Sūtra 2.3

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Sūtra 2.3:

अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः क्लेशाः ॥ २.३ ॥

avidyāsmitārāgadveṣābhiniveśāḥ kleśāḥ || 2.3 ||

avidyā—nescience, asmitā—egoism, rāga—attachment. dveṣa—aversion. abhiniveśa—love of life, all these. kleśāḥ—afflictions.

3. The afflictions are Nescience, Egoism, Attachment, Aversion and Love of Life.—54.

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]

What then are the afflictions and how many? ‘.The afflictions are Nescience, Egoism, Attachment, Aversion and love of Life.’

‘The afflictions’ are the five forms of Unreal Cognition. When quick with life, they render the rule of the “qualities” firm, establish, change, send out the stream of cause and effect, bring about the fructification of action by coming to depend upon one another for mutual support.—3.

The Gloss of Vachaspati Mishra

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

How is its duty fulfilled? It can only be so said to have fulfilled its duty, when it has caused the cessation of the action of the “qualities inasmuch as the duty is nothing else but the bringing about of an effect by the “qualities.” For this reason the commentator puts the question, ‘What are the afflictions, &c.’ And he answers by the aphorism:—“Nescience, &c.” Nescience and the others are the afflictions. He explains:—‘The five forms of Unreal Cognition, &c?

Nescience is Unreal Cognition itself. Egoism and the others also carry nescience with them and cannot exist without it. They too are therefore unreal cognitions. The meaning is that for this reason, they are destroyed with the destruction of Nescience.

He says now that the reason for their destructibility exists in their being the cause of repeated births:—‘When quick with life,’ i.e., when they are in operation, they render the rule of the qualities firm, i.e., strong. For this very reason they establish change. They send out, i,e, show forth the stream of cause and effect in the shape of the Unmanifested, the Mahattattva (the great principle) and the principle of individuality.

Now he shows the object for which all this is done by them ‘Bring about, &c. for mutual support.’ The fructification of action consists in life-state, life-period and

life-experience. This is the object of the Puruṣa. It is these that the afflictions bring about. Does each of them do this by itself? No he says:—‘By mutual support!’ The actions are supported by the afflictions and the afflictions by the actions.—3.