Knowledge of the Philosophy in the Śiśupālavadha

Worldly people generally consider mokṣa to be a difficult path.

But if one can feel Śrī kṛṣṇa as Brahman he attains Mokṣa (salvation) easily and he never reborn we get the line:

punarjamma na vidyate’...

In the Śiśupālavadha we get the conception of Nirguṇa Brahma—

“udīrṇarāgapratirodhakaṃ janairabhīkṣmamakṣusmatayāti durgamam |
upeyuṣo mokṣapathaṃ manasvistvamagrabhūmirnirapāyasaṃśrayā ||”1.32 ||^[1]

The above verse reminds us a verse of Chāndogyopaniṣada—

“ācāryavān puruṣo veda’—

The way of attaining salvation is described clearly in the in the Śiśupālavadha.

“grāmyabhāvamapahātumicchavo yogamārga patitena cetasā |
durgamekamapunarnivṛttaye yaṃ viśanti vaśinaṃ mumukṣavaḥ ||” 14.64 ||^[2]

It is said in Vedānta philosophy that Brahman is the source of life. Similarly Śrī kṛṣṇa is the source of life. He is birthless and deathless.

We can feel the reflection of this view in the view of the line of the Taittīriya Upaniṣada—

“yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante”

Same is seen in the Gītā (2/20)—

“na jāyate mriyate vā kadācit nāyaṃ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ | ajaḥ nityaḥ śāśvato'yaṃ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre” ||

We find the same feeling in the Śiśupālavadha:

āditāmajananāya dehināmantatāñca dadhate'napāyine |
vibhrate bhuvamadhaḥ sadātha ca vrahmaṇo'ṇyupari tiṣṭhate namaḥ ||14.65 ||^[3]

Brahma is unknown which is not expressible through sentence and feelings of the heart.

“akhaṇḍaṃ saccidānandamavāṅmanasagocaram” |^[4]

For the unobjective establishment of Brahma it is said in the Taittiriya upaniṣad (2.4.1) that—

“yato vāco nivarttante aprāpya manasā saha” |^[5]

Poet Māgha presented kṛṣṇa as the above fundamental truth. Śrīkṛṣṇa is ekamevādvitīyam”. He is above all, beyond intelligence, beyond utterance, not expressibl, through sentence and fellings of heart, lovely adorable, still very distant.

So, Śrī kṛṣṇa should not be referred to only as a man.

“dhyeyamekamapathe sthitaṃ dhiyaḥ stutyamuttamamatītavāk patham |
ānamanti yamupāsyamādarād dūravartinamatīva yoginaḥ ||” 14.60 ||^[6]

Māgha’s knowledge of the Geeta is noticed in the thirteenth and fourteenth canto of the Śiśupālavadha. Man wears new cloths discarding torn ones similarly, the soul discards torn-out body to attain a new one.

This is beautifully depicted in the Gītā (2.22).

“vāsāṃsi gīrṇani yathā vihāya navāṇi gṛhnāti naro'parāni |
yathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇānyanyāni saṃyāti navāni dehī ||”

In the context of manifestation of Śrī kṛṣṇa in new bodies, poet Māgha said in his epic that, as human beings are reborn in new bodies with Pancajñānendriya according to his deeds, like that Śrīkṛṣṇa was manifested as the incarnations of in Matsya, Kurma, etc.

Here the subject of transfer from one body to another is depicted.

“asakṛdgṛhītavahudehasambhavastadasau vibhakkanavagopurāntaram |
puruṣaḥ puraṃ praviśati sma pañcabhiḥ samamindrayairiva narendrasūnubhiḥ ||” 13.28 ||^[7]

Poet Māgha described the three qualities in the fourteenth canto of the Śiśupālavadha. It is said in the Geetā (4/5) that these three qualities are natural.

These qualities capture the unaltered sole in a body which is full of happiness and sorrow-

“sattvaṃ rajastama iti guṇaḥ prakṛtisambhavāḥ |
nivadhnanti mahāvāho dehe dehinamavyayam ||”

Poet Māgha dscribed how Śri kṛṣṇa was manifested in different bodies in different names and created, preserved and destroyed the world gradually.

“padmabhūriti sṛjan jagadrajaḥ sattvamacyuta iti sthitiṃ nayan |
saṃharan hara iti śritastamastraidhameṣa bhajati tribhirguṇaiḥ ||”14.61 ||^[8]

In this way poet Māgha by described the vedānta. scriptures through the Śiśupālavadha, specially in the fourteenth canto, he has expressed his own knowledge. Poet Māgha accepted the destruction of the body which is combined with five primary elements. He also believed the departure of the soul from one body to another.

It is thereby proved that, poet Māgha believed the theory of rebirth.

“nīte palāśinyucite śarīravadgajāntakenāntamadānta karmaṇā |
sañcerurātmana ivāparaṃ kṣaṇāt kṣamāruhaṃ dehamiva plavaṅgamā_ḥ ||” 12.55 ||^[9]

Poet Māgha discussed the different philosophical views in a place in his epic.

