Swami Ramanuja’s SRI BHASHYAM

Shri:

Shrimathe Madurantakam Viraraghavarya Mahadesikaya nama:

Shrimathe Rangaramanuja Mahadesikaya nama:

Shrimathe Nigamantha Mahadesikaya nama:

Shrimathe Bgagavathe Bhashyakaraya Mahadesikaya nama:

A Treatise on Sri Bhashya

Sri Bhasya is the most sacred scripture in our Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya and it is the basic text on Sri Visishtadvaitha philosophy.  It is the commentary on Brahmasutras written by Shri Bhagavad Ramanuja reverentially known as Swamy Sri Bhasyakarar.  Sri Bhasya was the name given to this most beautiful and remarkable commentary by goddess Saraswathi devi when Sri Ramanuja visited the Sarada Peetham in Kashmir after writing Sri Bhasya.

The name Sri Bhasya is unique because of the fact goddess Saraswathi Devi who is also known as Vagdevi thought that this commentary alone is the correct and real interpretation of Upanishadic texts whereas the other commentaries on Brahmasutras by Sankara, Bhaskara, Yadava Prakasha and others give wrong distorted and illusioning interpretations to the upanishadic texts.

Sri Ramanuja by writing Sri Bhasya eminently fulfilled one of the last wishes of Sri Alavandar who desired that there should be a commentary on Brahmasutras according to Sri Vishishtadwaitha system of philosophy.  The Style adopted by Sri Ramanuja is really unique and beautiful and even merely reading it without understanding the meaning is itself enjoyable and thrilling.  It is said that not even a word can be added to or deleted from the text of Sri Bhasya.

Sri Ramanuja has weighed each and every word and has used the same in Sri Bhasya as Sri Valmiki in Srimad Ramayana.  Among the five duties which Sri Ramanuja enjoined upon his disciples during his last days, study and propagation of Sri Bhasya was the very first.

This was followed by Sri Vedanta Desika in letter and spirit as he says that he spent his entire life time by propagating Sri Bhasya to his disciples and by composing masterly works like Tatvamuktha kalapa, Sarvarthasiddhi Nyaya Siddhanjana, Nyaya parisuddhi and Adhikarana Saravali etc,.  These works reinforce the basic tenets of Sri Visishtadvaitha contained in the Sri Bhasya and form stable and strong foundation to Sri Bhasya and other works of Sri Visishtadvaitha philosophy.

Sri Vedanta Desika in Yathiraja sapthathi which is a beautiful stotra in praise of Sri Ramanuja and his works, requests Sri Ramanuja to accept  his prostrations and states that Sri Ramanuja’s works decorate the lady who has been featured as Vedas and Upanishads and who has further made Lord Sriman Narayana her consort loyal to her.

Sri Ramanuja is the greatest and tallest Acharya in Sri Vaishnava sampradayam. But for Sri Ramanuja Sri Vaishana sampradayam would not have been what it is to-day.  He was a great reformer.  It is said that Acharyas like Periyanambi, Alavandar, Manakkal Nambi, Uyyakkondar, Nathamuni and even Nammalvar who preceded Sri Ramanuja attained Moksha by having connection with the sacred head of Sri Ramanuja and the Acharyas who succeeded Sri Ramanuja attained Moksha by having connection with his lotus feet.

We also attain Moksha by our association with the lotus feet of Sri Ramanuja and by doing prapatti at the lotus feet of Lord Sriman Narayana through our Acharyas.

It is against this background of the greatness of Sri Ramanuja and his nine works, that we enter into Sri Bhasya to know its contents elaborately in this book.  Before we pe in to the ocean of Sri Bhasya, we should know something about the evolution of Brahmasutras.  The origin of the evolution of Brahmasutras is Vedas.  Without knowing some details of Vedas, it is not possible to deal with Brahmasutras and Sri Bhasya.

Vedas are infinite treasure of knowledge.  They were not composed by anybody and hence are called “Apaurusheya”.  The main features of Vedas are that they are without beginning (Anadi), eternal (Nityam) and blemishless (Nirdosha).

Vedas are the supreme authority in the world and there is no sastra or scripture which is superior to Vedas.  For people who are called vaidikas (that is, who believe in the authority of Vedas), every syllable of Vedas is an authority.  Authority is called Pramana in Sanskrit.

Sage Badarayana, son of sage Parasara is an incarnation of Lord Sriman Narayana.  He is also called Krishnadvaipayana Vyasa.  The word Vyasa literally means one who pided the Vedas.  So sage Badarayana pided the Vedas in to four fold.

The First unit is known as Rigveda.  The Second, Third and Fourth groups are called Yajurveda, Sama Veda and Atharvana Veda.  There are 21 branches in Rig veda, 100 branches in Yajur veda, 1000 branches in Sama veda and 9 branches in Atharvana Veda. Hence Vedas became an infinite treasure of knowledge.  Infinite means endless.  Each branch in every Veda is again classified into four pisions known as Samhitha, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishads.  Samhitha deals with mantras recited or uttered in a yaga or a sacrifice.  Brahmana deals with the procedure to be adopted in a yaga.  Aranyaka is that portion of Vedas recited in a forest.  Upanishad which is an integral part of the Vedas deals directly with the Supreme Being who is called Para Brahman or merely Brahman, and He is Lord Sriman Narayana or Lord Vishnu.

The Vedic sayings or quotations are called veda vakyas.  The veda vakyas or in other words Vedas are again classified as Vidhi, Arthavada and Mantra.  Vidhi is a command or an order directing a person to do a particular yaga, attain a wordly fruit or a fruit in the other worlds.  For example if a person aspires to attain heaven or svarga, he should perform Jyothishtoma yaga.  Arthavada vakya is that which relates to the publicity, advertisement or motivation to do a particular karma for attaining a particular fruit.  Mantra is that portion of Vedas, which is recited in praise of a particular deity to invoke its blessings.

1)  A vedic scripture which, by its recitation destroys the cycle of life like residing in the mother’s womb (Garbha), birth (Janma), old age (Jara), death ( Marana).

2)  An Upanishad is a vedic scripture which by adopting the means prescribed in it makes an inpidual attain Moksha.

3) The Upanishads slorify Lord Sriman Narayana, the Supreme Being.

4) An Upanishad is a scripture, which is very “near” to the Supreme Being.

5) An Upanishad directly deals with Sriman Narayana.

Upanishads are also known as Vedanta, Thrayyantha, Nigamantha or Srutyantha because they happen to be the last portions of Vedas.  Vedas are also called as Sruthis.  Saastra is a scripture which by reading gives knowledge to the reader.

Upanishads are Vedanta sastras which teach three things, Tattva, Hirta, Purushartha.  These are dealt at appropriate places in the course of this book.

It is against this background that the evolution of Brahmasutras has to be known.  The meaning of Vedas is not explicity clear and it is rather hidden. Some Vedic statements appear to be mutually contradictory.

Proper interpretation is required to remove the apparent contradiction.  This is something similar to the President of India referring to the Supreme Court for proper interpretation of some articles of the constitution when a doubt arises regarding the same.

Vedas are the constitution of Lord Sriman Narayana who makes use of them during the creation of the universe after the deluge.  He is not the author of the Vedas but only remembers them and teaches the same to the “Chathurmukha Brahma” (Four headed Brahma) after creating him from his navel.

Because the meaning of Vedas is hidden, a branch of learning was essentiaslly required for the proper interpretation of Vedas.

There are 14 branches of learning and among them there are six branches for proper pronunciation of Vedas and for knowing the origin of each Vedic word;  knowing the meaning of each vedic word, for deciding suitable auspicious dates for performance of sacrifices, for proper procedure to be adopted in the performance of sacrifices and for knowing the metre of each mantra.  These six branches are known as vedangas or supplements of Vedas.

In Sanskrit they are known as Siksha, Vyakarana, Chandas, Niruktham, Jyothisham and Kalpa.

The other four branches are Mimamsa, Nyaya, Purana including the Epics Srimad Ramayanam and Mahabharatha and Dharma sastra.  Now the Brahmasutras come under Mimamsa Sastra or Mimamsa branch of learning.  The word mimamsa basically means relevent and appropriate discussion of Vedic texts to arrive at a conclusion.

So Mimamsa is the branch of learning mainly meant to discuss Veda Vakyas which do not have clarity and for which various interpretations are possible.  So Sage Vyasa thought that the proper interpretations to Vedas including Upanishads could be done by composing Sutras.  Sutra is called Aphorism.  The characteristics of a Sutra are that it has minimum number of syllables or letters giving a complete, clear and unambiguous meaning relating to a particular context.  Every syllable and every word in a sutra has a definite purpose and nothing is meaningless or purposeless.  The beauty of various systems of Indian philosophy is that the basic text of every system is in the form of sutras.  The composers of sutras are all sages who are  omniscient (sarvajnas)  possessing super human powers and knowledge.

For elaborating the meaning of sutras, several scholarly people appeared later and wrote commentaries on them.  So sage Vyasa after piding the Vedas into four groups as already said, decided to provide proper interpretations to Vedas including Upanishads in the form of sutras.

Again there is another classification of Vedas depending upon the subject matter it deals with.  The classification is  Karmakanda (2) Devatha kanda  and  (3) Brahma kanda

Karmakanda refers to that portion of Vedas relating to Yagas or sacrifices which are considered as forms of worship of Lord Sriman Narayana.

Devathakanda refers to the portion of Vedas which deals with the nature and attributes of gods (Devathas) like Agni, Soma, Indra, Varuna, Surya, Yama, Rudra, Prajapathi, Vayu, Mitravaruna and others.

Brahmakanda exclusively refers to Upanishads which deal with the nature, form, attributes, omnipotence and super human power of Lord Sriman Narayana.

Sage Jaimini and Sage Kasakritsna are the disciples of sage Badarayana also known as Veda Vyasa.  Bhagavan Badarayana directed Jaimini to compose sutras for the proper and correct interpretation of vedic texts coming under the category of Karmakanda and Jaimini composed the sutras accordingly.  These sutras are called Purva Mimamsa Sutras, Karmamimamsa Sutras or Karmakanda Sutras.  These sutras are pided into twelve chapters.

Again Badarayana directed Kasakritsna to compose sutras for the proper and correct interpretation of Vedic texts falling under the category of Devatha kanda.  Accordingly Kasakritsna composed sutras and these sutras are called Devatha Kanda or Sankarsha Kanda.  These sutras are again grouped into four chapters.  Unfortunately these sutras are not available now.

Badarayana thought it fit that he himself should compose sutras for Brahmakanda for the proper and correct interpretation of Upanishadic texts.  These sutras are called Brahma sutras and this Mimamsa comprising Brahma sutras is known as Uttara Mimamsa, Brahma Mimamsa or Sariraka Mimamsa.  The Supreme Being Lord Sriman Narayana is called Brahman and he is also called Saariraka as all the sentient and non sentient beings are his bodies.

These Brahma sutras are again grouped into four chapters.

In Visishtadvaitha Philosophy the Mimamsasastra comprising Karmakanda, Devatha Kanda and Brahma Kanda is one and the same branch of learning and this point is emphasised by Sri Ramanuja in the beginning of Sri Bhasya.  So this Mimamsa Sastra consists of 20 chapters in all as explained above.

The first sutra in the Karma Kanda is  “Athatho Dharma Jijnasa”.

The first sutra in the Brahma Suitras is “Athatho Brahma jijnasa”.   The last sutra in the Brahma suitras  is “Anavrittih sabdat, Anavrittih sabdat”

The structure of Mimamsa sastra is as follows.  Sutras, Adhikaranas, Padas and Chapters.  Several sutras constitute one Adhikarana, several adhikaranas constitute one quarter which is also called pada and in Brahmasutras, four padas constitute one chapter.

The last three sutras in the Devathakanda are quoted by some Acharyas in their works which are “Antheh: harau taddarshanath, Sa Vishrurahahi, Thatth Bramhethya chakshathe”.  So it is said that the word Brahman in the last sutra appears in the first Brahmasutra as “Athatho Brahma Jijnasa”. Here Brahma (Brahman) means Lord Sriman Narayanana only and not four headed brahma.

The sequence of the study of Mimamsa Sastra is as follows, which was in vogue a few centuries before. A boy undergoes thread ceremony or Upanayana in his 8th year and he is sent to Gurukula by his father for learning Vedas including Upanishads sitting at the feet of a guru.

After mastering the Vedas there will be a natural curiosity in him to know the meaning of Vedas.  Then he will study the meaning of Vedas and gets a general knowledge of various sacrifices mentioned in Karma Kanda, Devathas in Devatha Kanda and of Brahman in the Upanishads.  Then he undertakes the study of Purva Mimamsa and Devatha Mimamsa.

In the study of the above he comes to know that the furits attained by performing sacrifices or yagas like attainment of heaven (svarga) are very limited and are not eternal.  After the punya he acquired by doing yagas for going to heaven is spent in heaven after enjoying the pleasures there he comes back to this world for a rebirth and subject himself to the miseries in this world.

So when he realises the futility of attaining heaven through the performances of sacrifices he develops a sense of detachment from the wordly pleasures and heavenly pleasures and gets disgusted by repeated births and deaths.  By his study of upanishads he made earlier he has a general knowledge about Brahman.  By doing meditation on Brahman he will be able to attain eternal and unlimited bliss in Sri Vaikuntha lokam.  This superficial knoweldge about Brahman induces him to get down to an intensive and an indepth discussion of Brahman or the Supreme Being and it is at this stage the Brahmasutras attain relevence.

As already mentioned the very first sutra is “Athatho Brahma jijnasa”.  It means Atha: afterwards and Atah: means therefore.  “Athatho Brahmajiguasa” means a desire to know the Brahman, the Supreme Being.

The First Sloka in Sri Bhasya is

“Akhila Bhuvana Janma sthema Bhangadi leele

Vinatha vividha bhutha vratha Rakshaikadeekshe,

Sruthi sirasi videepthe Brahmani Srinivase

Bhavathu mama parasmin shemushi Bhakthi Rupa”

Sri Ramanuja prays to Lord Srinivasa who is the Brahman glowing in Upanishads, who plays the game of creation, protection and destructions of the universe and who grants moksha to those who take refuge under him either by doing Bhakthi yoga or by doing prapatti at his feet.  Ramanuja prays, he should be endowed with the knowledge ( the mental disposition) of the form of Bhakthi.  The remaining part of this book is an outline of Sri Bhasya.

Sri Ramanuja gives the names of 4 chapters in Brahma sutras and 16 padas ( 4 padas in each chapter).  Sri Vedanta Desika in his famous work of Sri Adhikarana Saravali mentions the attributes of Lord Sriman Narayana in the four chapters and 16 quarters or padas.

The Names of Upanishads which come for discussion in the Sri Bhasya visavis Brahmasutras are Isavasyopanishad, Kenopanishad, Kathopanishad, Mundakoupanishad, Mandukya upanishad, Prasnopanishad, Itareya upanishad, Chandogya upanishad,  Brihadaranyaka upanishad, Taittiriya upanishad, Kaushitaki upanishad, Svetashvatara upanishad, Subalopanishad, Mahopanishad, Agni Rahasya, Atharvasikhopanishad and Maitrayani upanishad etc..

Every vedantic scripture should contain elaborate information about the Tattva, Hita and Purushartha.  Tattva is real entity,  Hita is the means, Purushartha is the goal.

In the case of Tattva, there are three real entities which are Paramatma the Supreme soul (being), Jivatma the Inpidual soul, and Prakriti, non-sentient matter.

If an adjective namely para is added to each of the above then Paratattva is the supreme being Lord Sriman Narayana, Paramahitha is the Prapatti at his feet, and  Parama purushartha is the supreme goal which is the attainment of the lotus feet of the pine couple in Sri Vaikunta   and doing the eternal appropriate and all kinds of service to them at all places, at all times, in all stages.  This is the eternal and infinite bliss or Moksha.

In Sri Bhasya the first two chapters deal with the Paratatva, the third chapter deals with Paramahita and the fourth chapter deals with the Parama purushartha, the supreme goal.

The names of the four chapters are

1)         The first chapter is called Samanvaya Adhyaya.  Anvaya means connection, link or relationship.  Samanvaya means proper connection or good link.

In this first chapter the Sutrakara Badarayana deals with all the vedic and upanishadic texts dealing with creation of universe.  The creator of the universe is called “Jagath karana”.  The Upanishads use several terms to denote Jagath karana vasthu.  They are Sath, Asath, Brahma, Atma, Akasa, Prana, Jyothi, Hiranyagarbha, Shambhu, Narayana etc.

There can be only one creator of the universe and that is Lord Sriman Narayana.  This is clear from the saying in the Mahopanishad that at the time of deluge or pralaya there was only Sriman Narayana with his consort Mahalakshmi and nobody else was there.  It further says Lord Sriman Narayana then created four-headed Brahma, Siva, Indra and others.  So Sriman Narayana is the Jagathkarana vastu.  So all the names mentioned above refer to Sriman Narayana only and hence they are well connected with him.

The attribute of Sriman Narayana in this chapter Karana (Cause).  This in Sanskrit is known as Karanathvam.

2)         The 2nd chapter is known as Avirodha Adhyaya.

Virodha means objection.  Avirodha means no objection.  In this chapter the Sutrakara replies convincingly to the logical objections raised by others for Sriman Narayana to be the Jagathkaranavastu and refutes their arguments and establishes that Lord Sriman Narayana is the creator of the universe.  So the Kalyana guna or auspicious attribute in this chapter is Abadhyatvam that there is no sublation (denial) of this fact.

3)         The 3rd chapter is known as Sadhana Adhyaya.

Sadhana is means to be adopted to attain eternal bliss or Moksha.  Sadhana is same as upaya.  In our philosophy Lord Sriman Narayana himself is the Upaya (means) and he is also the Upeya, the object to be attained.  The established means Bhakthi or Prapatti is adopted to please him and get his grace.  He is called Siddhopaya (ready means) and accepts.  Bhakthi or Prapatti done by an inpidual is called Sadhyopaya.  Bhakthi is deep meditation on him and Prapatti is surrender at his feet.  So the Kalyana guna in the 3rd chapter is Upayatvam which means that he is the ready means or ever available means.

4)         The Fourth chapter is called as Phala Adhyaya.

Phala means fruit.  After doing Bhakthi or Prapatti an inpidual soul or jivatma attains the lotus feet of the pine couple in Sri Vaikuntham which is also called Paramapada, the Supreme abode.  The Kalyana guna highlighted in this chapter is Upeyatva  which means that Lord Sriman Narayana is the object to be attained.  It should be noted that both Mahalakshmi and Sriman Narayana together constitute the supremebeing as they are always to-gether and inseparable.  Wherever there is the mention of Lord Sriman Narayana it includes Mahalakshmi also because of the fact that Jagathkaranathva, Upayatva and Upeyatva apply to the Divine Couple, without any reservation.

Finally we will know the names of 16 padas in Brahma Sutra and the Kalyana gunas of  Lord Sriman Narayana in each of them.

As already mentioned, the first chapter or Samanvaya Adhyaya deals with all kinds of Upanishadic passages which speakof the cause of the universe.   In some texts, Jiva or inpidual soul appear to be Jagath karana or creator of the universe.

In some vakyas Prakrithi the non-sentient entity also called as primordial matter appears to be the cause of the universe.  Prakrithi is also known as Pradhana.  These vakyas are grouped in to four categories in the four padas of the first chapter as mentioned below.

1)      In the first pada, passages which are not very clear are dealt with.

In Sanskrit it is known as “Aspashtathara Jivadi linga vakya”.  So the first pada is known as Aspashtathara jivadi linga pada.  Lord Sriman Narayana’s kalyana guna or the auspicious attribute in this pada and his consequential epithet is (Srashta).  It means he is the cause or creator of the universe.  The kalyana guna is Srashtrtvam.

2)      The second pada of the first chapter deals with passages which are not clear in their import. It is called Aspashta in Sanskrit.  So this pada is called “Aspashta jivadi linga pada”.  The epithet of the Brahman or Lord Sriman Narayana in this pada is Dehi.  Dehi means the innermost soul or Antharyami in every sentient and non-sentient entity.  The Kalyana guna is Dehitvam.  Both sentient and non-sentient entities are the bodies of Sriman Narayana.  Dehi means one who possesses the body and so obviously means Atma.  Lord Sriman Narayana is the atma (soul) for all beings.

3)      The 3rd pada of first chapter deals with clear Jagath karana vakyas.  ‘Clear’ means Spashta.  So this pada is called ‘Spashta jivadi linga’ pada.  The epithet of the Lord in this pada is Svanishta, which means that while he supports the entire universe by his own will he supports himself also.  The kalyana guna is Svanishtathvam.

