Samkhya thoughts in the Mahabharata
by Shini M.V. | 2017 | 51,373 words
This page relates ‘Seventeen and Eighteen Tattvas of Samkhya philosophy’ 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.
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Seventeen and Eighteen Tattvas of Sāṃkhya philosophy
It comes in the 275th chapter in the Śāntiparva Nārada and Asītadevala Saṃvāda discusses seventeen and eighteen tattvas. They are five jñānendriyas, five karmendriyas, citta, mana, buddhi, prāṇa, sattva guṇa, rajo guṇa and tamo guṇa.
indriyāṇi ca bhāvāśca guṇāḥ saptadaśa smṛtāḥ |
teṣāmaṣṭādaśo dehī yaḥ śarīre sa śāśvataḥ || [1]
There are five organs of knowledge and five of action, with muscular power, mind, understanding, and faculty, and with the three qualities of goodness, darkness and ignorance.
They are said to be seventeen in number.
athavā saṃnipāto'yaṃ śarīraṃ pāñcabhautikam |
ekaśca daśa cāṣṭau ca guṇāḥ saha śarīriṇā || [2]
By adding jīvātma to seventeen the number of tattvas becomes eighteen.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Śāntiparva , 275-28.
[2]:
Śāntiparva , 275-30.