[Advaita-l] Ontological status of avidyA

[V Subrahmanian]

This bhāṣya is yet another evidence for the māyā-avidyā non-difference:

Mandukya kārikā 1.16:

अनादिमायया सुप्तो यदा जीवः प्रबुध्यते ।
अजमनिद्रमस्वप्नमद्वैतं बुध्यते तदा ॥ १६ ॥
भाष्यम्
योऽयं संसारी जीवः, सः उभयलक्षणेन तत्त्वाप्रतिबोधरूपेण बीजात्मना,
अन्यथाग्रहणलक्षणेन चानादिकालप्रवृत्तेन मायालक्षणेन स्वापेन, ममायं पिता
पुत्रोऽयं नप्ता क्षेत्रं गृहं पशवः, अहमेषां स्वामी सुखी दुःखी क्षयितोऽहमनेन
वर्धितश्चानेन इत्येवंप्रकारान्स्वप्नान् स्थानद्वयेऽपि पश्यन्सुप्तः, यदा
वेदान्तार्थतत्त्वाभिज्ञेन परमकारुणिकेन गुरुणा ‘नास्येवं त्वं हेतुफलात्मकः,
किंतु तत्त्वमसि’ इति प्रतिबोध्यमानः, तदैवं प्रतिबुध्यते । कथम् ?
नास्मिन्बाह्यमाभ्यन्तरं वा जन्मादिभावविकारोऽस्ति, अतः अजम् ‘सबाह्याभ्यन्तरो
ह्यजः’ (मु. उ. २-१-२)
<http://advaitasharada.sringeri.net/php/format.php?bhashya=Mundaka&page=02&hval=%E2%80%98%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AD%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8B%20%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%83%E2%80%99%20(%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%81.%20%E0%A4%89.%20%E0%A5%A8-%E0%A5%A7-%E0%A5%A8)#MD_C02_S01_V02>
 इति श्रुतेः, सर्वभावविकारवर्जितमित्यर्थः । यस्माज्जन्मादिकारणभूतम्,
नास्मिन्नविद्यातमोबीजं निद्रा विद्यत इति अनिद्रम् ; अनिद्रं हि तत्तुरीयम् ;
अत एव अस्वप्नम्, तन्निमित्तत्वादन्यथाग्रहणस्य । यस्माच्च अनिद्रमस्वप्नम्,
तस्मादजम् अद्वैतं तुरीयमात्मानं बुध्यते तदा ॥

Anādimāyā is stated here as the cause of samsāra and knowledge, prabodha,
is stated as the cause of release from samsāra. It is common knowledge in
Shankara bhashya that avidyā is the cause of samsara and vidya the remedy.
Here Shankara comments that anādimāya as the one characterized by agrahana
and anyathāgrahana, which characteristcs Shankara has specified in BGB 13.2
as for avidyā.


 अविद्यायाः तामसत्वात् । तामसो हि प्रत्ययः, आवरणात्मकत्वात् अविद्या
विपरीतग्राहकः, संशयोपस्थापको वा, अग्रहणात्मको वा ; विवेकप्रकाशभावे
तदभावात्, तामसे च आवरणात्मके तिमिरादिदोषे सति अग्रहणादेः अविद्यात्रयस्य
उपलब्धेः ॥


 So, this bhashya is a fine example of Shankara holding māyā as
non-different from avidyā, only a synonym.  The yukti is: lakṣaṇasāmyāt
vastusāmyam. Both māyā and avidyā have been stated by Shankara as sharing
the same lakṣaṇa-s.

vs

On Fri, Nov 25, 2016 at 9:32 AM, Praveen R. Bhat via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Namaste Venkatraghavanji,
>
>
>
> On Thu, Nov 24, 2016 at 10:36 PM, Venkatraghavan S <agnimile at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> > On bhAshyakAra equating avidyA with mAya, and whose locus is the Atma
> (two
> > birds in one stone), a very clear example is in mANDUkya kArika bhAshya
> > 3.10. There in explaining the word आत्ममायाविसर्जिताः, he says
> > देहादिसङ्घाताः आत्ममायाविसर्जिताः = आत्मनो माया अविद्या = तया
> > प्रत्युपस्थापिताः. He takes  आत्ममाया as षष्ठी तत्पुरुष, आत्मन:माया, and
> > explains  माया as अविद्या.
> >
>
> Thanks, that's interesting. अविद्या "शक्ति" of the individual here is
> referred as माया or interchangeably, मायाशक्ति of the individual is माया।
>
>
> > Typically Shankaracharya when referring to mAya and avidyA together
> > resorts to  adjectival usage (avidyAkrita, avidyAlakshaNa, avidyArUpa,
> > etc.), whereas here, its a straight identity.
> >
>
> अविद्यालक्षणा is a little different from अविद्याकृत because the former
> equates the nature of Maya as avidyA, as seen in introduction to Gita 9.8
> also, where Bhashyakara equates both by saying-- एवम् अविद्यालक्षणाम् to
> qualify प्रकृतिम् (=मायाम्) in the verse.
>
>
> >
> > Holding माया and अविद्या as different is therefore not justified in my
> > view, and if माया is not held to be abhAva rUpa, why should अविद्या?
> >
>
> True.
>
> Kind rgds,
> --Praveen R. Bhat
> /* Through what should one know That owing to which all this is known!
> [Br.Up. 4.5.15] */
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