4)      The 4th pada deals with very clear Jagathkarana-vakyas.  Very clear means Spashtathara.  So this pada is called Spashtathara jivadi linga pada.  The Brahman is called in this pada as Niravadhi mahima.  This means the greatness of Sriman Narayana is unlimited or even infinite.  This unlimited greatness is because of the fact that Lord is Upadana Karana and Nimitta Karana for the universe.  In the world any object has three karanas or causes.  The first is material cause or Upadana Karana.  The second is the Operational cause or Nimitta Karana.  The third is Instrumental cause or Sahakari karana.  For example if a golden ornament is to be made, gold forms the Upadana karana.  The goldsmith who makes the ornament is the Nimitta Karana.  He makes use of several tools for making the ornament and these tools are instrumental cause or Sahakari karana.  For the universe, Lord Sriman Narayana is himself the Upadana karana, Nimitta karana and even Sahakari karana.  As he creates the universe by his own will and does not require any tool the Sahakari karana is merged in the Nimitta karana itself.  The same entity being upadana karana and nimitta karana cannot be any body else other than Sriman Narayana and so he is of infinite greatness.  So the kalyana guna in this pada is “Niravadhi Mahimatvam”.

5)      The first quarter or pada in the second chapter is known as Smrithi pada.  Sri Kapila who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu is the establisher and propagator of Nirishwara Sankhya system of philosophy like Buddhism.  Because his teachings are against Vedas and upanishads which are  supreme authority, their philosophies could not be accepted by us.

Sri Kapila is the author of Kapila Smrithi.  Based on this smrithi objections were raised against  Sri Vishnu for being the cause of the universe.  According to this school of thought, Prakrithi is the cause of the universe.  The Sutrakarar or the author of the Brahmasutras over rules the above objections and establishes that Sriman Narayana is the Jagath karana.  He is called “Apastha Badha” in this pada, which means that he is unchallengeable.  The kalyana guna is “Apastha badhatvam”.

6)      The second pada in the second chapter is known as Tarka pada.  In this Sage Badarayana who is the Sutrakarar starts offensive against the other systems of philosophy like Sankaya, Vaisesika, Bauddha, Jaina and Pasupatha by highlighting the drawbacks in their philosophies and refutes all of them by applying cogent logic.  Hence this pada is called Tarka pada.  At the end of this pada sage Badarayana establishes the authority of Pancharathra Agamas which deals with the worship in Vishnu temples, and proves that it is in complete agreement with Vedas.

The name of the Brahman in this pada is “Sritaptha:” which means he is the friend of those who perform daily rituals as per Pancharatra sastra.  The kalyana guna in this pada is “Sritapthatvam”.

7)      The third pada in the second chapter is called Viyath pada.  It is in this pada the Sutrakarar deals with the creation of Panchabhutas which are sky (eather), air, fire, water and earth.  This creation is by “transformation”.  The transformation is called Anyathabhava, like clay becoming a pot.  There can be no physical transformation of jivas as they are eternal.

The transformation in them is in the “characteristics”.  This characteristic is called Dharmabhutha jnana through which jivas are able to cognize the objects.  This guna varies from zero to infinity.  It is zero in the case on non-sentient or inanimate entities and infinity incase of Paramatma (Sriman Narayana), Nityas like Adhisesha, Vishvaksena, Garuda and others and mukthas who are liberated souls.  In the case of those jivas who are in the bondage of samsara, the dharmabhuta guna varies from one inpidual to the other depending upon one’s past deeds or karma.  So this dharma bhutha guna is subject to expansion and contraction in jivas which Sriman Narayana causes according to their past deeds.

This characteristic is called Svabhava and its transformation of expansion or contraction is Svabhava anyathabhava. In this pada the name of Sriman Narayana is “Khaatmaadeh: uchitha janana krith”, which means he is maker of appropriate transformation in kha which means sky ( this includes air, fire, water and earth) and in jivatmas.  The appropriate transformation in the case of Panchabhutas is “Svarupa Anyathabhava” and that in the case of Jivatmas is “Svabhava Anyathabhava”.  The kalyana guna in this pada is “Khaatmaadeh: uchitha janana krithvam”.

8)      The fourth pada in the 2nd chapter is called Indriya pada.  Indriya means senses.  Sriman Narayana causes the creation of senses.  So his name in this pada is “Indriyadeh: uchitha janana krithv”, which means he makes the appropriate creation of senses.  The auspicious attribute in this pada is “Indriyadeh: uchitha janana krithvam”.

9)      The first quarter in the 3rd chapter is Vairagya pada.  Vairagya means a sense of detachment from the wordly pleasures here or in heaven.  This detachment is essential for a person to aspire for infinite and eternal bliss which is moksha or salvation.  This Vairagya can be accquired by realising the miseries undergone by a jiva (person) in bondage of samsara or in different avasthas or states.

They are (1) state of awakening called Jagradavastha  (2) State of sound sleep known as Sushupthi avastha  (3) state of dreaming termed as Svapna Avastha and (4) coma state ( state of unconsciousness) which is called Moorcha Avastha. The name of the Lord in this pada is “Samsruthou tantra vahi” which means the Lord conducts the jiva through samsara.  The Kalyanaguna is Samsruthau tantra vahitvam.

10)  The 2nd pada in the 3rd chapter is called       Ubhaya linga pada.  Ubhaya linga are the two exclusive characteristics of Sriman Narayana which are Heyaprathyaneekatva and Kalyana gunakarathva.  Heyaprathyaneekatva means to be blemishless or without bad qualities.  Kalyana-guna Akaratvam means to be repository of all kalyana gunas or auspicious atributes.  The Jiva who is in samsara aspires to attain an object which is most superior to him in every aspect.  This supreme superiority is the possession of the above two characteristics.  The Sutrakara Sri Badarayana deals with the above characteristics in this pada.  The Kalyanaguna in this pada is “Nirdoshatvadi-ramyatvam”.   Nirdoshatva means blemishlessness.  Ramyatva means auspicious attributes.

11)  The 3rd pada in the 3rd chapter is called “Guna upasamhara pada”.  In this pada thirtytwo brahmavidyas, each of which is a kind or form of Bhakthi yoga which is the means for attainment of Moksha, are discussed.  Brahmavidya means meditation on Brahman who is Sriman Narayana.  Guna upasamhara means adding gunas of Brahman mentioned in the same Brahmavidya preached in different Upanishads.   The name in this pada is that the Brahman is the object of meditation in the various Brahma Vidyas.  This is called as Bahubhajanapada.  In this pada, Prapatti is mentioned as an independent means in the sutra “Naanaa sabhaadi bhedaath”.

12)  The 4th pada of the 3rd chapter is called Anga pada, in which the various pre-requisites of  Bhakthi yoga are discussed.  The  name of the Lord in this pada is “Svaraha karma prasaadya” which means that he is gracious to those who perform the daily rituals appropriate to their status of varna and ashrama.

13)   The first pada in the 4th chapter is called Avritti pada.    In this the procedure and the way of doing meditation are discussed.  Avritti means repeatedly doing Bhakthi yoga.  This has to be done every day till moksha is attained.  The name of the Lord is Paapachchith, which means he is the destroyer of sins of those who do Bhakthi or do Prapatti.

14)  The second pada in the 4th chapter is named as Utkranthi pada in which the mode of departure of jiva (who is to attain moksha) from the mortal body is discussed.

The name of  Brahman in this pada is “Brahma naadi gathi krith” which means that he facilitates the entry of jiva into Brahmanaadi.  Brahmanaadi is the pulse running from the navel of the body upto head.  If the jiva comes out of the body through this naadi he attains moksha.

15)  The third pada in the 4th chapter is called Gathi pada which deals with the route the jiva takes for reaching Sri Vaikuntha and become muktaatma (liberated soul).  The route is called Archiradi Marga.  The name of the Lord in this pada is “Aathivaaha” which means that he arranges for conducting the jiva to Sri Vaikuntha through twelve persons known as Athivahikas.

16)  The last pada in the 4th chapter is called  Phala pada, which deals with the manner in which the liberated soul reaches the lotus feet of the Divine Couple, acquires Eight gunas or perfection and attains eternal and infinite bliss by doing eternal service to the Divine Couple there.  Sriman Narayana makes the Muktatma equal to him in all respects except being the cause of the creation of the universe and being the Consort of Mahalakshmi.  The name of the Lord in this pada is “Saamyada” which means the bestower of equality.

This is the gist of Sri Bhasya.

The first adhyaya is called Samanvaya Adhyaya. In the first pada (pada is quarter) of this first adhyaya there are 11 adhikaranas.

An adhikarana is a sub section or pision in a pada which take up a particular text of an Upanishad for discussion and finally the Sutrakara who is Sage Badarayana deliveres the judgement giving the correct interpretation for the particular text taken up for discussion.  The upanishadic text taken for discussion is not chosen at random but it is chosen in a systematic way according to the “Sangathi” which means sequence or link (connection) between the preceding Adhikarana and the succeeding Adhikarana.  This Sangathi which generally means a logical link in Mimamsa sastra, refers to eight stages in the study which are called Sastra, Kanda, Dvika, Adhyaya, Pada, Petika, Adhikarana and Sutra.

Sutra is within Adhikarana. Adhikarana is within petika, petika is within pada, pada is within Adhyaya, Adhyaya is within Kanda and kanda is within sastra.

Here Sastra is Mimamsa dealing with interpretation of Vedas including Upanishads.  Sastra is pided into Karma kanda and Brahma Kanda.

Karmakanda dealing with the interpretation of Vedic texts connected with the performance of sacrifices also called as Yagas and Ishtis.  In yaga an animal called pasu (like goat) is sacrificed for attainment of heaven. It is believed that not only the person who does yaga but also the animal goes to the heaven.  Ishti is also a yaga in which no animal is sacrificed and it is performed for the fulfilment of a wordly desire like puthra kameshti for begetting children, Vayavya Ishti for acquisition of wealth, Kariri Ishti for getting rains and so on.  Karma Kanda is also known as Karma Mimamsa, Purva Mimamsa or Kabhandha Mimamsa.

The second pision of sastra is Brahma Kanda dealing with the interpretation of Upanishadic texts which are directly connected with Brahman, the Supreme Being who is Lord Sriman Narayana.  The connection between the Karma Kanda and Brahma Kanda is called Kanda Sangathi.  Brahma Kanda is pided in to Purva Dvika or Former Dvika and Uttaradvika or latter Dvika.  Dvika means two chapters.

Purva Dvika is also called Siddha Dvika because it directly deals with Brahman who is the creator of universe.  Uttara Dvika is called Sadhya Dvika because Brahman is to be attained by adopting Bhakthi (meditation) or Prapatti.  The link between Purva Dvika and Uttara Dvika is called Dvika Sangathi.

Adhyaya Sangathi :– As already pointed out, there are four chapters in the Brahma Kandam which are called Samanvaya Adhyaya, Avirodha Adhyaya, Sadhana Adhyaya and Phala Adhyaya.  Link between one Adhyaya and the succeding Adhyaya is known as Adhyaya Sangathi.

Pada Sangathi :– Each Adhyaya is pided in to Four Padas and in all there are 16 Padas which have been quite elaborately dealt with in the introduction.  Connection between the preceding Pada and succeeding Pada is Pada Sangathi.

Petika :- Petika in a Pada means a group of Adhikaranas which have a common theme.  This will be elaborated while dealing with Adhikaranas.  The sequential connection between one Petika and the next Petika is Petika Sangathi.

Adhikarana Sangathi:- As already stated, the link between the preceding Adhikarana and succeeding Adhikarana is called Adhikarana Sangathi.

Sutra Sangathi:-  The logical connection between the preceding sutra and succeeding sutra is called Sutra Sangathi.

Among all the eight types of sangathis listed above, Adhikarana sangathi is the most important one because this sangathi is instrumental in choosing the apt upanishadic text for discussion in a particular adhikarana.

There are five components in each Adhikarana which are,

Sangathi – Sequential link between the preceding Adhikarana and Adhikarana which has been taken up consideration.

Vishaya – A particular topic of the Upanishad which has been chosen for discussion and its correct interpretation.

Samshaya Uttanakaranam – Basis or the cause for the doubt to arise in the interpretation.

Purva paksha – For every view point there is always a counter view point.  The person who makes the counter view point is called Poorvapakshi and his argument is called Purva paksha.  Purva pakshi is also called opponent.

Siddhantha – After hearing the argument of the Purva pakshi the Sutrakarar Badarayana (Veda vyasa) delivers the judgement in the form of a sutra.

Based on the above we will now take up the adhikaranas for consideration.

In the first pada of the first chapter there are 11 adhikaranas.

The first four adhikaranas namely Jijnasa adhikarana, Janmadi adhikarana, Sastra yonitwa adhikarana and Samanvayadhikarana belong to the same Petika as all the four adhikaranas which are introductory in nature have a common feature of overruling the objections raised by the Purvapakshin (opponents) for commencing the study of Brahman.

The next three Adhikaranas namely Ikshathyadhikarana, Anandamayadhikarana and Anthar Adhikarana belong to the second Petika because that say that a non-sentient being cannot be Brahman, Jiva cannot be Brahman and a virtuous person who has acquired super human powers like Sage Visvamitra also cannot be Brahman.

The next two adhikaranas namely Akasa Adhikarana and Prana Adhikarana belong to the 3rd petika as both the words Akasa and Prana mean “Brahman”, primarily Lord Sriman Narayana.

The next two adhikaranas namely Jyothiradhikarana and Indra Pranadhikarana belong to the 4th Petika because Lord Sriman Narayana is the inner soul or Antharyami to Jyothi, Indra and Prana.

The first adhikarana is called Jijnasa Adhikarana and the very first sutra is Athatho Brahmajijnasa.  The meaning of the words in this sutra, are as follows.  ‘Atha’ means “afterwards”, that is after doing the Karma vichara in the karma kanda or purva mimamsa, for which sage Jaimini composed sutras.

Atah: means “therefore”, that is, “because of realising the fact that karmas which include the performance of sacrifices like yagas do not confer everlasting and unlimited fruits on the doers.”

Brahma jijnasa means the study of Brahman or discussion about Brahman leading to meditation (Bhakthi yoga) on him which alone confers eternal and unlimited bliss on the meditator.  In other words, attaining Sri Vaikuntha and doing eternal service to the Divine Couple.

Here the Poorvapakshi (opponent) who is a Nirishvara Mimamsaka raises an objection for commencing a discussion on Brahman.  He says that when it is not possible to get the basic concept of Brahman how is it possible to commence an enquiry of Brahman.

The basic concept is called Vyutpatti in sanskrit.  Young children of 2 or 3 years age begin to speak after first knowing about each and every object they come across.

The Nirishvara Mimamsaka says that any idea of any object grasped by the young child is action-oriented.  For example, in the presence of the child which keenly observes every action, let us say that one person tells another person to switch on the fan.  The other person switches on the fan and the fan begins to rotate.  The child which keenly observes this action gets the basic concept of the switch and the fan and this is called action-oriented concept which is called Karye Vyutpatti in Sanskrit.

The other type of Vyutpatti is called Siddhe Vyutpatti which means that the child gets the basic concept of objects which are not action-oriented and which are readily available.

These objects are called are Siddha.

Shri Ramanuja commenting on the first sutra says that an young child is capable of getting Siddhe Vyutpatti also in the following manner.  An elderly person shows to the child every object pointing his finger to-wards the object and telling its name.  If this is done twice or thrice the child becomes familiar with the objects and tells the names.  So both Siddhe Vyutpatti and Karye Vyutpatti are both true and valid.

The Nirishvara Mimamsaka argues that because Brahman is not associated with any action, any idea of Him is not possible.  This argument was refuted by Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja because Siddhe Vyutpatti is also possible in respect of Brahman.   So a discussion about Brahman can be commenced.

The Mundaka Upanishad says that a person after getting disgusted with the fact that mere performance of yagas does not confer upon him the eternal and unlimited bliss, approaches a learned Acharya and presents him a bunch of sticks called Samith in Sanskrit for the daily use of Acharya and requests him to initiate him into the study of Brahman.  Then Acharya starts the initiation.  This is the sum and substance of the first Adhikarana.

The second Adhikarana is called Janmadyadhikarana. The sutra is “Janmadyasya yathah”.  Here again the objection was raised as to how it is possible to enquire into Brahman when Its definition or exclusive characteristic is not clear.

This exclusive characteristic is known as lakshanam in Sanskrit.

This exclusive characteristic is mentioned in the Taittariya Upanishad.  Sage Bhrighu, son of Varuna approached his father and requested him to tell him about Brahman.  The father told Bhrighu that Brahman is ‘That’ which creates, protects and destroys the universe and grants the salvation to those who meditate on “It”.  The meaning of the Sutra is as follows.

Asya – for this universe which we see around us.

Janmadi – Creation, etc. i.e, Protection, Destruction and Liberation.

Yathah:- by whom the above things happen, that is Brahman.

The third Adhikarana is called Sastra yonitvadhikarana and the sutra is “Sastrayonitvat”.

The Purvapakshin or opponent in this Adhikarana is Tarkika or Logician.  There are three means of valid knowledge through which we can cognisise things.

They are (1) Pratyaksham which means sensual perception (2) Anumana which means Inference  (3) Sabda which means verbal testimony.

That means through which we see and know things is called Pratyaksha. In a kitchen where firewood is used for cooking, smoke is seen if the firewood is wet.  So we see smoke and fire together.

If we see smoke at a distant place we infer there is fire.  This is called Anumana Pramana.  If a person in whom we have full faith makes a statement we simply believe it and this is called Sabda pramana.   Vedas including Upanishads are of Supreme authority as they are not authored by anybody.  Every syllable in them  is true and valid to us.

The opponent or the Poorvapakshi of this Adhikarana says that Brahman who cannot be perceived by our senses can be perceived by Anumana or Inference.  When He can be established by anumana itself there is no need to know Him from Upanishads.  The Taittariya Upanishad which has mentioned the exclusive characteristic of Brahman stated above cannot be an authority for establishing Brahman.

To refute this argument the Sage Badarayana composed the sutra of this Adhikarana as stated above.  The meaning of the sutra is as follows.

Sastra yoni – Sastra alone is pramana or authority regarding the existence of Brahman since he cannot be perceived by any other pramanam.

So Brahman is fit to be discussed with the help of Upanishads.   Brahman is therefore called Sastraika samadhigamya which means that He can be comprehended by Vedic sastra only.

The fourth Adhikarana is called Samanvayadhikarana.  The sutra is “Tattu samanvayath”.

The Poorvapakshi or opponent in this Adhikarana is Nirishvara Mimamsaka.

Mimamsaka is the person who accepts the authority of Vedas pertaining to sacrifies or rituals.  He says that any oblation offered to fire confers the appropriate fruit but at the same he does not accept the Brahman.

Nirishvara means non-existence of Ishvara or Brahman.

Finally he makes an objection for starting the study of Brahman stating when discussion about Brahman is useless, purposeless or does not confer any fruit on the inpidual, there is no point in wasting the time, in discussing about Brahman.

So he says that the proposal of studying Brahman may be given up.

This argument is refuted by the Sutrakarar who says that the study or discussion of Brahman who is the Lord Sriman Narayana is not purposeless because Brahman himself is eternal and is of the form of unlimited bliss which is called Nirathisaya Ananda.

So Brahman naturally grants this eternal and unlimited bliss on the inpidual who makes a thorough and complete enquiry into the nature of Brahman and then meditate on him, that is who practices

Bhakthi yoga or does Prapatti at His lotus feet.

The meaning of Sutra is as follows.

Thath – That scriptural authority (Sastra pramanam) for Brahman is confirmed.

Thu – The doubt which arose regarding the above is cleared.

Samanvayath – Because there is good connection between the supreme goal of attainment viz., eternal bliss and Brahman.

As already indicated the above four adhikaranas are introductory in nature and overrule the four objections raised for the commencement of the enquiry into the nature of Brahman.

The above adhikaranas belong to one petika.  Now the study of Brahman commences in all right earnestness.

The question that arises now is as to who is Brahman.  i.e whether Brahman is a non-sentient entity, or a sentient being (Jiva) or whether it is entirely different from the above two.

This question is answered in the succeeding Adhikaranas.  The fifth Adhikarana is called Ikshthyadhikarana.  It has eight sutras and the first sutra is “Ikshatheh: Na Asabdam”.

The topic for discussion in this Adhikarana is the 6th chapter of the Chandogyopanishad which is called Sadvidya.

In this Upanishad the sage Uddalaka initiates his son Svetakethu into the knowledge of Brahman.

Svetakethu, after spending 12 years in Gurukula where he was taught all Vedas and six ancillaries of Vedas comes back to his home.  Because he felt that he has learnt everything under his guru no body was equal to him with whom he can converse and so he remained silent.

His father asked him whether his guru had initiated him into the knowledge of that particular object which is the Supreme controller of the entire universe and by hearing about whom every thing else in this world will be heard, by thinking about whom everything else in this world will be thought of and by knowing whom everything else will be known.  Svethakethu asked his father how could such an entity exist.

Sage Uddalaka gives him three illustrations which of clay, gold and iron.  He says that by knowing about clay which is the basic material for several clay products, all the clay products will be known.  Such is the case regarding Iron and gold.  Similarly by knowing Brahman who is the material, operational and instrumental cause of the entire universe, every thing will be known.  This is called Ekavijnanena sarva vijnanam.  Svethakethu admits that he was not initiated into the knowledge of Brahman by his guru and requests the father to teach him about Brahman.