He discussed about the Puruṣa and prakṛti according to sāṃkhya philosophy, in the first canto of the Śiśupālavadha in the context of Śrī kṛṣṇa’s utterings in Nārad’s mouth.

“udāsītāraṃ nigṛhītamānasairgṛhītamadhyātmadṛśā kathañcana |
vahirvikāraṃ prakṛteḥ pṛthadigviduḥ purātanaṃ tvā puruṣaṃ purāvidaḥ ||” 1.33 ||^[10]

In this way the sāṃkhya theory has been fully discussed in fifty ninth verse of the second canto and nineteenth verse of the fourteenth canto.

“vijayastvayi senāyāḥ sākṣimātre'padiśyatām |
phalabhāji samākṣyoktevuddherbhoga ivātmani ||” 2.59 ||^[11]

“tasya sāṃkhyapuruṣeṇa tulyatāṃ vibhrataḥ svasamakurvataḥ kriyāḥ
katṛtā tadupalambhato'bhava dvṛttibhāji karaṇe yathartviji ||”14.19 ||^[12]

In the Śiśupālavadha Yogadarśaṇa is also discussed.

Here it is said—

“yogaścittavṛttinirodhaḥ” | (Pātanjala Yogadarśaṇ a, second law).

Absolute control on mental faculties is called Yoga.

The process and result of Yoga are described in Śvetāśvataropaniṣad (2/18).

“trirunnataṃ sthaṇya samaṃ śarīraṃ hṛdīndriyāṇi manasā sanniveśya |
vrahmoḍupena pratareta vidvāna strotāṃsi sarvāṇi bhayāvahāni ||” 2.8 ||^[13]

Poet has stated abstract of Yogadarśaṇa in the fourteenth canto of the Śiśupālavadha.

The following verse proofs this—

“maitrādi cittaparikarmavido vidhāya kleśaprahāṇamiha lavdhasavījayogāḥ |
khyātiṃ ca sattvapuruṣānyatayādhigamya vāñchanti tāmapi samādhibhṛto niroddhum ||” 4.55 ||^[14]

In the above verse some technical terms of yogadarśaṇa are found. These terms are cittaparikarma, savījayoga, sattvapuruṣānyakhāti.

Poet Māgha indicated:

maitryādicittaparikarma. maitrīkaruṇāmuditopekṣāṇāṃ sukhaduḥkhapuṇyāpuṇyaviṣayāṇāṃ bhāvanātaścittaprasādanam” | 1.33 ||^[15]

In this verse technical terms maitrī, Karuṇā, mudita and upekṣā are found.

Poet Māgha has indicated pañcakleśa.

According to the Yogadarśaṇa Pañcakleśa is—

‘avidyā smitārāgadveṣābhiniveśāḥ pañcakleśāḥ'’ | 2.3 ||^[16]

By elision of these five Kleśa man can attain a living trance.Man by the knowledge of descernment of prakṛti and Puruṣa man can absolutely control mental faculties. According to Sāṃkhyadarśana (Sāṃkhya Philosophy) nature is the equilibrium condition of Sattva, Rajaḥ and Tamaḥ qualities.

Puruṣa is pure consciousness.

“sattvarajastamasāṃ sāmyāvasyā prakṛti:” (śāṃkhya sūtra, 1.18) ||^[17]

na “nityaśuddhavuddhamukkasvabhāvasya tad yogastadyogādṛte |”

Poet Māgha’s knowledge about sāṃkhya and yogadarśaṇa is found in the sixty second and sixty fourth verses of fourteenth canto of the Śiśupālavadha.

The verses are—

sarvavedinamanādinādimāsthitaṃ dehināmanujighṛkṣayā vapuḥ |
kleśakarmaphalabhogavarjitaṃ puṃviśeṣamamumīśvaraṃ viduḥ ||14.62 ||^[18]

And—

“grāmyabhāvamapahātumicchavo yogamārgapatitena cetasā |
durgamekamapunarnivṛttaye yaṃ viśanti vaśinaṃ mumukṣavaḥ ||”14.64 ||^[19]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

ibid., p. 19.

[2]:

ibid., p. 583.

[3]:

Haridas Siddhantavagisha: Op.cit., p. 583.

[4]:

Kamal Krishna Chakraborty: vedāntasāra, p.43.

[5]:

Atul Chandra Sen, (Ed.): Upaniṣada Navaka. p.397.

[6]:

Haridas Siddhantavagisa: Op.cit., p. 580.

[7]:

ibid., p. 524.

[8]:

ibid., p. 581.

[9]:

ibid., p. 467.

[10]:

ibid., p. 20

[11]:

ibid., p. 74.

[12]:

ibid., p. 556.

[13]:

Atul Chandra Sen, (Ed.): Upaniṣada Navaka. p. 509.

[14]:

Haridasa Siddhantavagisa: Op. cit., p.178.

[15]:

Rama Prasad, (Ed.): yogasūtra, p.59.

[16]:

ibid., p. 91.

[17]:

Kalibara Sarmma vedabtavagisha, (Ed.): śāṃkhya sūtra., p. 9.

[18]:

Haridasa Siddhantavagisha: Op. cit., p. 581.

[19]:

ibid., p. 583.