (rūpa tanmātra) of the fiery (taijas) atom; the tangiferous ether (sparśa tanmātra) of the gaseous (vāyu) atom; the soniferous ether (śabda tanmātra) of the Ākāśic atom. Of these the principle of individuality (ahaṅkāra) is the subtler cause. Subtler than this too is the purely Phenomenal Objective Existence. The principal subtler than this too is the Noumenal (aliṅga). There is nothing subtler than the Noumenal.

But it might be said that there is the Puruṣa who is also subtle. True. As however is the subtlety of the noumenal in comparison with the purely phenomenal, such is not the subtlety of the Puruṣa. On the other hand, the Puruṣa is not the material cause of the Purely Phenomenal. It is only the instrumental cause. For this reason the subtlety of the Mūlaprakṛti is described as not liable to be exceeded.

The Gloss of Vachaspati Mishra

[English translation of the 9th century Tattvavaiśāradī by Vācaspatimiśra]

Does the range of thought-transformation with reference to objective appearances extend up to the subtle elements only? No. ‘And the province of subtle reaches up to the noumenal.’

The characteristic of the odoriferous ultimate atom (gandha tanmātra) is in relation to the atom of the earthy class (pṛthvī) the subtle object of the faculty of thoughttransformation. In other places it should be construed in the same way.

The purely Phenomenal is the Great Principle (mahāttattva), because it is that which immediately passes into latency (liṅga) into, the Mūlaprakṛti. The noumenal is the Mūlaprakṛti, because it does not pass into latency (aliṅga), into any other state.

He describes the reaching up to the noumenal:—‘There is nothing subtler, &c.’

States an objection ‘But it may be, &c.’ Replies ‘True, &c.’ The meaning is that as a material cause subtlety exists in the noumenal only, nowhere else.

But the Mahat and the principle, of individuality exist for fulfilling the objects of the Puruṣa. The Puruṣa also is, therefore, a cause of the noumenal. Why should it be said that subtlety exists only in the noumenal? For this reason, he says:—It is certainly a cause but not the material cause. As Mulaprakṛti evolves into the phenomenon of Mahat and onwards, not so the Puruṣa.

Finishes:—‘For this reason the subtlety of the Mulaprakṛti is, described as not capable of being exceeded’.—45.