The father says that before creation, there was only Brahman who is called Sat in this Upanishad.  This Sat includes both Makalakshmi and Lord Sriman Narayana.  This Sat willed and created the universe.  Here the Poorvapakshi or opponent who is a Sankya philosopher says that Sat refers only to primordial matter or Prakrithi which is the cause of the universe.  This Prakrithi is called Asabdam, Pradhanam or Anumanikam.

The Sutrakara refutes the above argument in this first sutra of this Adhikarana and says that Prakrithi, the non-sentient entity cannot be the cause of the universe because it cannot will, being inanimate.  So Sat means only Brahman.

So this Adhikarana establishes the fact that Brahman cannot be a non-sentient entity.

The Next Adhikarana is Anandamayadhikarana which says that Brahman is absolutely different from jiva, the sentient being.  This Adhikarana has 8 sutras.

The Upanishadic text which comes for discussion in this Adhikarana is from Anandavalli of the Taittariya Upanishad.  The Anandavalli starts by saying that one who meditates on Brahman attains Moksha.

That Brahman is satyam which means it does not undergo any transformation and hence different from the human body which undergoes continuous transformation and also different from the unliberated jiva who dwells in the body.

This Brahman is Jnanam, which means He is ever omniscient ( all knowing or sarvajna) and hence different from Muktaatma or a liberated soul.  This Brahmam is Anantham which means He dwells as Antaryami (inner soul) in every being or object and hence he is different from Nityasuris like Anantha, Garuda, Vishvaksena and others.

Brahman dwells in the heart of every living being and also His abode is Vaikuntham.  One who knows this enjoys this Brahmam and his auspicious attributes in the Paramavyoma or Paramapada the Supreme abode.

From this Brahman or Supreme soul the five elements or pancha bhuthas which are sky, air, fire, water and earth are created.  Brahman is again antaryamin to annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya and vijnamayakosas.  Brahman himself is Anandamaya who is different from Vignanamaya who is jiva.  The Upanishad further says that this Brahmam who is the Anandamaya is the cause of the universe.

Then this upanishad identifies several categories of jivas and speaks about the quantum of bliss they enjoy and finally reveals about  Brahmananda as follows.

Brahmananda   – 100 times of  Prajapathi ananda

Prajapathi Ananda   – 100 times of Brihaspathi Ananda.

Brihaspathi Ananda.   – 100 times of Ananda of Indra

Ananda of Indra     – 100 times of Devananda

Devananda      – 100 times of Ananda of karma devathas

Ananda of Karma devathas     –  100 times of ananda of Ajanajana devathas

Ajanajana devathas   – 100 times of ananda of pitris or manes

Ananda of pitris    – 100 times of Ananda of Deva Gandharvas

Ananda of Deva Gandharva   – 100 times of Manushya Gandharva

Manushya Gandharva Ananda  – 100 times of Manushya ananda

So Brahmananda is 10010  =  1020 times of Manushya Ananda

This Brahmananda is the eternal and unlimited bliss which is the salvation or Moksha.

This Brahmananda is enjoyed by all mukthas and Nityas in Sri Vaikuntha forever.  These mukthas are the liberated souls from bondage of samsara and who did Bhakthi yoga or saranagathi also called as prapatti at the Lotus feet of Goddess Mahalakshmi and Lord Sriman Narayana.

The Purvapakshi or the opponent says that this Anandamaya in jiva only because subsequent to this statement in the Upanishad it is said that Anandamaya possesses “body”.  He opines that jiva alone possesses the body and not Paramatma.

This view of the opponent was refuted by the Sutrakara in the first sutra, which is “ Anandamaya Abhyaasaath”.

The meaning of the sutra is Anandamaya – Anandamaya is Brahman and not jiva, because

Abhyaasaath – that is in the later portion of this Upanishad it was stated that Brahmananda is 100 times Prajapati ananda and so on.  This was repeated, starting from Manushya Ananda and ending with Brahmananda as detailed above.  Abhyasa means repition.

The next Adhikarana is Anthara adhikarana which again establishes the fact that Brahman is different from jiva who has acquired spiritual and yogic powers like sage Visvamitra.

This Adhikarana has two sutras and the upanishadic text that comes in for discussion is from the first chapter of the Chandogyopanishad.

This Upanishad says that the person who is seen at the centre of the solar system or Aditya mandala is Brahman or Lord Sriman Narayana.  He possesses very charming and beautiful body with golden hairs and moustache and also with lotus eyes.  He is blemishless.

It is the view of the Poorvapakshin that the person at the centre of the solar system is jiva with yogic and spiritual powers because in the previous adhikarana it was said that Anandamaya possesses body and he is also in the solar system and he should be jiva only.

This view was not accepted because the first sutra in this Adhikarana says “Anthah: Thathh Dharmopadesaath”  The meaning of this sutra is

Anthah:- That which is in the inner side of the solar system is Brahman and not jiva. Because Thath Dharmopadeshath – the attributes of the person in the solar system mentioned in this Upanishad will never apply to a jiva.  The attributes are lotus eyes and blemishlessness.

Next comes the Akasha Adhikarana which has only one sutra.

The discussion in this Adhikarana is on a statement in the first chapter of Chandogyopanishgad which says that all the bhuthas in this world are created by Akasha, they disappear in the Akasha itself at the time of deluge;  Akasha is the thing to be attained by all and  Akasha is superior to everything.  The opponent says that this Akasa refers to the famous akasha that is the sky which we see everywhere.  The sutra is Akashah: Thath lingaat which refutes the above opinion and says and Akasha is Brahman only and not the sky that we see.

Akasha means that which is glowing bright on all sides and this aspect is applicable only to Paramatma.  The meaning of the sutra is “Akasa – is Paramatma or Brahman because,

Thallingaah – Some exclusive characteristics mentioned in this context  in the Upanishad are applicable to Paramatma only and not to the famous sky which we see.

The next Adhikaranam is Prana Adhikarana which has also only one sutra.

The upanishadic text that comes for discussion is from the Chandogyopanishad only.  This text says that all beings get merged in Prana at the time of pralaya or deluge and reappear in this world from Prana only.

The opponent says that this Prana is the breath which makes every sentient being to breathe.  The Sutrakarar opposes this view and prana is Paramatma only and not the breath.

Paramatma is called Prana here because only on accounbt of his will everybody lives in this world.  The Sutra is Atha Eva Pranah: which means

Pranah:  is Paramatma and not the breath because,

Atha eva – for the same reason as in the case of Akasha.

Next comes Jyothiradhikarana and the Sangathi between the previous Prana Adhikarana and this is prathyudahrithi.  Prathyudaharana means counter illustration. This requires an elaboration.

In the previous Adhikarana (Prana Adhikarana) it was mentioned Prana is the creator of the universe as per the Chandogyopanishad.  Prana generally means the breath (breathing).  As breath is a form of air, it cannot be the creator.  So Prana must refer to Brahman only.

In this Jyothiradhikarana the particular Upanishadic text for discussion is in the Chandogyopanishad in which it is said the effulgence ( light with unlimited brightness) which is glowing in Sri Vaikuntham and it is same as  that which is bail juice secreted in the liver of a body for the digestion of the food we eat.  This is called Jataragni.  In this Upanishadic statement there is no indication of Brahman in the first sentence itself and also when it is said that the effulgence is same as Jataragni.  This becomes a counter illustration.

So the doubt arises whether the Jyothi which means effulgence refers to Brahman at all.  So the Purvapakshi says that Jyothi refers to ordinary sunlight or any other light.

The Sutrakarar gives the judgement that the word Jyothi means Brahman or Lord Sriman Narayanana because of the fact that in this Upanishadic text it is said that all sentinet beings (Jivas) dwelling in the non-sentient bodies (mortal bodies) in this universe are a quarter part of the infinite Brahman and three quarters are in Sri Vaikuntha.

This does not apply to ordinary sunlight and the word Jyothi means Paramatma (Supreme Soul) and his being same as Jataragni means that he is the inner soul or Antaryami of Jatharagni which is his body.  Unless “Brahman” is effulgence of infinite brightness he cannot become the creator of the universe.

The next Adhikarana is Indra Pranadhikarana in which the upanishadic text that comes for discussion is from the Kaushitaki Upanishad.

The link or sangathi with the preceding Jyothir adhikarana is as follows.  In the Jyothir Adhikarana it was proved that the word Jyothir means Paramapurusha or Paramatma.  The Purvapakshin says that it is not correct because Indra has been referred to as Supreme Being in the Kausitaki Upanishad.

To remove the doubt this Adhikarana becomes relevent.  So the sangathi becomes Apavada because the statement of the Jyothir Adhikarana appears to be otherwise.  The Upanishadic text says that Pratardana the son of Divodasi who was known for his valour went to svarga loka to meet lord Indra.

Indra who was pleased with him, asked him to seek a boon.  Pratardana told Indra, “You know everything and therefore grant a boon which will be the best interest of human beings.  Indra asked Pratardana to meditate upon him because he is Prana and Amritha.  The best interest to human beings which is hitatama is the attainment of moksha or eternal bliss.  So the doubt arises here whether it is possible for a person to attain moksha by meditating upon Indra who is also in the bondage of Samsara like us.

The real meaning of this Upanishadic text is that Indra asked Pratardana to meditate upon the antaryamin or inner soul of Indra.  That Antaryamin is Lord Sriman Narayana who alone has the power to grant Moksha.  So in this  Upanishad Indra means Paramatma who has Indra who is a jiva as his body.

So the Sutrakara gives judgement that Sriman Narayana is the antaryamin to Prana and Indra and he is Ananda, Ajara (which means that he does not have old age) and Amritha (which means there is no transformation in his nature or form).

So the first pada ends with this Adhikarana and Sri Vedanta Desika beautifully gives the list of the auspicious attributes of Lord Sriman Narayana as contained or enshrined in the 11 Adhikaranas in his famous work of Adhikarana Saravali.  The auspicious attributes are

Akritha – He is there in Vaikuntha Divya Loka forever.

Vishvahethu – He is the creator or cause of the universe which is his unique feature.

Sastraika sthapaniyah – He is to be established by vedic scriptures only.

Nirupadhiparama prema yogyah – He is infinite and eternal bliss.

Svechchatah: Sarvahethuh:- By his own will he has become the cause of the entire universe.

Subhaguna vibhava Anantha Nissema harshah – Repository of all infinite and auspicious attributes.

Suddha Akarma uththa Divyakrithih:- He has a beautiful and pine form or body which is Aprakritha and free from Rajoguna and Thamo guna.

Anupadhika Akasanadi Svabhavah:- He is unlimited in respect of space, time, substance and glows all round.

Saprana Aprana bhedha Vyathibhidura jagath prananah:- He makes both antimate and inantimate objects to live.

Divyadeepthi:- He is Effulgence with unlimited brightness.

Pranendradi Antharatma:- He is the inner soul or Antaryami to Prana and Indra.

The above are the 11 auspicious attributes of Lord  Sriman Narayana in the 11 Adhikaranas of the first pada which is called Ayoga Vyavachcheda Pada  in which the non-connection of Upanishadic statements dealing with creation of universe with Sriman Narayana is removed.

Yoga means connection.

The second pada of the first cheapter  has 6 Adhikaranas and they will deal with the Upanishadic texts in which Jiva and non-sentient beings are ruled out from being the cause for the creation of universe. So this pada is called Anya Yoga Vyavachcheda.  In this pada it said that the entire universe is the body of Paramatma the Supreme Being.

The first Adhikarana in this pada is “Sarvatra Prasiddhi Adhikarana” which takes up for discussion a text from the Chandogya upanishad which says that what we see around is Brahman and he is the creator, protector and destroyer of the universe and that He is to be meditated upon with a peaceful mind. In the previous Adhikarana, that is Indraprana Adhikarana it was said that  the cause for the creation of the universe is Paramatma whose bodies are Indra and Prana.

In this Adhikarana the doubt is whether jiva has been mentioned as Jagathkarana vastu is dispelled.  The reason for the above doubt is that one who has assumed several bodies in innumerable births is alone fit to be an object which we see all round and that he should be the creator of the universe.

The Sutrakarar says that Jiva cannot be the cause of the universe because this Upanishadic text sepcifically mentions that Brahman is popular and famous in being the inner soul of all the objects in the universe and that he alone is fit to be the creator, protector and destroyer of the universe because it is in consonance or in agreement with other Upanishadic sayings which say in one voice that Brahman, lord Sriman Narayana is the cause of the universe.  The sutra is “Sarvatra prasiddha upadeshath”.

Sarvatra prasiddha means that paramatma is famous everywhere in being the antaryamin and at the same time being the cause of the universe.  The above upanishadic statement which started saying that what we see all round is Brahman, meaning everything or object has Brahman as its inner soul and further lists out twelve auspicious attributes (kalyana gunas) of  Brahman.

They are – Brahman can be perceived by a pure mind only, he has breath(prana) as his body, he has the most beautiful form or body, he has the will or sankalpa which cannot be altered, he is Akasa, Atma, that is he is inner soul to Akasa or sky, he has the entire universe as his body  because it is created by him, he has all the purest and enjoyable objects, his body has all the excellent fragrance, he has accepted all the good tastes, he does not speak to any body because he does not expect any thing from others and because he has got with him what all he wants.

The second Adhikarana in this pada is called “Attr Adhikarana” which has a statement from Katho upanishad as the topic for discussion.  In the concluding part of the previous Adhikarana it was said that though Lord Sriman Narayana dwells in the heart of every being along with Jiva, he is not subject to any suffering or enjoyment which jiva undergoes, which means, that Jiva eats the fruits of his past deeds.  So the doubt arose that wherever eating is mentioned in Upanishads, the eater should be jiva only and not paramatma.  To dispel this doubt this Adhikarana came in for consideration.

The Kathopanishad is a conversation or a dialogue between Nachiketas and Lord Yama who is called Mrityu.  Yama answered all questions put forth by Nachiketas.  While answering the questions, Yama tells Nachiketa that he who will be able to perceive a person who eats like food all the moving and non moving objects in this world ( both sentient and non sentient beings or both animate and in animate entities) at the time of the deluge of the universe with the aid of Lord Rudra who is called Mrityu in this particular context, Using him as condiment (upasechana) is referred to in this context.  Upasechana is an eatable substance which helps in consuming rice mixed with butter milk.  In other words, Upasechana is a substance which is not only eaten but also helps in eating other things.

So the question arises here whether the eater is Jiva or Paramatma because the former is not only the eater of the food to make himself live in the body but also the eater of the karmaphala, as stated earlier.

To remove this doubt the Sutrakara said in the sutra “Atta charaachara grahanaath” which means, Atta, the eater is Paramatma Sriman Narayana because of the entire universe comprising chara-achara (sentient and non-sentient beings) is consumed by him at the time of deluge.  In fact Puranas and Azhwars say that He keeps the entire universe safe in his belly at the time of deluge and ejects it out at the time of creation.

The third Adhikarana in this second pada is named Antaraa Adhikarana.  The topic for discussion in this adhikarana is a passage in the Chandogyopanishad in which a Guru called as Satyakama preaches to a student called Upakosala the knowledge of Brahman.  Before teaching, Upakosala was initiated into the kinowledge of Brahman by three Agnis (fires) called Ahavaneeya, Garhapatya, and Dakshina which were used by the Guru for doing the daily ritual of Agnihotra, after getting pleased with Upakosala’s service to Agnis during the absense of Guru for nearly a year.

In the preceding Adhikarana it was said that the person is able to perceive the Paramatma who eats the universe and he cannot be seen. So the doubt arises whether what could not be seen can be Paramatma. This doubt is cleared in this adhikarana.

The Upanishadic text pertaining to this Adhikarana says that the person who is seen or appears in the eyes of a meditator is the Paramatma who is the supreme controller of the entire universe and he is enjoyable unlimitedly, not mixed with any sorrow even to the slightest extent and who is infinite both with regard to his nature (svarupa) and auspicious attributes (Kalyana gunas).  Further he is the repository of all kalyana gunas and possesses a form that is Divya mangala vigraha having unlimited brightness.

The doubt arises here whether the person appearing in the eyes of the meditator could be an image reflecting in the eye, jiva or a celestial god (Devatavishesha) because he is actually seen in the eye whereas Brahman or Sriman Narayana cannot be seen by naked eyes.

To clear this doubt the sage Badarayana delivers the judgement in the sutra “Anthara Upapaththe:” which means that person who appears in the eyes is Paramatma or Brahman only and none else as he alone possesses the supreme virtues of Amritatva (enjoyable), Abhayatva ( not mixed with sorrow), Brahmatva (infiniteness), Samyathvamatva (Repository of kalyana gunas), Bhamanitva (Divya mangala vigraha of infinite brightness) which are the unique and exclusive characteristics of Brahman and which are not applicable to jivas, images or other celestial gods.

The fourth Adhikarana in this pada is named as Antaryami adhikarana. This adhikarana is sequentially next to the previous adhikarana because of the fact the judgement in the previous adhikarana was that who ever appears in the eyes is paramatma. This Adhikarana reinforces the above fact.

The Upanishadic text which forms the topic for discussion and which is called Vishayavakyas is found in the Antharyami Brahmana of Brihadranyaka upanishad.  The Antharyami Brahmana is the very foundation of the Visishtadvaitha philosophy without which Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja could not have established the Visishtadvaitha philosophy.  The Antharyami Brahmana is also known as Ghataka Sruthi.  Ghataka means mediation which effects a compromise between two rival or diametrically opposite statements of Upanishad which are Abheda and Bheda.  Advaita is monism, Dwaitha is dualism where as Visishtadvaitha is qualified monoism.  Advaita system was established by Sri Adisankara Bhagavatpada and Dwaitha system by Sri Madhvacharya.

Advaita is based on the upanishadic texts called Abhedha srutis which mean to say,  “You are Brahman” and “I am brahman, the Supreme Being”.  The words ‘you’ and ‘I’ refer the jivas only.  So Sri Sankara says that Brahman himself is Jiva and Jiva is not different from Brahman because of the fact that Brahman himself assumes the formof the illusory jiva or on account of Avidya, which means ignorance.  When jiva realises that he is same as Brahman from the upadesha of an Acharya he becomes one with Brahman or Brahman himself.  The upanishadic statement which tells “abhedha” is Tattvamasi which is a four syllabled one in Sanskrit. The knowledge of “abhedha” ( non difference between jivatma and paramatma) obtained from this statement is called “vakyajanya jnana”.  For Advaitins this “vakya janya jnana” itself is the means for salvation.

Sri Madhvacharya says that Jivatma is entirely different from paramatma and there is absolutely no relationship between them.  According to him Jivatma who is called Bhoktha in Bhedasruti, Prakriti the nonsentient being called as Bhogyam in the same Bheda Sruti and Paramatma who is called Preritha (Controller) in the same Bheda sruti, are entirely different from one another and the person who possesses this bhedha knowledge, that is knowledge of difference, attains moksha.

So Abheda sruti and Bheda sruti are diametrically opposite and mutually contradicting.  But in Vedas every syllable is an authority or pramana to us and this axiom is called as “Sarvashakha Pratyayanyaya”.  So the problem arises that if the Abheda sruti is accepted, the Bheda sruti is to be rejected which means its authority is lost.  If Bheda sruti is accepted the Abheda sruti is to be rejected and it loses its authority.  Both the above are against the above Nyaya (axiom).

So Shri Bhagavad Ramanuja discovered the Ghataka sruti in the Antharyami Brahmanam and effected a compromise between the above two contradicting srutis and restored the relevence of “Sarvashakha pratyayanyaya”. The meaning of this Nyaya is that all Vedic texts including upanishads are of supreme authority to us. Each and every sylable is true an only proper interpretation is required for statements which appear to be mutally contradicting. This Ghataka sruti in a nutshell says that both sentient beings (jivas) and non sentient beings (Animate objects and Inanimate objects) are bodies of Paramatma and this is called “Sarira Atma Bhava”, or “body and soul” relation.  So body and soul are two distinct entities which are inseparable from each other.  This means body does not exist without soul and soul does not exist without a body.  When both sentient and non sentient beings become the body of the Supreme soul, that is paramatma, who is identified as Lord Sriman Narayana in the Subalopanisdhad,  Sriman Narayana as supreme soul or Anrtaryami should co-exists with jivas and Achetana objects always, and He becomes inseparable from them.  So this establishes the validity of both Abhedha and Bheda srutis.

The meaning of the Antharyami Brahmana is as follows.  “He who dwells in the earth, who he is different from earth, whom the earth does not know, to whom the earth is the body and who controls the actions of the earth from within is the supreme soul and is Antharyami to you also” and he is most enjoyable.

The Antharyami Brahmana is a dialogue been sage Yajnavalkya and sage Uddalaka who is the son of Aruni.  In the above text the word ‘you’ refers to Uddalaka who put a question to Yajnavalkya and elicited answer from him.  Yajnavalkya identifies 21 objects and repeats the statement as mentioned above.  The 21 objects are Earth, Water, Fire, Sky (Anthariksha), Air, Heaven, Sun (Surya), Direction (Dik), Moon and stars, Akasa, Darkness, Thejas, All bhutas, Prana (Breath), speech, eyes, ears, mind, skin, jivatma and semen.

