[Advaita-l] Concept of 'Gravitation force' in Shankara Bhashya

[V Subrahmanian]

Concept of 'Gravitation force' in Shankara Bhashya

In the Prashnopanishat bhashya 3.8 Shankara says:

पृथिव्यां या देवता सैषा पुरुषस्यापानमवष्टभ्यान्तरा यदाकाशः स समानो
वायुर्व्यानः ॥ ८ ॥ (Upanishat mantra)

For this, the Bhashyam is:

तथा पृथिव्याम् अभिमानिनी या देवता प्रसिद्धा सैषा पुरुषस्य अपानम्
अपानवृत्तिम् अवष्टभ्य आकृष्य वशीकृत्याध एवापकर्षणेनानुग्रहं कुर्वती वर्तत
इत्यर्थः । अन्यथा हि शरीरं गुरुत्वात्पतेत्सावकाशे वोद्गच्छेत् ।
[प्रश्नोपनिषद्भाष्यम्तृतीयः प्रश्नःमन्त्र ८ - भाष्यम्]


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In Prashnopanishad chapter 3 while describing the panchapranas, the apana
vayu is said to be residing in the anus and genitals - paayoopasthepaanam.

It is responsible for throwing out from the body faeces, urine, semen,
menstrual blood and foetus. Further, the upanishad says -

prithivyaam yaa devataa saisha purushasya apaanamavashatabhyaantaraa .....


The devata that is in earth she supports this apana. She helps apana for
throwing out from the body. Space travelers face difficulty in excretion
due to absence of gravitational force there. The link between apana and the
earth aiding it is quite clear in this upanishad.


Further in his commentary to this upanishad, Adi Shankara ( 7th century AD
? ) says

tathaa prithivyaam abhimaaninee yaa devataa prasiddhaa saishaa purushasya
apaanavrithimavashtabhyaakrish- ya vasheekrityaadha evapakarshanenanugraham
kurvati vartata ityarthaha. anyathaa hi shareeram gurutvat patetsavakashe
vaa udagacheta.


This devata blesses by supporting apana by pulling in the downward
direction. Or else, the body would have floated up.

Om