Sūtra 4.7

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Sūtra 4.7:

कर्माशुक्लाकृष्णं योगिनस् त्रिविधम् इतरेषाम् ॥ ४.७ ॥

karmāśuklākṛṣṇaṃ yoginas trividham itareṣām || 4.7 ||

karma—Karma, action. aśukla—neither white, akṛṣṇam—nor black, yoginaḥ—of a Yogī. trividham—threefold. itareṣām—of the others.

7. A Yogi’s karma is neither-white nor-black; of-the-others it is three-fold.—167.

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 vehicle of actions exists in the case of others. Hence, ‘A Yogi’s karma is neither white nor black; of the others it is three-fold.’

This class of actions has four locations: the black, the black-white, the white, nor white nor black. Of these, the black is of the wicked. The black-white is brought about by external means, as in this the vehicle of actions grows by means of causing pain to, or acting kindly towards others.

The white is of those who resort to the means of improvement of study and meditation. This is dependent upon the mind alone. It does not depend upon external means and is not, therefore, brought about by injuring others.

The one which is neither white nor black exists in the case of those who have renounced everything (the sannyāsīs), whose afflictions have been destroyed, and whose present body is the last one, they will have. It is not white in the case of a Yogī, because he gives up the fruit of action; and it is not black, because he does not perform actions. Of the other creatures, it is of the three former descriptions only.—167.

The Gloss of Vachaspati Mishra

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

Says that the others are possessed of the vehicles, with the object of showing the differences of the other minds from the meditation-born, which is not possessed of the vehicles:—‘In the case of others, &c.’

In the same connection he introduces the aphorism as describing the cause thereof;—‘A Yogī’s karma is neither black nor white; of the others it is three-fold.’

‘Has four locations’—Location means place (of manifestation). It has four locations because it manifests in four such places.

‘Brought about by external means’—In all such cases injury is sure to be caused to others. It is not that even in action done for the preparation of barley, &c., for food, &c., there exists no injury. It is possible that ants, &c., might be killed at the time of pounding them, and finally the arrangement is that trunk, &c., are produced by the destruction of seeds as such.

‘Acting kindly’ means the favouring of Brāhmaṇas, &c., by giving them presents, &c.

The white is of those who are not Sannyāsīs, but who perform purificatory action, study and meditation. He shows how it is white ‘This is dependent upon the mind alone, &c.’

That which is neither white nor black, is the karma of the Sannyāsīs (those who have renounced everything. He shows who are the Sannyāsīs:—‘Whose afflictions have been destroyed, &c.’

Those who have renounced actions (the karma-sannyāsīs) are not anywhere found performing actions which depend upon external means. They have not got the black vehicle of actions, because they do not perform such actions. Nor do they possess the white vehicle of actions, because they dedicate to Īśvara the fruits of the vehicle of action brought about by the practice of Yoga. That whose fruit is not bad, is called white. That which has no fruit itself, how can it have any bad fruit?

Having thus described the four-fold division of karma, now he specifies which refers to which:—‘Of these it is not white, &c.’—7.