Just as he said in relation to earth, he says that “he who dwells with jiva, who is different from jiva, whom jiva does not know and to whom jiva is body and who controls the actions of jiva from within, is also supreme soul or antaryami” who is Lord Sriman Narayana who is able to perceive things without senses like eyes, ears etc.  whereas in the case jiva, he is able to perceive things only through his senses.  This clearly establishes the fact that paramatma is different from jivatma.

In spite of the above, the purvapakshi (opponent) says that this Antaryami is jiva only because the sensual perception is applicable to jiva only and not to paramatma; it is also said that there is seer other than jivatma.  The Sutrakara refutes this argument and says that “Antaryami is paramatma only in the sutra Antaryami Adhidaivadi lokadishu thaddharmavyapadesath.  “It means, Antaryami is paramatma only because in the Antaryami Brahmana it is said that the Lord who is blemishless, is the Antaryami.

The fifth Adhikarana in the 2nd pada is Adrisyathvadi Gunakadhikarana.  This adhikarana comes in the wake of the fact that in the previous adhikarana it was said that the Brahman can see even without senses.  So where the act of seeing is not heard, that object should be other than Brahman.  It can be even Prakrithi or Pradhana which is primoridal matter.  In this adhikarana the above point is refuted.

The topic for discussion in this adhikarana is a text in Mundaka upanishad which belongs to Atharva veda.  In this sage Sannaka approaches the sage Angirasa and asks him, “Which is the object by knowing which every thing else will be known in the world?”.  In other words, the question is about the person who is the cause of the universe  by knowing whom everything else in the universe can be known.  Sage Angirasa replies Sannaka saying that there are two branches of learning to be known which are called aparavidya and paravidya.  The aparavidya refers to Rigveda, Yajur veda, Sama veda and Atharva veda and six ancillaries of these four Vedas.  These six ancillaries are siksha, vyakarana, chandas, niruktham, jyothisham and kalpa.  These have already been elaborated and need not be repeated here.  The above include epics like Srimad Ramayana, Sri Mahabharatha and puranas.

The Paravidya is about Brahman who is named as Akshara in this upanishad.  About this Akshara this upanishad says that the Supreme Being which is akshara cannot be perceived by knowledge rising from five senses which are eyes, ears, nose, skin and tongue and by actions of by five karmendriyas which are hands, speech, legs, excretory and genital organs.  He does not belong to any gothram or race.  It does not have any caste like Brahmana, Kshatria etc.  He does not have senses.  He is eternal and omnipresent.  He is capable of entering into any being as antharyami- both sentient and non-sentient because of his atomic size and he is seen as the cause of the entire universe by the wise.  There is another statement in the same upanishad which says that Brahman is superior to jiva and jiva is superior to prakriti which is also called Akshara.  So the doubt naturally arises whether the word Akshara mentioned in this upanishad really refers to Brahman  (Paramatma).  The Poorvapakshi says that the only jiva and prakriti are relevant in this context.  To refute this argument the sutra comes here, which is “Adrishyatvadi Gunaka Dharmoktheh:”.  This means that the person who was mentioned as not perceivable by the senses in the paravidya, is paramatma as he is mentioned as omniscient and possessing other virtues.

The sixth or last adhikarana in this pada is named as “Vaishvanara” Adhikarana.  In the previous adhikarana it was mentioned at the end that the Lord Sriman Narayana who was named as Akshara has the three worlds as his body and he is called Trailokya Sariraka.  The Mundaka upanishad says that for this Trailokya sariraka paramatma,  Agni or fire is the head,  sun and moon are his eyes; the directions are his ears; the Vedas are his speech; Air is his breath; the universe is his heart and the earth, his feet.  Finally he was described as Sarvabhutha Antaratma, that he is the inner soul or antaryami to all beings.  An objection was raised that Trailokya sarirakatvam need not be exclusively for Lord Sriman Narayana and it can be even in relation to some body else.  So to reestablish that this is applicable to Sriman Narayana only this Adhikaranam has to find a place. The Upanishadic text for discussion in this Adhikarana is from the 5th chapter in Chandogyopanishad.

The five great sages whose names are Pracheena sala, Satya yagua, Indradyumna, Jana, Budila who were all well read, discussed among themselves regarding supreme soul that is Brahman and could not come to a conclusion.  So they went  to the sage Uddalaka who was meditating on Vaisvanara for getting their doubts cleared.  But Uddalaka confessed his inability to clear their doubts and thereafter all the six sages went to the King Aswapathi of Kekaya kingdom.

The King received the sages and asked the purpose of their visit.  The sages told him that they have come to him to get their doubts cleared and get initiated into the Vaisvanara Bramavidya which is a means for attaining salvation.  The king called each sage separately and elicited answers from them regarding the manner or way in which they are engaged in meditation.

He then corrected the view of each sage regarding Vaisvanara purusha and told them that the combined perception of all the six sages in the form of Vaisvanara is the ultimate answer purusha who is Lord Sriman Narayana himself.

Here the doubt is fourfold because the word Vaisvanara refers to bail juice, the third bhutha which is agni, the celestial god Vaisvanara and Paramatma.  So the purvapakshi or the opponent says that it is very difficult to establish that Vaisvanara is paramatma only and none else because of the above doubts.

So in the light of the above the Sutrakara delivers the judgement in the sutra.  Vaisvanara:  Sadharana sabda visheshath, “which means vaisvanara:  is paramatma because there are some attributes mentioned in this context which exclusively apply to him and to none else.

In this adhikarana sage Badarayana gives his opinion of far reaching consequence and very important to Visishtadvaitha system of philosophy.  He says that every name of the celestial god mentioned in Vedas can be made directly applicable to Lord Sriman Narayana by examining the root of every name and suffix to the root.  For example the name Agni applies directly to paramatma by analysing the name as Agram Nayathi which means, Sriman Narayana leads all the jivas who have done Bhakthi yoga or prapatti, to Moksha.  Similarly Vaisvanara means visvesham Naranam Neta a meaning the same thing as above.  Similarly Rudra means Lord Sriman Narayana because he alone melts the disease of samsara by granting Moksha  and so on.

The whole of Samanvaya Adhyaya deals with upanishadic texts referring to Brahman who is the cause of the universe either directly or indirectly ruling out Jiva and Prakriti (Non-sentient matter) from being the cause of the universe

In the third pada there are ten Adhikaranas out of which seven adhikaranas are within the context and three adhikaranas are out of context. The adhikaranas within the context are said to have “Sakshath Sangathi” which means “direct link” with one another and three adhikaranas which are out of context are called “prasangikam”(Contextual).

The third pada of the first chapter is “Spashta jivadi linga” pada because the Upanishadic texts that come up for discussion clearly point towards jiva or prakrithi giving room to the doubt that they may be the cause for the universe. This is refuted by the Sutrakara in all the seven adhikaranas.

1. The first adhikarana is called Dyubhvadi Adhikarana. It has six sutras.

The link, sequence or sangathi to this adhikarana with the one in the previous pada is as follows.

In the fifth adhikarana of the previous pada that is Adrisyathvadi Gunakadhikarana, it was established that the word Akshara mentioned in that Adhikarana pertains to paramatma only and not to Jiva or Primordial matter, Prakrithi. Some again doubt that it may be Jiva because of the subsequent utterances in the same Mundaka Upanishad which has a clear pointer towards Jiva. This is refuted here.

The Upanishadic text that comes for discussion in this Adhikarana is from Mundaka Upanishad. This text states as follows.

Paramatma (Brahman) who is Akshara supports Heaven, Earth, Sky, Mind, Breath and which are interconnected with him and he is to be known as the supreme controller and encompassing the entire universe.  So the talk of things other than paramatma has to be given up. He is the bridge for the salvation in other words, he is the bridge for the ocean of samsara or bondage in which the opposite shore is Vaikuntha Divyaloka and this bridge directly leads to Moksha which is called Amritha in this Upanishad. This paramatma dwells in the heart of every being and he is just like the hub of a wheel which is connected to the rim of the wheel by spokes. So also here paramatma is connected to all the parts of the body through thousands of blood vessels known as “Nadis”. He undertakes several births although there is no need to him to be born. He is omniscient and he knows every aspect of every being. He is to be meditated upon through ‘pranava’.

The Poorvapakshi or opponent says that the word Akshara does not mean paramatma and it clearly means Jiva because of his connection with nadies and taking innumerable births in this world.

This is refuted by Sutrakara who says in the first sutra, which is Dyubhvadyatanam svasabdaath. The meaning of this sutra is as follows.

Dhyubhvadyayatanam – The supporter of heaven, earth etc. is paramatma because,

Svasabdaath – the exclusive characteristics of ‘Paramatma’ are mentioned in this context.

The exclusive characteristics are :

1. Supporter of all objects in the universe

2. He is the bridge for the ocean of samsara leading to Moksha.

3. The word Atma mentioned in the Upanishad in this context exclusively refers to paramatma.

4. Being omniscient and knowing every aspect of every being and this cannot apply to Jiva and it is applicable to paramatma only.

5. Even though paramatma need not take birth in this world as there is no karma to him, still he takes several births on his own volition in the form of incarnations or avataras like Lord Rama and Lord Krishna to punish the wicked people and save good people. It is also said in this upanishad that when a Jiva who has done Bhakthi yoga or saranagathi sees the most charming and beautiful body of paramatma called Divyamangala vigraha when he attains Moksha after shedding his punya and papa and connection with samsara and becomes equal to Lord Sriman Narayana in all aspects except a few.

So this proves that the word Akshara in this Upanishad refers to Paramata only and not the Jiva.

2.The Second Adhikaranam in this pada is called Booma Adikaranam. The connection or sangathi with the previous adhikarana is that in the previous adhikarana there was no break in the context of Paramatma and hence it was established that Akshara is Paramatma. In the upanishadic  text of this Adhikarana there is no break in the context of Jiva and the doubt arises that this upanishadic text refers to Jiva only. This doubt is dispelled in this Adhikarana.

The upanishadic text that comes for discussion is the seventh chapter of Chandogyopanishad. This Chapter is called “Bhooma Vidya Prakaranam”. Brief summary of this upnishadic text is as follows: Sage Narada approaches sage Sanath Kumara and requests him to initiate him into the knowledge of Brahman. Sage Narata tells Sage Sanathkumara that he has mastered all branches of learning like Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvanaveda, epic Srimad Ramayana, Puranas, fifth veda which is Sri Mahabharatha, grammar, the subject connected with performance of ceremonies, Mathematics, subject dealing with the prediction of natural disasters, subject dealing with the way of locating underground hidden wealth, logic, subject dealing with the performance of pujas in the temples  which is called Ekayana Sakha. Subject dealing with the meditation on celestials (Devathas), six ancillaries of Vedas, subject dealing with making the people subordinate, archery, astrology, subject dealing with the capturing of snakes which is called Garudavidya, subject dealing with music and dance, Ayurveda (indigenous medicines).

Narada further says that in spite of his mastering all the above branches of learning, he is distressed because he has not acquired knolwedge about brahman and he is not Atma vith. The word Atma refers to Paramatma only. He requests sage sanatkumara to relieve from distress by initiating him into the knowledge of brahman.

Sanathkumara instead of straightaway preaching to him about Bahman mentions several objects and tells Narada to meditate on each object treating it as brahman or paramatma. The objects are Nama (name), speech, mind, will, determination, strength, food, water, fire, sky, Manmatha, directions, prana meaning jiva and finally Paramatma called Sathya in this Upanishad.

Narada meditates on each starting from Nama and not convinced with the same comes again to Sanathkumara and asked whether there is any object superior to one on which he meditated earlier. After meditating on prana (meaning jiva in this context) he did not ask Sanathkumara whether there is any object superior to prana. Though prana means breath, it refers to Jiva in this context because jiva will always be with prana.

Finally Sanatkumara tells Narada that where a person does not see anything else, does not hear anything else, does not know anything else., That is Bhooma which is infinite bliss and where something else is seen, heard or known is insignificant.

Sanatkumara further tells Narada to meditate uporn satya the paramatma who is the supreme goal.

Narada further asks Sanathkumara as to who is the supporter of the entire universe. Sanathkumara replies that Paramatma (Brahman) is the supporter. Narada again asks that who is the supporter of Paramatma for which the reply is Paramata supports himself  and there is no separate supporter.

Here the interpretation of the word Bhooma is under question. The Poorvapakshi or the Opponent says that Bhooma is Jiva only and not Paramatma because the preaching by Sanatkumara to Narada stopped at prana which means Jiva in this context. This argument is refuted by the Sutrakara by the first sutra in this adhikarana which states “Bhumaa samprasadaath Adhyupadesath”. The meaning of  sutra is as follows.

Bhooma is Paramatma because, Samprasadaath Adhyupadesath – Samprasada is Jiva and Paramatma has been told in this upanishad as superior to Jiva from all aspects. Further the meaning of Bhooma is infinite bliss. Some exclusive characteristics of paramatma are mentioned here which are paramatma is supreme goal by his inherent nature. Paramatma supports himself and he is the antaryami or inner soul to all beings.

3. The Third Adhikarana in this pada is named as Aksharadhikarana. This has three sutras. The link or ‘sangathi’ with the previous Adhikarana is as follows.

In the previous Adhikarana it was said that paramatma supports himself. This Adhikarana comes to remove the doubt that the object other than Brahman (Paramatma) is also self supporting.

The Upanishadic text which is Vishayavakya for this Adhikarana is from Brihadaranyaka upanishad.

King Janaka of Mithila kingdom convenes a conference of all sages who are all having deep knowledge of Brahman and announces a fabulous prize of 1000 cows  with calves and with gold placed on each horn of each cow to the person who has the deepest knowledge of the Brahman.  Initially for some time in the conference nobody rose up and claimed that he has the deepest knowledge of Paramatma.  After some time Sage Yajnavalkya rose up and called his student and asked him to drive all the cows with calves to his hermitage. Seeing this all the others suddenly got up from their seats in protest as to how Yajnavalkya can grab that fabulous prize without proving that he is brahmanishta having the deepest knowledge. After the din calmed down the sages who had assembled there began the put questions one after the other to Yajnavalkya on brahman which Yajnavalkya replies calmly and convincingly.  A lady whose name is Gargi puts two questions  to Yajnavalkya.  Even in those days women had equal rights with men in acquiring knowledge about Brahman.

Her first question was,  Oh Yajnavalkya, in which object the lokas or worlds below earth (Bhooloka), the lokas above heaven and the lokas in between heaven and earth are connected lengthwise and breadthwise as in the case of the cloth in which the threads are interlaced lengthwise and breadthwise.

Yajnavalkya’s reply to the above was that Akasha is the object in which all the worlds are interlaced.  Gargi was happy with this reply and saluted him.  Her second question was that in which object Akasa is connected or supported?  Yajnavalkya’s reply was that Akshara is the object with which Akasha is connected or Akshara supports the Akasha.

He further says that this Akshara is not stout, is not slim, is not tall, is not short, not reddish, or without a form, sinless, not oily, not dark, not air, not sky, not tasty, not eyes, not ears, not speech, not mind, not fire, not breath, not having face, not having senses, it is not inside, it is not out side, it does not eat any thing.   This Akshara is the supreme controller of everything including the sun and moon.

Here the interpretation of word Akshara is under question. The opponent says that this Akshara should be either Prakriti (Primordial matter) or Jiva and it cannot be Paramatma.  His argument is in Gargi’s question in which it was asked what is the support of Akasha. Akasha is supported by prakrithi or pradhanam only so akshara is prakriti only. He also says because any inanimate object is supported by Jiva only this Akshara may be even Jiva.

This Argument is refuted by Sutrakara in his sutra, “Aksharam Ambaranthadhrutheh:”.   This means as follows.

Aksharam – is paramatma because,  Ambaranthedhrutheh : – This Paramatma is said to support Avyakritham or Prakrithi which is the cause of the Ambaram or sky which we see.

In the second sutra Akshara being Jiva was ruled out. So Akshara is Paramatma.

4. The 4th Adhikarana in this pada is named as Ekshathi karmadhikarana.  It has only one sutra.

The connection of this Adhikarana or sangathi with the previous Adhikarana is as follows.

In the concluding portion of the upanishadic text of the previous Adhikarana it was said that Paramatma cannot be seen by our naked eyes which means that his Divyatma Svarupa which is every where cannot be seen.

So the doubt arises that purusha who is said in the upanishadic text of this Adhikarana as could be seen cannot be Paramatma. This doubt is cleared in this Adhikarana. The Vishayavakya (Upanishadic text) which comes for discussion in this Adhikarana is from Prasnopanishath.

In this Prasnopanishath six sages whose names are Sukesha, Satyakama, Gargya, Kausalya, Bhargava and Kabandhi approach the sage Pippalada for getting initiated in the knowledge of Brahman. Pippalada tells them to observe strict celibacy for one year and then come to him for asking questions and getting replies to them from him. With humility sage Pippalada tells them that if he knows the replies to their questions then he will reply.

Each of the above sages puts questions and elicits answers from him. So this Prasnopanishath contains six questions and answers to them.

Sage Satyakama’s question is that if a person meditates on pranava till his death to which world he goes.

The meditation on pranava is called Pranava upasana. There are three types of Pranava upasana.

1. Ekamatra pranava upasana

2. Dvimatra pranava upasana

3. Trimatra pranava upasana

Matra denotes an instant or moment.

So ‘Ekamatra’ indicates the normal time taken to utter pranava mantra. Dvimatra is the double the time taken to utter the same pranava which means slower than that of Ekamatra pranava and thrice the time taken in Trimatra pranava upasana.

The fruits of the above Upasanas are (1) for Ekamatra pranava the meditator attains manushya loka which in other words that Rigveda mantras confer on him manushya loka which again means he commands respect and position in this world and later begins to meditate on paramatma. The meditator of Dvimatra pranava attains a or heaven and he is taken to this loka by the mantras in yajur veda and after enjoying the pleasures he is reborn again in this world.

3. The meditator of Trimatra pranava attains Sri Vaikuntha Divyaloka and he is taken to this loka by the mantras in Samaveda.  During meditation he sees Paramatma in his own self.  This Paramatma is called “parat param purisayam purusham”, because he dwells within the heart of the meditator as antaryami.  This Antaryami is superior to Jiva ghana that is 4 headed Brahma. The doubt that arises here is whether this “parat parampurusha” is Hiranyagarbha, otherwise called the Chathurmukha Brahma or Paramatma.

The poorvapakshi says that he is Hiranyagarba only because his loka is logically above heaven which is above manushya loka and this parat parampurusha which is the object of meditation is Hirayana garba.

This argument is refuted in the sutra “Eekshathikarma vyapadeshat sa:” which means sa : is paramathma who is the Lord Sriman Narayana because, “Eekshathi karma” – the object of meditation and also the object of being seen during meditation.

Vyapadesat – only for the paramatma some exclusive characteristics are mentioned in the upanishad which are,  he is without urmishatka which are hunger, thirst, sorrow, illusion, old age and death and without fear and is supreme because he is the cause of the entire universe.

5. The fifth adhikarana in the third pada is named Daharadhikarana. This has ten sutras.

The link or ‘sangathi’ with the previous adhikara is as follows.

In the previous adhikarana the person who dwells in the heart of every body was proved as paramatma. The same pramatma is said to be sky which is famous and which we see. So the doubt arises that who dwells in the heart as antaryami may not be paramatma. This doubt is cleared in this adhikarana.

The upanishadic text that logically comes up for discussion is the last chapter that is 8th chapter of Chandogyopanishad which deals with Daharavidya which is a brahma vidya a means for attainment of moksha.

This upanishadic text says that the human body which has nine openings or exit points which are 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 noses, mouth and two excretory organs & is the place in which the lord Sriman Narayana dwells. This body is called brahmapura. It is said that this lord is to be meditated upon and also the eight auspicious attributes which are within the Lord Srimath Narayana. He is called Daharaakasha or simply Dahara because the place in the heart of human body where he dwells is small and lotus shaped. Dahara means very small. The eight auspicious attributes are.

1.  Apahatapapma – sinless or blemishless

2. Vijarah: – not having old age or not suffering from old age.

3. Vimrutyuh     : – not subject to death.

4. Vishokah:- not subject to any kind of sorrow.

5. Vijightsah:- does not have hunger

6. Apipasah:- does not have thurst.

7. Satyakamah:- capable of getting every desire fulfilled.

8. Satya sankalpah        : capable of doing everything which he wills.

These eight attributes are called “Gunashtaka”.  The Upanishad further says that this Dahara Akasha is abundant as the sky we see and he is the support for bhogya, bhogasthana, bhogopakarana and Bhoktha.

Here Bhoktha is the enjoyer who is jiva,

Bhogya is the object of enjoyment

Bhogasthana is the place of enjoyment

Bhogopakarana – Things which are useful for enjoyment.

In this world whatever the human being desires, is within dahara aksha which in other words means that “daharakasha” who is ‘paramatma’ is the supreme object of enjoyment.

