Samkhya thoughts in the Mahabharata
by Shini M.V. | 2017 | 51,373 words
This page relates ‘Bodhya-gita (Summary)’ of the study of Samkhya thought and philosophy as reflected in the Shanti-Parva of the Mahabharata. Samkhya represents one of the six orthodox schools of Indian Philosophy and primarily deals with metaphysical knowledge and explains the Universe without the need to introduce God. The Mahabharata is an ancient Sanskrit epic which includes many Sankhya theories while expounding twenty-five principles.
Bodhya-gītā (Summary)
A condenced form of Ṛṣi Bodhya to king Yayāti was stated in the Bodhyagītā.
When the king asked the Ṛṣi,
“How and from where did you learn the way to attain peace”?
Then the Ṛṣi said,
“I have six gurus.”
These six gurus had given six messages. The first Guru is Piṅgala. She gives the messages of giving up the wish for worldly pleasures. The second Guru is osprey (a fish-eating bird), when chased by the other birds, the osprey realizes that by dropping the fish, it becomes free. So the Osprey gives a message of not possessing an object of pleasure which others try to seize and carry away. The snake is the third Guru, who does not build its own house but lives happily in a hole dug by others. So the message is given by the snake is “aniketa” i.e. non-attachment to one’s house. The fourth Guru is flock of birds that stay together under all surroundings. This gives a message of “adroha” i.e. absence of ill-will. The fifth Guru is craftman’s artist. He concentrates all his attention on his work, so much so that he did not even notice the king’s procession passing by. The craft man artist’s message is “single mindednesses”.
The sixth Guru is a Maiden, i.e. a girl who performs household work soundlessly by reducing the number of armlets to one. It is the message of non-interference.
“Piṅgala, the osprey, the snake, the bee in the forest, the maker of shafts (in the story) and the maiden (in the story) these six are my preceptors.”[1]