[Advaita-l] Mandukya bhashya. Ignorance seed in sushupti

[V Subrahmanian]

In the Bhashyam for the mantra 7: naantaHprajnam, etc. Shankara says: the
three states of waking, dream and sleep, that formed the subject matter of
the first six mantras, is unreal, apAramArthikam, product of avidya, like
the rope-snake, and is of the nature of seed-sprout (seed (cause) = deep
sleep, and the sprout (effect) are the waking and dream. Shankara holds all
the three, including the sleep state, to be endowed with Avidya (tattva
agrahanam):

तस्यापरमार्थरूपमविद्याकृतं रज्जुसर्पादिसममुक्तं पादत्रयलक्षणं
बीजाङ्कुरस्थानीयम् । अथेदानीमबीजात्मकं परमार्थस्वरूपं रज्जुस्थानीयं
सर्पादिस्थानीयोक्तस्थानत्रयनिराकरणेनाह — नान्तःप्रज्ञमित्यादिना ।

Contrasting with the three states (which is actually the entire samsara
anubhava, the jagat), the Turiya, Chaturtham, is paaramaarthika, akin to
the rope, which is taught as negating the snake-like pAda traya.

In that very bhashya, while the mantra negates the sushupti state: na
prajnAnaghanam, Shankara says: the state of sushupti is akin to seed,
devoid of discrimination, aviveka svarupa (in the waking and dream the
distinctions, vivikta, are perceived but not in deep sleep):

नप्रज्ञानघनमिति सुषुप्तावस्थाप्रतिषेधः, बीजभावाविवेकस्वरूपत्वात्

Thus, in the above statements, Shankara accepts avidya in deep sleep.