This Upanishad further says that one who medidates on Daharakasa and also on the eight attributes attain the salvation after getting liberated from the bondage of samsara.  After reaching Sri Vaikuntha Divyaloka,  for the ‘mukthatma’ the above eight “gunas” which are dormant while in bondage of samsara on account of karma which comprises of punya and papa, blossom which in the words mean that mukthatma also possesses these 8 gunas and becomes equal to the Lord Sriman Narayana.  Mukthatma becomes free to travel anywhere and everywhere and sees every object in the universe as the body and subordinate to the Paramatma. The Mukthatma who is the liberated soul, has the freedom to see his mothers, fathers, brothers and other relatives of his previous innumerable births in this samsara comprising 14 worlds starting from Satyaloka the abode of the four-headed Brahma upto “Patala”.  The cluster of 14 worlds as stated is called one Brahmanda and there are infinite number of Brahmandas in the leela vibhuthi of Lord Sriman Narayana.  Leela Vibhuthi is the play field of Sriman Narayana Nitya Vibhuthi is Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka which is three times as big as leela vibhuthi.  Vibhuthi means wealth.  Just as the movable and inmovable property owned by a person is his vibhuti so also the “Leela Vibuthi” and “Nitya Vibuthi” are owned by Lord Sriman Narayana.

Here the doubt arises whether the “daharakasha” is Jiva, Sky or Paramatma. Sky is called Bhutha Akasha. The Poorvapakshi says that Daharakasha is bhutaakasha only because both bear the name of Akasha and the word Akasha is famous and popular in Bhutha Akasha only.  The Sutrakara rejects this argument by saying that ‘dahara akasha’ cannot be bhuta akasha because of the fact it is said in the upanishad that dahara akasha is to support the entire universe comprising the above said Bhogya, Bhogopakarana, Bhogasthana and Bhokthriuvarga whereas this is not possible in the case of  ‘bhuta akasha’.

The opponent also feels that ‘Dahara akasha’ may be Jiva because it is said that Jiva who is called samprasada attains moksha where his already dormant eight gunas blossom as per the words of Prajapathi (Chathurmukha) to Indra which is said in the latter part of this Upanishad and this portion is called ‘Prajapathi vakya’.

The Sutrakara also rules out the possibility in the first sutra of this adhikarana, which reads as “Dahara Uttarebhyah”.  The meaning of this sutra is “Daharah:” which is in other words Dahara akasha is ‘Parabrahman’ or ‘Paramatma’ because,

Uttarebhyah: The subsequent portion of this Upanishad says that dahara aksha is the supporter of the entire universe and supreme controller of all the animate and inanimate objects in the universe and these aspects are ruled out in the case of a Jiva. Even the blossoming of the eight gunas in the ‘mukthatma’ in Srivaikuntha is only on account of the grace and will of Lord Sriman Narayana without which even that is not possible.

6. The sixth adhikarana in this 3rd pada is called “Pramitha adhikarana”. There are 4 sutras in this adhikaranam. The logical sequential connection with the previous adhikaranam is explained. In Dahara adhikaranam, it was said that Daharakasha who is paramatma and who dwells in the heart of Upasaka or the meditator is of very small size and this was said for the sake of meditation.  This very small size is also applicable to Jiva and hence the doubt arises that who dwells in the heart may be Jiva. So this Adhikarana becomes necessary or relevant to remove this doubt. This sangathi can also be explained in another manner. In the previous daharadhi karanam it was said that ‘Paramatma’ is of very small size. In this adhikarana it will be established that size of the paramatma dwelling in the heart of an upasaka or meditator is that of thumb (angushtha) of the upasaka.

An important point should be noted here and remembered always.

Lord Sriman Narayana has five forms which are as follows.

(a) Para – This form is in Srivaikuntha Divyaloka or Paramapada which is enjoyed by Nityas like Adisesha, Garuda, Vishvaksena etc. and by ‘mukthas’ who are the liberated souls. This para form is named as ‘Paravasudeva’.  This form is to be meditated upon while doing Ashtakshara japa.  Paravasudeva is always there with his Consort Mahalakshmi.

(b) Vyuha  – This form is in the Ksheerabdi which is the Ocean of Milk. There are four Vyuha forms called Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. The difference between Paravasudeva and Vyuha, Vasudeva is practically nil. Paramatma in the Sankarsana  form is responsible for the destruction of the universe at the time of deluge.

Paramatma in the Pradyumna Vyuha form is responsible for the creation of the universe. Paramatma in the Aniruddha Vyuha form is responsible for the protection of the universe.

(c). Vibhava – The incarnations of Lord Sriman Narayana as Lord Sri Rama and Lord Sri Krishna etc., are vibhava forms.

(d). Archa – Lord Sriman Narayana makes appearance to the devotees in all temples, in houses in Vigraha form or Saligrama form and this form is called Archa form which is being worshipped by one and all.

(e). Antaryami – Lord dwells in every being whether sentient or nonsentient in the form of Antaryami who can be called ‘inner soul’ or ‘supreme soul’ or ‘inner controller’.

This Antaryami form is of two types. The first type is called Svaroopa Antharyami which is there in all creatures including ants, mosquitoes, flies, bacteria and other living organisms etc. “svaroopa” means inherent nature.

The second is called Vigraha Antaryami in which Lord Sriman Narayana has a definite form in the hearts of the upasakas and this form is of the thumb size of the upasakas because ‘upasaka’ has to meditate in a definite and auspicious form of Paramatma without which,  meditation is not all possible.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            In all the above forms including Svaroopa Antharyami and Vigraha Antharyami, Lord Sriman Narayana is always with his Consort Mahalakshmi. Coming to this Adhikaranam, the Vishayavakya is from Katohpanishad in which Lord Yama teaches Nachi ketas as follows.

Paramatma who dwells in the heart of the body of the upasaka is having the size of the thumb of the upasaka. He is the master of all beings which were there yesterday, which are here today and are going to be tomorrow.  Paramatma on account of his deep affection for upasaka ignores the defects or drawbacks of the body and does not feel disgusted.

Here the question arises whether the thum sized entity dwelling in the body of the Upasaka is Jiva or Paramatma. The poorvapakshi says that it is jiva only because in another Upanishad it is said that jiva who is the head of all the senses or indriyas is thumb-sized and moves throughout the body.

The Sutrakara does not accept this argument and says that he is Paramatma only and gives the sutra “Sabdaadeva pramithah”.

Pramithah : The thumb sized entity is ‘Paramatma’ because ‘Sabdaadeva’ – it is said in this Upanishad that Lord is master of all beings, which were in the past, are at present and will be in future.

The second sutra in this adhikarana is “hridyapekshayatau manushyaadhikaraatvat”.  This says that Paramatma is thumb-sized in the body of the upasaka because only that much of space is available in his body.  This particular fact gave room to some doubts which had to be cleared by Sutrakara. So three ‘adhikaranas’ had to be introduced by the Sutrakara who is Sage Badarayana which are out of context.

The First Adhikarana in this is “Devathadhikarana” which establishes the fact that celestial persons who are called devathas including Indra are eligible to do upasana or meditation and then attain Moksha.

This has five sutras. The poorvapakshi to this adhikarana who is Nirishvara Mimamsaka says that devathas who are the celestial persons are not eligible for doing upasana because they do not possess bodies.

They say five things are not there for devathas – physical body, accepting the offers made in the sacrifices, making their presence simultaneously in several yagas, becoming pleased with the offers and granting fruits.

They further say that two basic prerequisites required for upasana – ‘Arthitvam’ and ‘Samarthyam’.  Samarthyam is the existence of the physical body for doing upasana.  Arthithvam is the basic desire to attain moksha.  Because there is no physical body for them,   they do not have ‘Arthithvam’ and ‘Samarthyam’.  So they are not eligible for doing upasana.

This argument is refuted by Sutrakara in his first sutra of this adhikarana which states as follows.

“Taduparyapi Badrayanah Sambhavaath”.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows. Badarayana says that – the upasana or meditation on Lord Sriman Narayana and the eligibility uparyapi – is there even to ‘devathas’ who are above human beings. Because, ‘Sambavath’ – In Devathas also the two basic prerequisites ‘atthithva’ and ‘samarthya’ are possible.  In several Vedic texts, it has been said that devathas do have physical bodies and therefore ‘samarthya’ is there.  In one of the texts it is said that Indra has Vajrayudha (thunderbolt, his weapon) in his hand. Without a body there cannot be a hand.

The ‘Devathas’ are also afflicted by ‘tapatrayas’. Tapatrayas are ‘adhyatmika’, ‘adhibhauthika’ and ‘adhidaivika’.

Adhyatmika relates to suffering in the body due to diseases and suffering in mind on account of several factors. Adhidaivika is the suffering on account of natural disasters like earthquake, floods etc. which are acts of providence. Adhibhautika is the suffering on account of environmental factors. If mokha is attained these tapatrayas automatically disappear. So devathas naturally desire to attain moksha which means that they have ‘arthitvam’. Therefore they are eligible to do upasana.

Some interesting questions are raised here which are answered by Sutrakara.

If the ‘devathas’ possess bodies how can one devatha with one body make himself present at the same time in several yagas.  This question is answered by Sutrakara by stating that devathas who possess spiritual and yogic powers may possess several bodies at the same time.  The example of Sage Saubhari is stated in this context. This sage, on account of his spiritual and yogic powers by his penance or tapas, assumed 50 bodies, simultaneously to marry the 50 daughters of king Mandhatha and live with them.

The next question is,  if a devatha possesses body it is mortal and it should go at one time or other. In other words, if Indra dies then the Vedic texts dealing with Indra becomes meaningless in which case the eternity of Vedic texts is lost.  The answer is the word “Indra” does not refer to an inpidual but it refers to the post or position. This is called akrithivachaka. So if one in the post of Indra goes another inpidual immediately becomes Indra. This is something similar to the famous proverb “The King is dead,  long live the King”. So the eternity and meaningfullness of Vedas remain intact.

The third question is, when Vedas are ‘apaurusheya’ ( not composed by any body including Sriman Narayana) how could some portions of Vedas be called ‘Vasishtahsuktha’ and ‘Vishvamitra suktha’ and so on?.

The answer is Sages like Vasishta and Visvamitra are the seers of some particular portions of Vedas on account of their spiritual powers and hence those portions bear their names.  This is something similar to Newton’s Laws of Motion,  Principle of Archimedes etc. The laws of motion were there even before Newton discovered, postulated and informed the world.

So Vedas are eternal, without a beginning; they are blemishless and every syllable is an authority to us. At the time of creation Lord Sriman Narayana remembers Vedas, creates universe and teaches the same to Chathurmukha Brahma after creating him from his ‘Nabhikamala’.

Next to Devatha adhikaranam, comes the Madhvaadhikaranam which has three sutras. Among devathas there is a special category called Vasus, Rudras and Adityas. Vasus are already in the form of Brahman and the question arises whether it is necessary for them also to do upasana or meditation and then attain Moksha.  This is called Madhuvidya. In the first two sutras sage Jaimini says that they are not eligible to do upasana because they are already in the Brahman form. Sage Badarayana refutes the above viewpoint and says they should also do upasana to attain moksha gradually step by step after the elapse of several kalpas. Their mukthi is called ‘kramamukthi’ which means “moksha stage by stage”.  The first two sutras are called “Poorvapaksha Sutras” and the third one is called “Siddhantha Sutra”.

The Siddhantha sutra is “Bhavanthu Badarayanah asthihi” which means Sage Badarayana says that Vasus are also eligible to do upasana.

The next adhikarana is called ‘apasudrathikarana’. This has seven sutras.

In this adhikarana it is stated that those who are not entitled to undergo ‘upanayana samskara’ are not eligible to learn Vedas and therefore they are not eligible to do this kind of upasana.

The doubt arose because a king called Janasruthi who was a person of very charitable disposition was addressed as “sudra” by Sage Raikva who initated him into the knowledge of  Brahman and taught him ‘Samvarga vidya’ which is one among the 32 Brahma Vidyas. The upanishadic text for this adhikarna is from Chandogyopanished.  Janasruthi was taking rest in the open terrace of his palace in one particular night.  Two swans called (hamsavs) flew over him and one swan asks the other, not to make noise there because the King Janasruthi is resting there. The other swan asks whether Janasruthi is the Sage Raikva who is the most learned person in the world, having deep knowledge of Brahman. It is said that sum total of the knowledge possessed by the people in the world is just an iota of the knowledge of Raikva. Janasruthi immediately got up and sent his servant to find out where sage Raikva was.  The servant was able to locate him and told the king. Then the King approached Raikva with lot of gifts and requested him to initiate him into the knowledge of Brahman. Raikva first refused and then accepted him after Janasruthi gave his daughter in marriage to Raikva.  Raikva addressed Janasruthi as ‘sudra’  because Janasruthi was deeply distressed since he did not have the knowledge of Brahman.  ‘Sudra’ according to Sanskrit grammar means “one who is very much distressed”.  So this establishes the fact that Janasruthi was actually a kshatriya by birth, and that he does not belong to the 4th caste.  Therefore, those born in the 4th caste are not eligible to do Upasana. The first sutra is “Sugasya thadanaadarasravanaath thad adadravanath soochyathe hi.”  This means that Janasruthi felt insulted by the swan and therefore he rushed to Raikva and because of his sorrow he was addressed as ‘sudra’ and this is indicated in the Upanishad.

The next adhikaranam and also the last adhikarana in this pada is called Arthanthara Vyapadeshadhikaranam.

The topic for discussion in this adhikaranam is a passage in the Eigth chapter of Chandogyopanishath. This passage is as below:

“Akasha:havai nama rupayoo: Nirvahitha The Yadanthara thath Brahmathath Amrutham Sa: Atma”.

The poorvapakshi contends that the word Akasha refers to makthatma (liberated soul) and not Paramatma because he is also capable of doing Nama rupa Vyakarana (allotting name and form) to every object created.  This contention is refuted by Sutrakara in the Sutra “Akasha: Arthanthara Vyapadeshath”.  This means the word Akasha refers to Paramatma Sriman Narayana only as he is alone capable of doing namarupa vyakarana.

The remaining sutras in this adhikaranam reinforces the above point.  The third pada comes to an end.

The first chapter is called ‘Samanvaya Adhyaya’  and fourth pada is known as ‘Spashta tharajivadilinga pada’. In this pada the Sage Badarayana deals with the upanishadic passages which discuss and decide the entity who is the cause of the universe. All the upanishadic passages point towards the Lord Sriman Narayana who is the Upadanakarana (Material cause), Nimittakarana(operational cause) and it goes without saying that he is the Sahakarikarana (Instumental cause) also.

Even though there is no specific mention about this, the word ‘spashta thara’ means very clear. It is also said that this pada deals with Upanishadic passages reflecting the tenets of the Sankhya system of philosophy which says that the primordial matter which has several names like Prakrithi, Pradhana, Anumanika and Ashabda is the cause of the universe. These Upanisadic passages which reflect the Sankhya system are called Chayanusari Vakyas or Shadow Vakyas. Vakya means a text or a passage of the Upanishad. In this pada there are Eight adhikaranas.

The first two adhikaranas refute the Nirishwara Sankhya System founded by Kapila. The Third adhikarana refutes the number of tattvas or categories as propounded in this system. The fourth adhikarana establishes the fact that the word “Avyakritha” which generally means primordial matter, refers to only the Supreme Being Sriman Narayana.

The next two adhikaranas that is 5th and 6th from the beginning  refute the argument jiva or soul in boundage of samsara known as baddhajiva.(also called asuddha jiva) and liberated soul, known as mukthajiva (also called suddha jiva) as the cause of the universe. The last two adhikaranas, that is the 7th and 8th refute in Seshwara Sankhya system of philosophy which says, Brahman or Paramatma is only ‘Nimittakarana’ for the universe and not the Upadana Karana.

The first adhikarana is called ‘Anumanikadhikarana’. The upanisadic text that comes up for discussion is a passage in the Kathopanishath which is a dialogue between Yama and Nachiketha. Lord Yama teaches Nachiketha knowledge of Brahman in detail.

At one stage in his teachings, Yama says this human body is a ‘ratha’ or chariot. The driver is Buddhi (intellect.) The person who travels, in this chariot is jiva, the senses that is. Indriyas are the horses that pull the chariot. The mind is the reins in the hand of the driver controlling the movement of the horses. The objects of enjoyment which are vishayas are the directions  in which horses desire to gallop. There are five senses of perception which are called Gnanendriyas. The vishayas or the objects of enjoyment are sound for the ears, touch for the skin, color for eyes, taste for the tongue, smell for the nose.

After comparing the human body to a chariot ( This comparison is known as Rupaka),  Yama tells Nachiketha the sequence of the things which are to be controlled one after the other or one superior to the other by an upasaka (meditator) who gets down to Bhakthiyoga to attain Moksha.  The first thing to be controlled are vishayas are more crucial than the senses to be controlled.  More crucial to the vishayas is the mind which is to be controlled because even if the vishayas are far away from the inpidual, the mind may be thinking of them.  So mind has to be controlled.  The next thing to be controlled is Buddhi or Intellect.  More crucial to the buddhi is jiva, the self.  Next to jiva to be controlled is the body because if the body is in perfect health then only upasana or deep meditation is possible.  In this upanishad this body is called Avyaktha.  The next crucial is the Supreme Being.  Controlling the Supreme Being means invoking his grace by doing saranagathi at his lotus feet, but for his benedictory grace nothing can be controlled.  This sequence of controlling is called ‘vaseekarya parampara’.  Here the view of the opponent or poorvapakshi who is Nirishvara Sankhya who does not accept the existence of the supreme being is that the word Avyaktha in this context refers to primordial matter only which is prakrithi or Anumanika and superior to this is the jiva who is referred as purusha in this context.  According to him the prakrithi or anumanika creates the universe in the presence of jiva.  This combination is known as prakrithi purusha.

This view is refuted by Sutrakarar in the first sutra which reads as ,“Anumanikamapi Ekesham Eticheth na Sarirarupakavinyastha Grihithe: darshayathicha”.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.

Ekesham means in katopanishad, Anumanikam means Pradhanam or Prakrithi, Api is mentioned as the cause of the universe, Na means that this view is not correct because sarira rupaka vinyastha grihithe: means the human body is compared to the chariot in this context, Grihithe: means in the vaseekarya parampara mentioned in this context Avyaktha means the body, Darshayathicha means the Upanishad in this context refers to the sequence of things to be controlled.

Avyaktha means not clear or refers to the object that cannot be seen.  The doubt that arises here is when the body is clearly visible to us how can it be called as Avyaktha.  This doubt is cleared by stating that the body is the transformation of the five elements which are sky, Air, fire, water and earth which are in the minute form before transformation.

So the main purpose of this Adhikarana which is establishing  the fact that Avyaktha is body is achieved.

The second Adhikarana in this pada is called Chamasadhikarana.  This has three sutras.  The logical sequence or link with the previous adhikarana (sangathi) is as follows.

In the previous adhikarana, the fact that pradhana or prakrithi is independent was refuted by proving that avyaktha does not refer to pradhana or Anumanika because it means only the body.  In the svetashwatara upanishad it is said that prakrithi is quite independent.  So the doubt is that the judgement of the previous adhikarana may not be correct.  To remove this doubt and restore the judgement of the previous adhikarana this adhikarana comes to picture.

The Upanishadic text that comes up for discussion in this adhikarana is from Svethashwathara Upanishad.  In one passage of the above upanishad It is said that Prakrithi which is primordial matter is quite independent which consists of three elements fire, water and earth which are reddish, whitish and blackish in their colours respectively creates several objects of the above colours in the forms of Devas and human beings etc.  Aja means that which is not born.  So Aja or Prakrithi is referred here as cause of universe.

So the poorvapakshi who is again Nirishwara  Sankhya says that Prakrithi alone creates the universe in the presence of jiva.  This point is refuted by Sutrakara in the first sutra which reads as Chamasavad Aviseshath.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.  Chamasa is a vessel used in a yaga in which the juice of the ‘soma latha’ is kept and this juice is drunk by all rithviks connected with the yaga.

So chamasa only refers to the vessel made of wood used in the yaga.  In another context chamasa refers to a vessel of a particular shape.  But chamasa is a vessel in general terms.  So the precise meaning of sutra is that just like chamasa refers to a vessel used in a yaga in general terms so also here Aja means that which is not born and there is nothing in the upanishadic text of this adhikarana to suggest that it is independent and capable of creation of the universe on its own.

In the second sutra it is clearly said that Aja the primordial matter has the paramatma as its cause citing a statement from Taittiriya Upanishad.

In this adhikarana it is there fore established that there is nothing in the universe which does not have paramatma as antaryami or as its inner soul.  So even the Prakrithi the primordial matter has paramatma as its antaryami.  So in this universe every object is Brahmatmaka which means Paramatma is a soul and the object is the body.

The 3rd adhikarana in this quarter is called Sankhyopa-Sangrahadhikaranam.  This has three sutras.  The logical connection with the previous adhikarana is as follows.

In the previous adhikarana, it was established that the Prakrithi is not abrahmatmaka but it is brahmatmaka.  Brahmatmaka means having paramatma as antaryami and abrahmatmaka means not having paramatma as antaryami.  So abrahmatmaka tatvas are ruled out and all tatvas are sabrahmatmaka.

But this is objected to because of a statement in Brihadaranyaka upanishad.  This objection is over ruled in this Adhikarana.  The upanishadic passage in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad which is subject for discussion in this Adhikarana is as follows.

