[Advaita-l] Avidya as part of Sukshma Sharira: Sutra Bhashya and its glosses and Vivekachudamani

[V Subrahmanian]

Sutra bhashya2.4.6 cites a Smriti:

तथा च स्मृतिः — ‘पुर्यष्टकेन लिङ्गेन प्राणाद्येन स युज्यते । तेन बद्धस्य वै
बन्धो मोक्षो मुक्तस्य तेन च’ इति प्राङ्मोक्षात् ग्रहसंज्ञकेन बन्धनेन अवियोगं
 दर्शयति ।

What are the eight components of the Linga Sharira?

Ratnaprabha:

हस्तादिबन्धस्य प्राङ्मोक्षात्सहगतौ स्मृतिमाह -


पुर्यष्टकेनेति ।

प्राणादिपञ्चकं भूतसूक्ष्मपञ्चकं ज्ञानेन्द्रियपञ्चकं
कर्मेन्द्रियपञ्चकमन्तःकरणचतुष्टयमविद्या कामः कर्म चेति पुर्यष्टकमात्मनो
ज्ञापकत्वाल्लिङ्गं सति सम्भवे...


Nyayanirnaya (Anandagiri) says:


पुर्यष्टकं विशिनष्टि -

प्राणाद्येनेति ।


प्राणादिपञ्चकं भूतसूक्ष्मपञ्चकं कर्मेन्द्रियपञ्चकं ज्ञानेन्द्रियपञ्चकं
मनआद्यन्तःकरणचतुष्कमविद्या कामः कर्म चेति पुर्यष्टकम् । तच्चानेनात्मा
लिङ्ग्यते ज्ञायत इति लिङ्गम् ।


In the Vivekachudamani we have these two verses that list what the
components are:


वागादिपञ्च श्रवणादिपञ्च
प्राणादिपञ्चाभ्रमुखाणि पञ्च ।
बुद्ध्याद्यविद्यापि च कामकर्मणी
पुर्यष्टकं सूक्ष्मशरीरमाहुः ॥ ९८ ॥
इदं शरीरं शृणु सूक्ष्मसंज्ञितं
लिङ्गं त्वपञ्चीकृतभूतसम्भवम् ।
सवासनं कर्मफलानुभावकं

स्वाज्ञानतोऽनादिरुपाधिरात्मनः ॥ ९९ ॥


The Nyayanirnaya, 13th Century, Ratnaprabha, more recent and the
Vivekachudamani - All include Avidya too in the package of the Sukshma
sharira.  This Avidya is the one that remains till mukti. This is what
sustains the jivahood, bandha, and the cause for both the sthula and
sukshma sharira and hence the kAraNa sharira.


The Karana sharira is explained/defined in the Vivekachudamani thus:


अव्यक्तनाम्नी परमेशशक्ति -
रनाद्यविद्या त्रिगुणात्मिका परा ।
कार्यानुमेया सुधियैव माया

यया जगत्सर्वमिदं प्रसूयते ॥ ११० ॥


It is called Avyakta, it is the Shakti of Brahman, it is anAdi avidya, made
of three gunas. It has to be inferred by its effects.  It is also called
Maya.


Thus, we find that the Karana Sharira is also an ingredient in the Sukshma
sharira, which alone exits the gross body when the person dies. Shankara
has said in the above sutra bhashya that this sukshma sharira stays till
mukti.


It is this Avidya that Shankara accepts as part of sukshma sharira by
citing just the smriti, is what is termed mUlAvidyA.


In this link we have some references to the Smriti cited in the Sutra
bhashya 2.4.6:


https://sa.wikisource.org/s/1715


The verse cited by Shankara is from Brahmapurana and Sananda.  BSB 3.1.1
too says:

“जीवो मुख्यप्राणसचिवः सेन्द्रियः समनस्कोऽविद्याकर्मपूर्वप्रज्ञापरिग्रहः
पूर्वदेहं विहाय देहान्तरं प्रपद्यते.”  Here too Avidya is included by
Shankara in the package of the sukshma sharira that exits the body.


Sri SSS takes the reading as विद्याकर्म.... and adds a footnote saying that
the 'avidya...' reading taken by Nyayanirnaya (Anandagiri) as basis for
Mulaavidya is wrong as the idea is contradictory to Shankara's
Brihadaranyaka Bhashya 4.4.1.


However we see the Brahmapurana and other Smriti references  (Sananda cited
by Kalluka Bhatta for the Manusmriti commentary) for the component of
avidya being there in the sukshma sharira. Sri SSS in the footnote to BSB
2.4.6 says 'The source of the Smriti cited by Shankara for the eight-fold
component of sukshma sharira is not known; it could be from Mahabharata.'


Ratnaprabha for 3.1.1. says:

अधिकरणविषयमाह -

जीव इति ।

अविद्या प्रसिद्धा । विद्येति पाठे उपासना ग्राह्या ।  The Avidya is well
known. In the alternative reading 'vidya' of the Bhashya this would mean
upasana.


Om Tat Sat