Paramatma is the support to five elements and five knowledge giving senses.  These senses are given a special name in this upanishad as panchajana.  Because there are five Jnanentriyas (knowledge giving senses), these are called ‘pancha panchajanas’.  If this fact is known by an inpidual who also knows this paramatma who is called Amritha which means most enjoyable the knower also becomes Amritha which means he attains moksha.  When the question comes which are the indriyas (senses) referred to by the word Panchajana in this context the upanishad itself says prana, eyes, ears and mind.  Here prana means skin as prana cannot mean to breath or Mukya prana.

In another branch of Brihadaranyaka upanishad called Madhyandiana sakha, there is the mention of the nose in the same context which has also to be taken in to account because it is mentioned as Anna in this context which refers to both tongue and nose.

The opponent who is Nirishwara Sankhya thought because it is said as pancha panchajana, pancha pancha means 5 x 5 that 25 and this suits the number of 25 tattvas postulated by him and there is no mention of 26th tattva who is paramatma.  He further says that prakrithi which has twenty four tatvas should be the cause of the universe and the creation takes place in the presence of the 25th tatva who is called purusha or jiva.

According to Nirishwara Sankhya, the 25 tatavas are.

1) Prakriti, Mahat, Ahankara    – 3

2) Five elements or Bhutas which are sky, air, fire, water and earth        – 5 (sky is akasha)

3) Five tanmatras (subtle forms) which are called as Saba tanmatra, Sparsha tanmatra, Rupa tanmatra, rasa tanmatra, Gandha tanmatra- 5

Tanmatra is a stage in between preceding bhutha and succeeding bhutha.  Just like the stage in between Milk and curd.

4) Indriyas or senses     – 11

5) Jivatma who is called purusha by Nirishwara Sankhya- 1

Total – 25

We also (belonging to visishtadwaitha philosophy) accept the above twenty five tattvas and besides the above we accept paramatma who is the 26th tattva.  So paramatma is called shadvimsaka because he is the 26th tattva and jivatma is called panchavimsaka as he is the 25th tatva.

The eleven senses are

1) Mind- 1

2) Knowledge giving senses- 5  which are ears, eyes, noses, skin and tongue ( Jnanendriyas)

3) Action oriented senses (karmeindriyas) Hands, Legs, Speech, Genital organ and Excretory organ- 5

Total :   11

In this context it is better we know the sequence of creation.

Prakriti, Mahat, Ahankara, Sabdatanmatra, Akasa Sparshatanmatra, Vayu Rupatanmatra, Tejas, Rasa tanmatra, water, gandha tanmatra, earth.

In the each of the above, Lord Sriman Narayana is the antaryami and he wills and the succeeding tatva is created. Ahankara is of three kinds, Satvika ahankara from which the indriyas are created.

Tamasa Ahankara from which the five bhuthas are created. Rajasa ahankara helps both the above.

The opponent is of the view that this upanishadic passage is in ideal agreement with their doctrine of 25 tattvas without accepting the existence of the paramatma and there fore ruling out the possibility of the paramatma being the antaryami in each of the above.

This view has been refuted by the sutrakarar in the first sutra which states as

“Nasankyopasangrahathapi nanabhavath athirekachcha”.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.  Even if the 25 tatvas are accepted they are different from what Nirishwara sankhya says because Akasha and Jivatma which are within the twenty five as stated in this upanishad to be out side twenty five which is not correct.  Therefore the word pancha panchjana does not mean or refer to the 25 tatvas.  In the second sutra which states as “Pranadaya: Vakya seshath” it is established that pancha pancha jana means only the Gananendriyas which are five in number.  So there is nothing like Abrahmatmaka tatva.

The 4th adhikarana is called Karanathvadhikarana.  It has two sutras.

The logical connection of this adhikarana with the previous adhikarana is as follows.  In the previous adhikarana it was established that because of the fact that Akasha and indriyas are supported by Brahman or paramatma, the pradhana or the primordial matter cannot be the cause for the world.  Now the same purvapakshi who is the Nirishwara sankhya rises again and tells that there is no unanimity in the upanishads regarding the entity which happens to be the cause for the universe.  He also says that there is some unanimity in the pradhana (prakriti)  being the cause of the universe.  This contention is refuted in this adhikarana.

In the various upanishadic texts dealing with the creation of the universe, the upanishads identify several entities as the cause of the universe.  One upanishad says that Asath is the cause.  Another upanishad says sat is thecause.  The third upanishad says Avyakritha is the cause.  The opponent says that because of the above  it is very difficult to establish that Brahman as the cause of the universe.  Ekshana or willing or determination to create can also be made applicable to the pradhana and hence it is the cause of the jagath.  This is the contention of the opponent.

This is refuted by the Sutrakara in the first sutra which reads “Karanathvena Akasadishu yatha vyapadishta ukthe:” – The meaning of the sutra is as follows.

Akasha dishu karanathvena yatha vyapadishta ukthe: – Brahman or Lord Sriman Narayana has been mentioned as the cause for Akasha and fire etc. because of his omniscience (knowing every thing), All powerfulness, ability to will and execute any thing and every thing etc.  This is because of the fact that Taittariya upanishad clearly says that Akasha and other elements are created by Brahman.

In the second sutra which reads as Samakarshath – the Sutrakara gives valid and convincing reasons for the words sath, Asath, Avyakrithi to mean Brahman.

The fifth adhikarana in this quarter is called Jagath vachitvadhikaranam.  It has three sutras.  The link with the previous adhikarana is as follows.

In the previous adhikarana it was established that a sentient being is the cause of the universe.  Even then it can be only unliberated soul who can be the cause because Nirishwara sankhya does not accept the existence of paramatma.  The sentient being that is unliberated jiva can exist only with a mortal body having the ingredients of the prakrithi tatva.  So this prakrithi or pradhana can also be indirect cause.

The upanishadic text that comes up for discussion is a passage from Kausitaki upanishad.  Before the mentioning the summary of the relevent passage a story is spelt out here which leads to that passage.  The story is that a person belonging to Gargya gothra and whose name is Balaki was a resident of  kashi which is now called Benaris or Varanasi.  He was a well readman.  He met Ajathasatru who was the king of kasi and told him that he would initiate him that is Ajathasatru in to the knowledge of Brahman.

Ajathasatru was very happy over it because he told that every body wants to go to king janaka because he gives very valuable and precious gifts to those who teach him about Brahman and Ajatha satru further observed that Balaki has come to him without going to janaka and that is laudable.  It is implied that he would give the same gift to Balaki as janaka would offer.

Then Balaki began to initiate Ajathasatru into the knowledge of Brahman by saying that he is used to meditate on the purusha at the centre of  solar system as Brahman and asked ajatha satru to do the same.  Ajathasatru says that he also knows about it and he needs no preaching of the same from Balaki. Like wise Balaki went on telling that he is meditating on Moon, Lightning, cloud, sky, air, fire, water, image, echo, imitation, shadow, jiva, jiva in sound sleep, jiva who sees dreams, image in the right eye, image in the left eye and Ajatha satru says that he also knows all the above and does not require Balaki’s initiation.  Balaki then became silent.  Ajathasatru asks Balaki whether he knows only that much for which Balaki replies in the affirmitive.  Then Ajathasatru tells Balaki all the while he only narrated the objects which are not brahman and he will initiate Balaki in to the knowledge of Brahman.  Ajathasatru continues to say that the person who created all the objects mentioned by Balaki and who created this world containing both sentient beings and non sentient beings is the Brahman who is to be meditated upon.  Then Balaki became the disciple of Ajathasatru.  Then Ajathasatru holding hands of Balaki and came out and both went near a person who was in deep sleep.  Then Ajathasatru addressed the breadth of the sleeping person and he did not get up.  Then Ajathasatru beats him with a stick and the person immediately got up.  By this action he illustrated that jiva is different from prana otherwise called breath.  He further tells Balaki that jiva was sleeping on paramatma from whom the jiva came out and got up.  This further illustrates that jiva is different from Paramatma.

In this the opponent says that in the statement that the objects mentioned by Balaki are the objects of enjoyment, aides of enjoyment which are created by the person according to his karma and the term karma refers to punya and papa of the inpidual and hence jiva who is the possessor of the punya and papa must be creator of the universe and he should be meditated upon as distinct or separate from the body.  In other words the contention of Nirishwara sankhya is that pradhana or prakrithi which is supported by jiva or purusha should be the creator of the universe.

This argument of the opponent is refuted by sutrakarar in the first sutra which reads as “Jagadvachitvat” – The meaning of this sutra is that the word karma mentioned in the upanishadic text refers to the universe only and not punya and papa and there fore the contention that the body or prakrithi which is supported by purusha or jiva as the cause of the universe is not correct.  In other words the Brahman alone and none else is the cause of the universe.

The sixth adhikarana in this quarter is called Vakyanvadhikarana. The link with the previous adhikaranam is as follows:- In the previous adhikarana the word karma was interpreted as the world and consequentially that particular portion of the upanishadic text was proved as not pertaining to jiva.  The opponent says that the upanishadic text pertaining to this adhikarana clearly points to-wards the jiva who is the enjoyer of fruits of punya papa.  This view point is refuted here.

The upanishadic passage which comes for discussion in this adhikaranam is Maitreyi Brahmana in Brihadaranyaka upanishad.  This is the 5th subsection of the 4th chapter in that upanishad.

A brief summary of this text is as follows.  Sage Yajnavalkya had two wives Katyayani and Maitreyi.  Katyayani had materialistic out look where as Maitreyi’s out look was spirital.  Yajnavalkya decided to take to sanyasa and wanted to execute a will piding his assets between two wives.  Maitreyi asked Yajnavalkya whether the wealth which she is going to bequeath from yajnavalkya would help her attaining moksha that is  eternal bliss.  Yajnavalkya replied in the negative.  Then Maitreyi asks Yajnavalkya to preach her the means for attaining maoksha.

The preaching of Yajnavalkya is as follows.  A husband does not become lovable to his wife on account of his own will but on account of the will of the paramatma the husband loves his wife.  Similarly a wife does not become lovable to her husband but on account of her own will and because of the will of the paramatma she loves her husband.  This establishes the truth of the proverb that marriages are made in heaven.  Similarly children do not become affectionate to their parents but on account of their own but because of the will of the paramatma they become affectionate to their parents.  Likewise wealth, a Brahman, a kshatriya, Swargaloka, celestial gods like indra etc, living beings and all other objects become likeable to a person on account of the will of Lord Sriman Narayana.

The Lord Sriman Narayana is to be known by hearing about him under the feet of an acharya or preceptor.  He is to be repearedly thought in the mind for the consolidation of the knoweldge acquired about him, he is to be meditated upon after seeing the paramatma within himself.

By acquiring full knowledge of paramatma every thing in this world will be known.  One who thinks that Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and other sentient and non sentient beings (animate and in animate objects) are out side paramatma and not within paramatma will not attain moksha and he will have to under go repeated births and deaths in this samsara or world.  Just like when the drum is not beaten by a stick, the sound does not generate or even when the drum is not there or the beater is not there the sound is not generated like wise when the indriyas or the senses do not think of their respective objects or when the senses are fully under control then the mind does not perceive the external objects and will concentrate on the Paramatma.  Similar to the illustration of the drum as narrated above, illustrations are there in respect of conch shell (shakha) and veena.

Just wet fire wood generates smoke by its combination with fire, so also Lord Sriman Narayana is both the material and operational causes of the universe.  Here for causing smoke, fire is the nimitta karanam (operational cause) and wet fire wood is upadana karana (material cause).

Further to the above, it is said here four Vedas, epics like Srimad Ramayana, Puranas like Sri Vishnupurana and Upanishads emerged from the paramatma.

In the first sentence of this upanishadic passage there is the word “Atma” where it was said that the husband does not become loveable to his wife and paramatma who is merely said as atma in this passage wills that husband should love his wife.  The opponent who is Nirishwara sankhya says that Atma should denote the person opposite to the word husband.  This means Atma refers to wife who is jiva.  He further says that the word, “Atma” in the subsequent passage refers to jiva only and not paramatma and this jiva should be mediated upon.

In Nirishwara Sankhya system of philosophy it is said that purusha (jiva) separated from the body if meditated upon confers upon him the moksha.  SO the opponent says that this passage has nothing to do with paramatma.  So he confirms the fact that pradhana or prakrithi creates the universe in the presence of the purusha or jiva,

This view of the opponent is refuted by sutrakarar in the first sutra which reads as “Vakya anvayath”.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.  This upanishadic passage entirely pertains to paramatma because the sentences in this passasge having proper link with one another right from the beginning refers to paramatma only because Maitrayi in the beginning asked Yajnavalkya to tell her the means of attaining eternal bliss and this is possible only by meditation on paramatma and not on jivatma.

In this adhikaranam an important doctrine of Vishishtadvaitha philosophy has been established by the Sutrakara.  The Sutrakara mentions three schools of thought of the sages Ashmarathya, Audulomi and Kasakritsna who are all disciples of Sage Vedavyasa.  Sage Vedavyasa finally accepts the contention of kasakritsna who says that jiva is the body of the paramatma which is the basic doctrine of visishtadwaitha system.  So this adhikarana is one of the most important adhikaranas.

The seventh adhikarana in this chapter is called Prakrithi adhikaranam.  There are six sutras in this.  In the previous six adhikaranas the Nirishwara sankhya system of philosophy which was founded and propagated by Lord kapila who is an incarnation of Lord Sriman Narayana was completely refuted.  As already mentioned in this system the existence of paramatma is not accepted.  Pradhanam or primordial matter which is called prakrithi is the material cause and because this prakrithi creates the universe in the presense of purusha or jiva, purusha becomes nimitta karana.

In this adhikarana, the Four headed Brahma who founded Seshwara Sankhya system of philosophy accepts the existence of Paramatma but says that he is the Nimittakarana only (operational cause) and primordial matter continues to be the material cause or upadana karana.

Both the above systems of philosophy are against the doctrine contained in Vedas which unequivocally proclaim that Lord Sriman Narayana is both material cause and operational cause which is called Abhinna Nimitta upadana karana is established in this adhikarana.

So the link of this adhikarana with the previous one is that in the previous adhikarana Nirishwara Sankhya system was refuted and in this adhikarana Seshwara Sankhya system is refuted.

The opponent or poorvapakshi in this adhikarana rises and tells that upanishads generally tell that Brahman is only Nimitta karana and not upadana karana for this universe.  The authority he mentions for his above contention are some two passages in svetashwara upanishad which say that the world is created by the primordial matter.  It always says that Mayi who is Brahman makes the prakriti create the universe.  Prakrithi is Maya and Mayi is Paramatma.

In Sri Bhagavadgitha also Lord Krishna says under his presence or supervision the Prakrithi delivers the universe.  Jivatma is subject to Maya created by paramatma.

It is the common knowledge of every body in this world that for any object, the upadana karana is different from nimitta karana.  For example, a golden jewel has gold as its upadana karana and goldsmith as the Nimitta karana.  So also for this universe the prakrithi is the Upadana karana and Brahman or paramatma is the Nimitta karana.

This argument is refuted by the sutrakarar in the first sutra which reads as “Prakritisha pratijna Drishtanta Anuparodhath”.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.  Prakrithisha means upadanam (material cause) also which in other words is that Brahman is upadana karanam also ( It goes without saying that he is nimitta karanam) because of the pledge made by upanishads that by knowing the basic cause all the objects produced by it will be known and the three illustrations were cited by uddalaka to svetha kethu which are clay, gold and iron.  By knowing clay all clayery products are known, By knowing gold all ornaments that can be made of gold are known and by knowing iron all ferrous products are known.  Between the pledge and the illustrations there is very close agreement.

So Brahman in the causal state is associated with sentient and non sentient beings in the cosmic form.  As he is antaryami to these beings he wills to transform the sentient and non sentient beings in to a big form by giving name and form to each being which means he provides bodies and senses to all jivas.

Without his being inner soul and willing, the transformation would not have taken place.  Hence he is upadana karana.  There is the example of spider.  Spider is the worm which produces the thread by itself and illustrates that it is both the upadana karana and nimitta.  When a spider can be both karanas why not Lord Sriman Narayana be both the upadana karana and nimitta karana.

The 8th and the last adhikarana is called Sarva Vyakyana adhikarana.  It has only one sutra.

The link with the previous adhikarana is as follows.  In the first chapter which is called samanvaya adhyaya there are 35 adhikaranas including the present one which is the 35th adhikarana.

In the previous 34 adhikaranas it was established Lord Sriman Narayana is the cause of the universe.  But there are certain passages in the various upanishads in which Rudra, Hiranya Garbha, Indra and other celestial gods are mentioned as the cause of the universe and this creates a doubt as to who is the real cause of the universe.  So to dispel this doubt this adhikaranam was introduced by the Sutrakara.

The opponent says that in Svetashwatara Upanishad it is said that Rudra is the cause of the universe and he is to be meditated upon to attain Moksha.

This is refuted by the Ssutrakara in the sutra “Ethena Sarve vyakyata vyakyatha:”

The world  “Vyakayatha:” is repeated twice to indicate that this chapter comes to an end with this sutra. The meaning of this sutra is

That by applying the maxims established in the previous 34 adhikaranas, the remaining statements in the various upanishads in which several celestial gods like Rudra, Indra, Hiranya garbha etc are mentioned as the cause of the universe and to be meditated upon for attaining Moksha, may be proved that they refer to Lord Sriman Narayana only and he alone is the cause of the universe both material and operational.  This sutra also incidentally refutes the argument that atoms are the cause of the universe.

In Srutaprakasika which is a beautiful commentary on Sri Bhasya, the commentator Sri Sudarsana suri cites several upanishadic texts which are dubious in nature regarding the cause of the universe.  The commentator beautifully gives convincing reasons for deciding that those names mentioned in those texts mean Lord Sriman Narayana only and none else.  Some of them are listed below.

Upanishad

Name mentioned as cause

Room for doubt

Reason to assert that the name refers to Sriman Narayana Only.

Brihadaranyaka upanishad

Brahman

Brahma may mean Brahmin caste or Agni Devatha or even four-headed Brahma.

Here Sriman Narayana himself says that he creates Chathurmukha.  So Brahma means Narayana.

Brihadaranyaka upanishad

Mrityu

The whole thing was encompassed by Mrithyu.

Mrityu refers to Sri Narayana only, In Subaloopanishad  it is said that Mrityu is the body of paramatma.

Subalopanishad

It is not sat, it is not asath, it is neither sath or asath.

From this tamas is created.

In this upanishad every now and then Narayana is mentioned.  So Sath, or Asath refers to Narayana only.

Yajurveda Aranyaka

Aditya or Surya

Surya is mentioned as Atma to the world.

Surya or Aditya refers to his inner soul who is the antaryami, Sriman Narayana.

Prasnopanishad

Prajapathi

Prajapathi willed and created the universe

Prajapathi means his inner soul, Sriman Narayana.  In the later part there is the mention of Paramapurusha

Brihadaranyaka upanishad.

HiranyaGarbha.

It is said that Hiranyagarba was alone at the time of deluge or pralaya and he created the universe.

The word Hiranyagarbha refers to Sriman Narayana because Hiranyagarbha is one among the thousand names in Sahasranama Stotra.

Taittariya upanishad

Dhatha

Dhatha created sun and moon

Dhatha means Sriman Narayana because it is said in the beginning that paramatma sleeps at the centre of the ocean of milk.

Svetaashwataraa upanishad

Rudra

It is said Rudra created Hiranyagarbha

Rudra was born from Four-headed Brahma who was created by Sriman Narayana from his navel and so Rudra cannot be the cause of the universe.  Further Rudra is one among the thousand names of Lord Sriman Narayana. So Rudra directly refers to Sriman Narayana.  Moreover Ruk means the disease of Samsara Sriman Narayana dravayathi that is melts this disease and therfore he is called Rudra.

Similarly the words Siva shambu mentioned in the upanishads in various contexts refer to Lord Sriman Narayana only.

By summing up the above and in conclusion the following two slokas become mose relevent and puts in a nut shell the essence of this first chapter.

“Tatvam Jignasamananam hethubhih sarvatho mukhai:

Tatvameko mahayogi Hari: Narayana : para:”

The meaning is when a discussion is held to find the real truth by citing several reasons, the final outcome is that Sriman Narayana who is also called Hari is the paratatva or the supreme truth or Reality.

“Aalodya Sarva Sastrani Vicharyacha puna: puna:

Idam Ekam Sunishpanannam, dhyeyo Narayana: Sada”.

The meaning is, after making in depth study of all the scriptures and sastras and discussing again and again, the final conclusion is that Sriman Narayana is the supreme being who is to be meditated upon and this fact cannot be shaken by those belonging to philosophies which are outside Vedas (not accepting Vedas as supreme authority) and to philosophies giving wrong and absurd interpretations to upanishads and Vedas.  With this the first chapter gets concluded.

Systems of philosophy which are not accepting Vedas as authorities are called as bahyamathas. Bahya means outside that is they are all outside the philosophy of Vedas which proclaim in one voice that Lord Sriman Narayana alone is the upadana Karana and nimiththa Karana. There are some systems of philosophy which accept Vedas as authority and give wrong interpretations to them. These systems are called Kudrishtimathas.

The first chapter was called Samanvaya adhyaya because all the upanishadic texts dealing with creator and creation of universe that is in other words the cause of the universe have direct or indirect connection with Lord Sriman Narayana which means Lord Sriman Narayana is the cause of the universe both Material (Upadana karana) and Efficient (Nimitta karana).

This also implies or includes instrumental cause or sahakarikarana.

The second chapter is called Avirodha Adhyaya.  Avirodha means no objection or no opposition.  This means all objections or opposition against Lord Sriman Narayana being the cause of the universe are over ruled and it is again established that he is the cause of the universe.  This in other words reinforces the final conclusion of the first chapter.

The second chapter has four padas or quarters.  The first pada is called Smrithi pada.  The second pada is called Tarka pada.  The third pada is called Viyath pada.  The fourth pada is called Indriya pada or Prana pada.

The first two padas reinforce the fact that Brahman who is the Lord Sriman Narayana is the cause of the universe.  The third and fourth padas deal with the objects that are created by Brahman.  From another aspect it is said that the first two padas over rule the objections raised by the opponents against Sriman Narayana being the cause of the universe while the latter two padas that is thrid and fourth settle the internal dispute or domestic quarrel in Vedas including upanishads which are the supreme authority to us.  There are some texts which appear to be mutually contradictory in nature.  Contradictory in the sense that one text says that Sky or Akasha is eternal and not created while another text says that Akasha is created.

Similarly there are texts which say that Jivas or the sentient beings are created while there are texts which say that jivas are not created and they are eternal.  Likewise there are texts which say that senses which are called Indriyas are created while there are upanishadic sayings that they are not created.  As every syllable of the Vedas including upanishads is an authority to us, the above contradictions which are superficial in nature have to be settled and a compromise to be effected by applying reasonable and sensible logic.

In the first pada the Sutrakara who is Sri Vedavyasa also called as Sage Badarayana is on the defencive by overruling logical objections raised by both the Nirishwara sankhyas and seshwara sankhyas against Lord Sriman Narayana being the cause of the universe.

In the second pada the sutrakarar goes on offensive and refutes the sankhya system of philosophy, vaiseshika system of philosophy, Buddhism, Jainism and Pasupatha system of philosophy by pointing out fissures in them.  Finally in the second pada the sutrakarar establishes the authority of pancharatra sastra which is called Bhagavath Sastra.

The first pada in the second chapter is called Smrithi pada because the entire pada is dominated by the objections raised by Nirishwara sankhya based on kapila smrithi which is the basic text for nirishwara sankhya system of philosophy.

This pada has ten adhikaranas.  The very first adhikarana in this pada is Smrithi Adhikarana.  As already said in all the ten adhikaranas the Purvapakshi or opponent is Nirishwara sankhya.  The founder and propagator of Nirishwara Sankhya system of philosophy is Sage Kapila who is an incarnation of Lord Sriman Narayana.  The work composed by the sage kapila is called Kapila Smrithi.

The word sankhya means number.  The philosophy based on this number is sankhya system.  This sankhya system which does not believe in the existence of Lord Sriman Narayana who is called Brahman or Eshwara is called Nirishwara Sankhya system which says that there are 24 tatvas of prakrithi which is primordial matter which is also called Pradhana, Anumanika or Asabda.  Jiva is the 25th tatva.  Because this philosophy is based on these 25 tatvas it is called Nirishwara Sankhya system.  In this philosophy prakrithi is the material cause for the universe and it creates the universe in the presence of the Jiva.

The other branch of the Sankhya system is Seshwara Sankhya which was founded and propagaed by Hiranya garbha or four headed Brahma.  This system believes in the existence of Eshwara or Brahman who is the 26th tatva.  In this system it is said that prakrithi is the Upadana karana and Eshwara (Narayana) is the Nimitta karana.

Both these systems are against the vedic philosophy which says that Brahman is both the material cause and operational cause (Upadana karana and Nimitta karana).

Our Visishtadwaitha  philosophy is entirely in tune with vedic philosophy.  We agree with sankhya regarding the number of tatvas which are 26 in number.

So in the first adhikarana, the Nirishwara sankhya says that interpretation of Vedas and upanishads is impossible without the aid of Smrithies.  He further says eventhough there are a number of Smrithies with whose aid the interpretation of Vedas and upanishads has to be done, Kapila Smrithi is the most suitable and acceptable one because it deals with only the tatvas of philosophy and hence it is more powerful than the other smrithies like Manu smrithi etc., because these smrithies deal with both tenets and performance of daily rituals.  He further argues that if kapila smrithi is not considered for interpretation of Vedas it becomes meaningless and purposeless.  This should not happen.  In the sutra, the sutrakarar uses a technical term known as Anavakasha.  Anavakasha means meaning less or purposeless.  A maxim is eatablished here according to which it is said that when there is a contradiction between Vedas including upanishads and smrithis, Vedas are more powerful than smrithies.  Poorvapakshi is further of the opinion that the Vedas themselves highlight the greatness of the sage kapila; then the Vedas have to be interpreted with the aid of kapila smrithi only.

This argument of the poorvapakshi who is Nirishwara sankhya is refuted by the Sutrakara in the sutra which reads as “Smrithi Anavakasha dosha prasangath Ithi cheth Naanyasmrithi Anavakasha dosha prasangath”.

The meaning of this Sutra is as follows:

If the Kapila smrithi is not made use of for the interpretation of Vedas and upanishads it becomes meaningless and purposeless which is a serious flaw in that case a number of other smrithis which are opposed to Kapila Smrithi will have the serious flaw of of becoming meaningless and purposeless.

It is implied from this sutra that Kapila smrithi is opposed to Vedas and upanishadss which say Lord Sriman Narayana is the cause of the universe and this fact is whole-heartedly and unanimously endorsed by all the other smrithis like Manu smrithi, Parasara Smrithi etc.

Manu Smrithi says, “Aponara Ithi Prokthaa: Apovai Nara sunava:

Thaa yadasya Ayanam purvam: Thena Narayana Smruthi: ||”

This sloka clearly says that Lord Sriman Narayana is the cause of the universe.  Veda also says that what ever Manu says it is medicine for the disease of samsara.  So Manu’s sayings are of authority to us like Vedas.

When the poorvapakshi further said that sage kapila by his yogic powers was able to see all the super human things by himself and his sayings have to be accpeted in toto, the sutrakarar refuted this point and said that even the Manu and other sages who had also yogic powers did not see the super human things in the manner in which kapila saw.

So the conclusion is that Kapila smrithi cannot be accepted under any circumstances.

The second adhikarana is yoga prathukthi adhikaranaa.  In this adhikarana the Sutrakara denounces the Seshwara Sankhya system of philosophy founded by Hiranyagarbha by applying the same argument as in the previous adhikarana.  This Seshwara Sankhya system is also known as Yoga system of philosophy. According to this system of philosophy, Lord Sriman Narayana is not upadana karana to the universe but his only nimittha karana upadana karena is prakrthi itself.

The Sutra is Erthena Yoga prathyuktha:

The meaning is by the same argument the yoga system is refuted because eventhough the chathurmukha Brahma was born from the Navel of Lord Sriman Narayana he is afflicted by the Rajasa and Thamasa gunas.  So his sayings cannot be taken as authority.

The third adhikarana is called Vilakshanathvadhikaranam.  From this adhikarana onwards the Nirishwara sankhya raises objections from the common sense point of view based on Kapila smrithi and tries to destroy our edifice of Lord Sriman Narayana being the cause of the universe that ia both upadana karana and nimiththa karana.  The sutrakarar by giving most fitting replies to him, over rules his objections and establishes the stability of the edifice.

The first objection is contained in this adhikarana.  This adhikarana has nine sutras out of which the first two sutras are purvapaksha sutras which echo the view point or objection raised  by the opponent and the remaining seven sutras are siddhantha sutras which are in reply to opponent’s objection.

The first sutra is “Na vilakshanathvat Asyathathatvamcha sabdath”.

Its meaning is “For this universe which has three attributes of satva, Rajasa and Tamasa and which is mixed and whose material is quite different from that of Brahman, Brahman cannot be the material cause or upadana karana.  In fact that the material of the universe is different from that of Brahman is clear in the upanishads”.

The above objection is a very common sense one because we have seen the material of the mud pot is same as that of clay which is the upadana karana.  Similarly gold which is yellow in colour is the material cause for the several ornaments.  These ornaments are also yellow in colour and the material is same as gold.  The primordial matter which is prakrithi is upadana karana for this universe which comprises of both sentient and non sentient beings.

The Brahman is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient whereas jiva is ignorant and innocent.  Some statements in the upanishads like earth spoke and water willed, etc., do not actually refer to inanimate objects which are without any knowledge and it refers to the respective spokes persons.  It is some thing like saying India tells pakisthan in which it refers to the respective spokes persons.  So when Jiva is entirely different from Brahman and inanimate objects are also entirely different from Brahman, the opponent asks how Brahman could be material cause for both the sentient and non sentient beings.

For this objection of the opponent the sutrakarar replies as follows.  The first sutra in his reply is “Drishyathethu”.  This means that in this world, we have seen some cases in which the cause and effect are entirely different both in material and colour.

The scorpian is created by cow dung.  Our question is whether there is any similarity between the two.  Cow dung is the cause and scorpion is the effect. So there is no strict need of any similarity between the cause and effect that is karana and karya.  If the material of the cause and effect is not one and the same then it may be argued that any thing may be created from anything or from even nothing.  It is not so.  In this context Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja in Sri Bhasya gives a beautiful illustration to explain and codify the principle of cause and effect i.e. karana and karya.  The illustration is that a child under goes several physical transformations right from the day of its birth.  The transformations are of childhood, boyhood, youthhood and then becoming old aged.  These transformations are possible only when the child continues to be alive throughout that is in other words the soul is within the body.  These transformations are to the body only and not to Jiva or soul who dwells in the body.  The same illustration holds good in the case of Brahman being the cause of the universe.  The Brahman or paramatma is the inner soul or antharyami of all animate and inanimate objects that is in other words sentient and non sentient beings.

At the stage of ‘karanathava’ or in the causal stage he is the antaryami for all sentient and non sentient beings in Sukshma (atomic) form and this stage is at the time of deluge.  When paramatma wills to create the world, the sentient and non sentient beings which were in the sookshma form assume definite form and name and become of big size.  So the codified version of karana and karya bhava is as follows.

In the ‘karanavastha’ the paramatma is sookshma chethana achethana vishishta (Sookshma means subtle, chethana is sentient and achethana is non sentient, and visishta means conjunction).  In the karya vastha that is at the stage of the effect the paramatma is sthula chethana achethana visishta (Sthula means big).

So the transformation is not to the antaryami or paramatma but to his bodies which are chethana and achethana.  At the causal stage the bodies are sookshma (atomic) and at the effect stage they assueme definite form and name.  This is in accordance with the illustration mentioned above.  So there is no change in the material of atomic stage and definite stage.  So the objection of the opponent is overruled.

In this adhikarana Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja gives a beautiful definition to the mortal body.  This is the most appropriate definition to the body.  The definition is as follows.

The substance or the material which is supported by an inpidual soul, controlled by the soul and which is subordinate to the soul is the body of the soul.  The same definition holds good to the jiva or soul who is the body of paramatma.

The fourth adhikarana in this pada is called Sishta Aparigrahadhikaranam.  In this adhikarana, the sutrakarar says applying the reply given to Nirishwara sankhya and over ruling his objection the other systems of philosophy which do not accept of the authority of Vedas get automatically vanquished.  These systems are vaiseshika system founded by sage Kanada, Nyaya system founded by the sage Gowthama who is called Akshapada.  Buddhism and Jainism.  These systems says that the cause of the universe is not brahman, is not pradhana or prakrithi but atoms.  These systems are called paramanukarana vadies.

The fifth adhikaranam is called Bhokthrapatti Adhikaranam.  This adhikaranam has direct link with Vilakshanathvadhikarana in which it was said that chethana and achethana objects are the bodies of the paramatma.

The opponent Nirishwara Sankhya rises up again.  He says when the sentient and non sentient beings are the bodies of paramatma both in the atomic form and definite or big form there is not much of difference between jivatma and paramatma.  Just like jivatma undergoes the suffering and enjoyment that take place in the body,  so also paramatma should also be subject to this suffering and enjoyment that occur in his body which is the entire universe.

So the Brahman by becoming the cause for the universe which is again by virtue of his having the entire universe as his body is subject to the sufferings and enjoyment which take place in his body.  He further says that our stand of the prakrithi or pradhana being the cause of the universe is much better.  So Brahman cannot be considered as the cause of the universe because the possession of the body itself makes him subject to suffering.

This argument is refuted by Sutrakara in the Sutra, “Bhokthrapaththe: Avibhaga: Cheth Syath lokavath”.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.

The difference between jivatma and paramatma is always there.  Possession of the body is not the cause for suffering.  Suffering or enjoyment is on account of the past deeds of jiva which are punya and papa.

The Sutrakara himself gives a practical example to explain the above point.

In the prison or jail there is the Jail warden and convict under going the punishment for his offences.  The Jail warden supervises the convict undergoing the punishment.  So the sufferings in the prison do not affect the jail warden.  Likewise here Paramatma who is the antharyami is not subject to any misery and the jiva alone is subject to suffering.  So Brahman alone is the cause of the universe.

The next adhikarana is Arambanadhikaranam.  This has link with one of the sutras in vilakshanathwadhikararam in which it was siad that the material in karana and karya is one and the same.  The opponent says karana is different from karya on account of the following factors.

1)      Names are different.  For Example, clay and pot.  Clay is the cause and pot is the effect.

2)      Forms or shapes are different – the shape of the pot is different from that of heap of clay.

3)      The work done by clay is different from that of a pot.  Pot is used for carrying water while it is not possible in the case of the clay.

4)      Time is involved in making a pot from clay.

5)      If clay and pot are one and the same then the effort of the pot maker becomes meaning less.

So when the karya is different from karana, and if on the same anology the universe which is the karya is entirely different from the karana that is brahman, the purvapakshi says that Brahman cannot be the cause for the universe.

The above view point of the opponent is refuted by the sutrakarar who says in the first sutra of this adhikarana as “Thath Ananyatvam Arambana sabdadibya”.  The meaning of this sutra is explained as below.  In the three illustrations given by sage uddalaka to his son svethakethu, the clay, gold and Iron, he says that this world was only sath before creation.  When Brahman who is called sath in this context willed to create the universe he transformed himself as universe.  In other words, as already said before creation, Sath the Brahman was antaryami to the sentient and non sentient beings in the atomic form and when he willed the transformation took place the same sath that is Brahman becomes antaryami to the sentient and non sentient beings in a definite and big form.  This again means the Brahman provided four different types of bodies to the jivas according to the past deeds.  The four different types of bodies are Celestial beings (Deva), terrestial beings (human form), animals and inanimate objects.  So paramatma enters in to each body in the four forms explained above along with jivas and gave them definite form and name.

In the illustration the heap of clay which was clay in the morning became ghata (pot), plates or disc (plate or disc) in the afternoon.  Plate or disc is called sharava.  Though the material is same in all these clayey products, the names are different according to the purpose for which they are required.  Ghata or the pot is used for the purpose of carrying water and keeping the water in the same.  Even if the names and purposes of the different clayey products are different the fact remains that all of them are made of clay only.  So the karana and karya are one and the same in the aspect of the raw material from which karya becomes into being.

In respect of the universe, the universe is the body of the paramatma and he is the supreme soul or antaryami.  As body and soul are inseparable they are called ananya which means not separable.

In some of the upanishadic texts, the same sath is called as asath and avyakrutha.,  This means asath or avyakrutha refer to the non transformed state or karana state. That is brahman himself.

The seventh adhikarana in this pada is called Ithara vyapadesadhikaranam.  The opponent rises again to state that Brahman cannot be the cause for the universe.  The logic or the reasoning applied by him is as follows.

When the karana and karya are not different and both are one and the same and when jiva is also a karya of paramatma who is the karana and both are ananya that is not different can the brahman who is jiva could have created the universe not favourable to him in every aspect.  So Brahman who is jiva has two points of flaw.  The first flaw is creating the world most unfavourable to him and the second flaw is not creating the world favourable to him.  So brahman cannot be the cause of the universe.  This argument or reasoning echoes the advithic system propounded by Sri Adisankara.  In the advaitic system of philosophy Brahman and jiva are one and the same.  Brahman assumes the jiva form on account of Avidya or ignorance covering him and this jiva becomes Brahman again when he learns from guru “Tatvamasi” which means thou are Brahman.  This argument of the opponent is refuted by the sutrakarar.

In this adhikarana the first sutra is Ithara vyapadesathhitha akaranadi dosha prasakthi and this is the poorvapaksha sutra the meaning of which is as explained above.

The second sutra is the siddhantha sutra which is in reply to the above in the form of refutation of the above.  This sutra reads as “Adhikamthu Bheda nirdesath”.  This means that Brahman or Lord Sriman Narayana is much superior and above to jiva and hence the question of Brahman assuming jiva form and creating an unfavourable world does not arise at all.

The  Eight adhikarana in this pada is upasamhara adhikarana.  Tn this adhikarana the nirishwara sankhya vadi who is bent upon refuting the Brahma karanatvam, and who is pradhana karana vadi rises up again and applies another reasoning against brahmakaranavada.  He says we have seen in this world a pot maker making use of a wheel and stick for making a mud pot.  Similarly a gold smith makes use of several tools for making an ornament.  But in respect of the universe at the time of deluge there is only Brahman and nothing else. Of course here Brahman refers to both goddess Mahalakshmi and Lord Sriman Narayana.  His question is when there is no tool and other implements how can paramatma create the universe.

In reply to the above question the sutrakarar says in the first sutra, “Upasamharadarshanath Naiticheth na ksheeravadhi”.

The meaning of this sutra is when in the world we have seen that to create any object besides upadana karana, nimitta karana, there should be also sahakarikarana.  When there is no sahakarikarana, the Brahman cannot be the cause of the universe.  This is refuted by stating Ksheeravaddi.  Sutrakara cites a practical example in this context.  For Milk to become curd no extra tool or implement is required.  Similarly Brahman does not require any tool, instrument or implement.  Just like sage viswamitra out of his acquired yogic and spiritual powers willed to create heaven for the sake of Trisanku.  Also just like celestial gods like Indra, Siva, four headed Brahman create things without the aid of any thing,  Like wise the paramatma the supreme being is capable of creating the universe without any aid.

The 9th adhikarana is known as Kritsna prasakthi Adhikarana.  In this the opponent picks up another reasoning or logic to say that Brahman cannot be the cause of the universe.

This adhikaranam has direct link with the Arambanadhikarana in which it was said that the universe is the transformation of Brahman.  When Brahman transforms himself in to the form of universe.  There is no Brahman at all. Brahman is an object which cannot be cut or pided.  He says if Brahman is there there is no world or universe.  If universe is there there is no Brahman.

The first sutra in this adhikarana is “Kritsna prasakthi: Niravayavatva sabdakopova”.  The meaning of this sutra is as mentioned above and this is purvapaksha sutra.  In reply to the above the sutrakarar states the siddhantha sutra which reads as “Sruthestu sabda moolathvath”.  The meaning is Sruthi or Upanishad says that Brahman is Niravayava which means he has no organs like the limbs, hands etc, and that is why he cannot be cut in to parts.  At the same time paramatma has enormous super human powers.  On account of this he wills and transforms in to the universe and at the same time remains intact as Brahman.  The objection raised by Nirishwara sankhya based on our common experience does not apply to Brahman.

The sutrakarar himself points out certain defects in the Nirishwara Sankhya system.

The tenth or the last adhikarana is called as Prayojanatvadhikaram.

In this adhikarana, the opponent raises his last objection for brahman to be the cause of the universe.  His objection is very relevent and logical.  He says the Brahman professed by you has no unfulfilled desire and is called Avaptha samastha kama.  When it is so what is the earthy benefit he derives out of the creation.  He further says that the benefit is of two types. (1) Benefit for his own self.  (2) Benefit for the others.

As he is Avaptha samastha kama, there is no benefit to his own self.  As the universe he has created is causing misery to the majority of the human beings, there is no benefit to the others.  When there is no benefit either to himself or to the others, he cannot be the cause of the universe.  There is a maxim in this world without expecting any benefit even a fool will not do any thing.  So on account of the above the Nirishwara Sankhya vadi says that Brahman cannot be the cause of the universe.

The first sutra is “Na prayojanatvat”.  The meaning of the sutra is as mentioned above.  This is the purvapaksha sutra.  The second sutra in this adhikarana is the siddhantha sutra which reads as “Lokavattu leelakaivalyam”.

This means the creation, protection, destruction of the universe is the game of the paramatma and it is his past time.

The opponent says if the above view is accepted there will be two defects to Brahman because the creation is not even.  The defects are Bias and merciless ness.  He is biassed towards those who are happy in this world and he is merciless towards those who are in misery in this world.

The Sutrakarar says that the above two defects are not to be attributed to Brahman because he makes the creation according to the past deeds of the jeevas.

The opponent again counters this point by saying when the Brahman was alone at the time of deluge or before creation where was neither jiva nor his past deeds.

To this sage Vyasa who is the Sutrakarar says that jivas are eternal and they are not physically created and therefore their past deeds are also without a beginning.

So in this pada all the objections raised by the Nirishwara sankhya were overruled and hence the fact of the Brahman being the material, operational and instrumental cause of the universe got established and strengthened.

The second quarter in this second chapter is known as Tarka pada, in which the sutrakarar who is sage Badarayana goes on offensive attacking the systems of philosophy opposed to Sri Vishishtadwaitha system.

The systems of philosophy that are attacked and denounced are the following.

1)      Nirishwara Sankya system of Lord Kapila.

2)      Vaisheshika system of Kanada

3)      Four classifications of Buddhism.

4)      Jaina system.

5)      Pasupatha system.

After refuting the above the sutrakarar finally establishes the authority of Pancharatra sastra which is also known as Bhagavath sastra.  Out of these systems mentioned above, the Nirishwara Sankya system accept the authority of Vedas and the others do not accept the authority of Vedas.  There are eight adhikaranas in this pada.  The first adhikarana is “Rachana Anupapaththi Adhikaram” in which the Nirishwara sankya system is refuted.  The basic text for them is Kapila smrithi, which is not available now.  Eshwara Krishna a follower of kapila has composed a work called sankya karika which is the available  basic text for this system.

Lord Kapila is an incarnation of Lord Sriman Narayana as mentioned in Srimad Ramanayana of Sage Valmiki. His main contention is Prakrithi which is the primordial matter is the material cause of the universe and not Brahman.  Prakrithi is also known as Pradhanam, Anumanikam or Asabdam.  This prakrithi creates the universe in the presence of Jiva who is called Purusha in this context.

There are nine sutras in this adhikarana.  Each sutra is a refutal of a view point of the Sankya system.  The first view point is that this universe is a peculiar structure comprising of attributes satva, rajas and tamas.  Satva causes happiness, Rajas causes material desire and Tamas causes illusion.  The sequence of transformation of the prakriti is mahat, Ahankara, Tanmatras and Bhutas.  This system further says that Prakriti creates the universe on its own.

1)      This view point is refuted by Sutrakarar who says in the first sutra which reads as “Rachana Anuppaththeshacha nanumanam pravrutteshacha”.

The meaning is that prakrithi without having the omniscient brahman or paramatma as inner soul(Antaryami) cannot be the cause of the universe which is having a wonderful structure.  The inner soul paramatma wills and causes the transformation of prakrithi in to the universe.

2)      In the second sutra the opponent or poorvapakshi contends that (a) the milk becomes curd on its own. (b) Water poured at the root of a cocunut tree becomes a tender coconut containing tasty water on its own. (c) Water poured at the root of a mango tree becomes a mango fruit with a tasty juice on its own.  So in all the above cases it is not necessary that paramatma should be the inner soul to will that the above things should happen.  The reply of the sutrakarar for the above is that Brahman is the inner soul in all the above cases and wills and the above things happen.

In the 3rd sutra the sutrakarar says, If the Brahman is not the inner soul and wills, the creation and deluge will take place very often as it cannot be controlled by any body.  Only when paramatma wills  from within  then only there will be creation and deluge at regular intervals.

3)      The Sankya who is the poorvapakshi further contends that just as a cow after grazing the grass gives the milk which is a natural process so also the prakrithi creates the universe on its own. The sutrakarar’s reply to the above contention is that bull which also grazes the grass does not give the milk, which means that paramatma is the antaryami in the grass grazed by the cow and this antaryami wills and produces the milk through the cow.

4)      The opponent gives another illustration to drive home his point of view that Pradhanam (prakriti) creates the universe.  Just as a lame person makes a blind person to move about in his presence and a magnet attracting iron materials, so also pradhanam creates the universe in the presence of  jiva.  The sutrakarar says in reply to the above that the creation of the universe is not possible with out the antaryami that is paramatma willing because of the fact that the lame person sitting on the neck of theblind person gives directions to the blind person regarding the route in which they have to go which means that paramatma is the antaryami to the lame person.  In the case of the magnet  paramatma is the antaryami to the magnet which attracts the iron materials.

5)      The next contention of the sankya that deluge takes place at the time whem the attributes satva, rajas and tamas are of equal percentage and creation comes when they are of unequal percentage.  Even if it is argued that uneven percentage occurs during the time of deluge then there should be creation always.  Therefore it is not possible for pradhana to become cause of the universe without paramatma being its antaryami.

6)      The Sutrakara further says that even if it is  accepted with great difficulty that pradhana is the cause of the universe in the presence of jiva, then jiva can never attain moksha or salvation which is the purushartha or supreme goal.  As jiva has to attain moksha, some time or other pradhana cannot be the cause of the universe without paramatma controlling it from inside in the form of its antaryami.

7)      Finally Sutrakarar says that sankya system cannot be accepted because of many internal contradictions in that system itself.

II

The second adhikarana in this pada is called Mahath deerghavadtvadhikarana and this adhikarana is devoted for the refutal of vaisheshika system founded by Kanada,.  He is Kanada because he was eating only grain of paddy.

His main contention is that atoms are the cause of the universe and not pradhana.  He further says that two atoms become diatomic and from diatomic, triatomic is produced.  His technical term for diatomic is hrasva and for triatomic is Parimandala.  The argument in this context is that the triatoms join to-gether on all the six faces and become a bigger object and so on. Such joining of triatoms is the cause for becoming a small object like mustard and a verybig object like a mountain.

In the background of his above contention, the Sutrakara refutes this system by seven sutras.

1)      In the first sutra which reads as “Mahath deergavadva hrasva parimandalabyam”.  The Sutrakara who is sage Badarayana says that what Kanada says that this universe is made up of diatoms and triatoms by their joining to-gether and becoming big and lengthy is not correct.  This is because of the fact any object like a cloth comes to existence on account of the threads producing the cloth get weaved to-gether on all the six sides both length breadth wise and then become the cloth.  This form of joining with one another is not possible in the case of diatomics because they are inpisible.  Inpisibility is called Niravayava.  If atoms which are called paramanus are accepted as having six faces and this goes on without an end which is called anavastha.  So the Sutrakara contends that universe cannot be created by atoms.

2)      In the second sutra, Sutrakara refutes another contention of the Vaisheshikamatha.

The contention is that the movement of paramanus is on account of the past deeds which is called karma or Adrishta.  The doubt arises whether this adrishta is in paramanus or in jiva.  Both these two cannot be there because the adrishta is eternal and if the karma or adrishta is eternal then there should be creation for ever.  So the universe cannot come in to existence from out of atoms.

3)      In the third sutra another contention of the Vaisheshika is refuted.

The contention is that relationship between the objects is called Samavaya.  This is different from the Aprithak siddha sambandha as in the case of the object called guni and its attribute Guna and category called Jathn and the inpidual called vyakthi.  If samavaya relationship is accepted then the cause for one Samavaya has to be traced and hence another samavaya has to be created and so on without end.

4)      In the 4th sutra, another contention is refuted.  It is said that samavaya relationship is eternal. If this is so then the pot and its support which is ground become eternal and there will not be any creation and destruction.  As this cannot happen the Vaisheshika system is not correct.

5)      In the 5th Sutra of this adhikarana another contention of theirs is refuted.  They say because the mud pot has a definite colour, this colour is there in the atoms which produce it.  This is in contradiction to their original stand that atoms are eternal, very minute and inpisible and cannot possess colour.  Hence the vaisheshika system is not correct.

6)      In the 6th sutra, the Sutrakara says even if Kanada says he will not accept colour to the atoms, then also he cannot escape from his inconsistency because of the fact when there is no colour in the karana (cause) there cannot be any colour in the karya and so his system is not correct because it is not based on any sound logic.

7)      In the 7th sutra, the sutrakara says that while kapila system which accepts the authority of Vedas can be considered, the Kanada system cannot be accepted under any circumstances.

III

The Third, Fourth and Fifth adhikaranas are called samudaya adhikaranam, upalabdhi adhikaranam, sarvatha anupapatti adhikaranam.  In these three adhikaranas, the Bauddha system of philosophy is refuted.

In the Bauddha system there are 4 sub systems which are as below.

(1)   Vaibhashika system in which they accept that the objects we see around could be perceived by eyes (pratyaksha) and they are momentary which is called Kshanika.  Their knowledge is also momentary.

(2)   Sautranthika system in which they say the external objects are there but they can be perceived by Anumana (inference) and not by pratyaksha (Sensual perception).  Objects are momentary and their knowledge are momentary.

(3)   Yogachara system in which they say the external objects are not all there but their knowledge is there which is momentary.

(4)   Madhyamika system in which they say that nothing exists in this world and every thing is non sense.  He is called sarva sunya vadi.

All the above say that this universe is created by atoms and hence they are called paramanukaranavadies.

In the Vaibhashika system, it is said that the external objects are the combination of the atoms of earth, water, fire and air and internal objects like continuity of knowledge and desires.  It is further said earthly atoms have a form, taste, sense of touch and smell.  Atoms of water have form, taste and sense of touch.

Atoms of fire have form and sense of touch.  Atoms of air have only sense of touch. They  do not accept sky as one of the elements.

Points of refutation in Vaibhashika and Sautrantika.

1)      Their contention that atoms create earth, water, fire and air and these four elements are the cause of our bodies and senses is not correct because they say every thing is momentary or kshanika.  Also in the world there will not be any talk or reference regarding them because their existence is momentary.  The questions that arise and which they are not able to answer convincingly are (1) while the atoms are of momentary existence how and when they unite or combine to become elements for doing their respective jobs.

(2) When they become objects of perception  (3) When they become object of acceptance or rejection.  (4) Who is the soul etc.

2)They say Even though the objects and their knowledge are momentary on account of avidya (ignorance of jiva) or illusion of jiva, They say they are eternal.  Sutrakarar says this is also not correct because they are not able to spell out clearly how this world came in to being.  Here the avidya makes a diametrically opposite perception that is perceiving a momentary object as eternal.

3)Their contention is that the mud pot which comes after the previous mud pot disappeared, because of its momentary existence and the previous mud pot is the cause for the succeeding mud pot.

This is not correct because the succeeding mud pot comes in to existence only after the previous got disappeared.  So the preceding cannot be cause for the succeeding one.  If Abhava or nonsense is the cause, then every thing is produced by nothing always.  This does not happen.  The Sutrakara citing some more points refutes the Vaibhashika system.

They further say that sky or Akasha is non sense and does not exist.  This is also refuted in this context saying that sky very much exists just like earth.

The argument of vaisha shika that some thing comes out of nothing( nonsense) which is called thuchcha is also not correct.The world created by the nonsense should be nonsense only. Clay produces a mud pot. Gold produces an ornament. So neither nonsense produces something nor something produces nonsense.

After seeing an object some where some time back we are able to remember that particular object. This is called the prathya bigna of the object. When pratya bigna is there how can an object be momentary or its knowledge also are momentary. Another contention of soutranthika that the attributes of one object get transferred to another object is also refated by the sutrakara in this context.

Both vaishi shika and soutran trika were objected by sutrakarar on another point.

If the argument that something is produced from nothing and there is niranvaya vinasha ( nothing remains when an object gets destroyed) are really true then no body need put in any effort for Producing something. We have seen in this world that any effort is aimed at the removal of the evil or for the achieve ment of the desired objective. If every thing goes or get destroyed in a moment and nothing remains there after there is nothing to be achieved by effort. when something achieved by nothing then for those persons who remain in active or do not put in any effort every thing like worldy desire, heavenly desire or even salvation should get fulfilled . But unfortunately it is no so.

So Vaisheshika and Soutranthika systems do not stand to any reason and hence they are to be condemned out right.

The Sutrakara tells the vaisheshika whose system is under refutation, now that even if you say that something is produced from nothing , then this statement is against your pledge or prathigna , The particular sense which perceives the object is called Adhipathi, This sense for example eye see an object and afterwords perceive it. There are four stages which give the knowledge of a particular object. They are sense, seeing, object, perception. This is the Pratigjna. To make the above pledge true when one pot moment is there it must be said another pot moment is also there. Here the pot moment means the moment at which the pot was perceived. It should be said that the first pot moment is the cause and the second pot moment is the  effeot. But the question is how two pot moments one being the cause and the other being  effect be there simultaneously. The perception is not like that. The pledge of being momentary also fails.

Further the contention of Vaibhashika is that nothing remains when an object is subject to destruction is also refated. This is called Niranvaya vinasha. Vaibhashika says when the flame of a lamp is put out nothing remains. He further says that in the case of the flame of lamp there is the wick, oil and flame. Every moment a new small portion of the oil is burnt and the wick also gradually burns. So the flame which is the result of the burning of oil and the wick is different every moment. Though the flame appers to be the some by the perception of eye ( Pratyaksha  Pramona ) the flame becomes different every moment.

The Vaishashika says two types of destruction in this context. When the flame is put out by us. The destruction is called Aprathi sankya Nirodha. ( a technical term used by vaisha shika) and if the flame gets put out on its own in account of the exhaustion of the oil or complete burning of the wick or both, the destruction is called Prathi sankya nirodha.

In both the cases they say the destruction is niranvaya vinasha because nothing remains.it is also said that sthula  vinasha is Prathi sankya nirodha in which the remains after destruction are visible. Aprathi sankya nirodha is sukshma vinasha in which the remains are not visible.

His above contention is not accepted by the sutrakara who says that destruction is always sanvaya because destruction is always a transformation. If a pot is hit by a hammer then the pot is destroyed and the pot is broken in to pieces which are called kapala and this vinasha  ( destruction) is sanvaya only. Even in the case of the putting out of the  flame the Sutrakara says the remains which are of atomic nature are frittered away in to the air and the vinasha is sanvaya only. In one of the sutras in this Adhikarana the soutran thika system of buddhist philosophy is also retuted. The sutra reads as “Nasatha Adrishta Thvath.”

The Soutrankika generally contends that even though the externed objects are there they have to be perceived by in ference a only. And both the objects and their knowledge are of momentary in nature.

The 4th adhikarana in this 2nd quarter of 2nd chapter is called “upalabdhi adhi karanam.” In this adhi karanam the Yogachara system of Buddhist philosophy comes for condemn nation.

It has three sutras.

The main contentions of Yogachara are

1)      The objects are not physically there but their knowledge is there. Even that knowledge lasts for a moment.

2)      Just like the objects we see in the dream are momentary. So also the objects in the state of awakening.

This argument they advance in that variety of knowledge is not based on the variety of the objects. The variety of knowledge is an account of the continuity of concept which is called vasana.

The exact meaning of vasana is the continuity of the perception of difference. When the knowledge of a mud pot is there it leads to the knowledge of kapla ( broken pieces of mud pot). The perception of mud pot is again from the perception of mud pot which existed before and again this perception is from the perception of mut pot which existed before and so on as the perception is momentary.  In other words, one perception disappears and another perception appears in that place and so on.

When Yogachara was asked how the shape of the external objects like mustard and mountain comes in to the knowledge which is in the inner mind he replies that even the reference of an object is on account of the vocal expression of the same.

The Sutrakara refutes the above argument in the first sutra which reads as “Nabhava upalabdhe:”.  The meaning of this sutra is that when the object physically exists its non existence cannot be established.  This means in other words that the object and its perception are co-existent.  The yogachara says when the perception and the object are co-existent, it is called “Sahopalambha” “Upalambha” means perception, “Saha” means to-gether.  In the case of “Saho palambha” he says that knowledge and object are one and the same.

Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja says in the Sri Bhasya conntering the above argument that Sahopalambha does not mean that object and perception are one and the same.  If a person says “I perceive this pot”.  In this statement “I” refers to the person who is the subject (“Kartha“), the mud pot means the object which is perceived.  When there is difference between the subject and object so also there is difference between the object and its perception.

In the second sutrakarar says there is difference between the objects perceived during the dreams and those perceived during the awakening state.  The objects perceived during the dreams are subject to the defects caused by sleep and defective mind and other things.

Further it is said that there could be no perception Without the object. such a perception could never be there.  There could be no knowledge without a person who is the subject and without an object.

So the final conclusion is that Yogachara system can never be accepted.

The Fifth adhikarana is “Sarvatha Anupapaththi” adhikaranam.  This adhikaranam is devoted for refuting the Madhyamika system of Buddhist philosophy.

This Madhyamika is called “Sarva Sunyavadi”.  He says that there is neither object nor its perception and it is the final conclusion of Lord Buddha.  Non sense is the tenet of his system and nonsense it self is the salvation.  The reason for a thing to exist is to be traced. He says he has not seen the creation of some thing from something.  When the heap of the clay is lost there will be only nonsense from which the nonsense pot is created.  Further in this world every thing is an illusion.

This contention is refuted by the Sutrakara in the sutra which reads as “Sarvatha Anupapaththeshcha”.  This sutra means that by any stretch of Imagination, this sunyathvavada has no relevance at any time and at any place.  He is to be questioned whether he pledges that every thing is sat (real entity) really exists, whether it does not exist, whether it is the other than the above two and so on.      In any case he will not be able to establish his contention.

The sixth adhikaranam in this pada is called “Ekasmin Asambhavadhikarana” which has four sutras.  This Adhikaranam is fully devoted for denouncing the Jaina system of philosophy.

The Jainas are also paramanukaranavadies.  Their main tenets are as follows.

This universe which comprises of sentient and non sentient beings does not have a supreme being who is called Iswara.  This universe is madeup of six substances called dravyas.  These dravyas are Jiva, Dharma, Adharma, Pudgala, Kala and Akasha.  The above are elaborated below.  Jiva is the inpidual soul (sentient being) is of three categories.  The categories are Baddhas, Yogasiddhas and Mukthas.  Baddhas are unliberated souls having the bondage of samsara.  Yogasiddhas are those jivas who have acquired yogic powers by meditation with a sense of detachment.  Mukthas are those who are liberated.  Dharma is that power (punya) which makes a jiva to depart and attain salvation. Adharma is the sinful act which makes jivas to remain in this universe itself.

Pudgala means substances having colour, smell, taste, touch.  This pudgala is again of two types.  The first is in the form of atoms and second is their combination.  The combination of atoms constitutes air, Fire, Water, Earth, Body, World etc.

Kala or the time is pided as past, present and future.  Time is atomic.  Sky or Akasha is of infinite space. All the above substances other than atoms are again classified as five Asthikayas.  If a substance encompasses a  large space it is called Asthikaya.  The five asthikayas are Jivasthikaya, Dharma Asthikaya, Adharma Asthikaya, Pudgala Asthikaya, Akasha Asthikaya.  The means for salvation is Righteous conduct with the background of sound knowledge and insight.  Salvation is the blossiming of the intrinsic and inherent nature of one’s own self which is Jivatma.

In addition to the above they say that every object in this world is of seven fold mutually contradicting characteristics.  The seven fold characteristics are (1) May be an object exists  (2) May be an object does not exist  (3) May be an object exists and also does not exist.  (4) May be an object is indescribable  (5) May be an object is exists and is indescribable (6)  May be an object does not exist and is indescribable (7) May be an object exists & does not exist and indescribable.

This seven fold characteristic is called Sapthabhangivada.  The Sutrakara begins to refute the above Jainism with the Sutra reading as “Naikasmin Asambhavath”.  This means it is not possible for the mutually contradicting characteristics to be there in the same object at the same time.  It is just like telling that the shadow and hot sun are at once place at the same time.  As this is not possible, the seven fold mutually contradicting characteristics in the same object at the same time is not possible.  So the Jainism cannot be accepted.  In the second and third sutras, the Sutrakara refutes another view point of the jainas.  They say that Jiva the inpidual soul has no fixed size.  They say that jivas are of the size of the body which they take during every birth.  This statement is something absurd on the very face of it because of the fact in one birth a jiva may become an elephant and the size of the jiva in that birth will be of the size of the elephant and if in the subsequent birth if jiva were to become an ant then the size of the jiva will be that of ant.  How can jiva of the elephant size can reduce himself to that of ant.  This cannot happen because jiva is inpisible.

So the Jain system becomes totally unacceptable and hence to be condemned.

The Seventh Adhikarana in this pada is called “Pasupathi Adhikaranam which has four sutras.  In this Adhikarana the sutrakara denounces the pasupathi system of philosophy founded by Lord Siva who is called Pasupathi.  His teachings are, 1. For the universe Nimitta karana is Lord Siva where as the Upadanakarana is the Prakrithi that is primordial matter.  Their customs and habits are very nasty and even vulgar.  All their teachings and customs are totally repugnant to Vedas.  The followers of this religion and philosophy are of four categories.

1)      Kapalika – One who knows the names of six mudrikas ( wearing certain things on the body) and meditates on his ownself attains Moksha.  The mudrikas are a necklace, finger ring, ear ring, a bead worn on the tuft of hair on the head, ashes and holy thread are the six mudrikas.

2)      Kalamukhas – They say the following are the means for attainment of all fruits here and  in the other worlds. The means are to eat out of a human skull, to bathe with the ashes of the cremation ground, and  put it in the mouth, to bear a stick, to fill a vessel with toddy (liquor) and worship it.

Similarly the other two categories namely Pasupathas and Saivas teach on the similar lines to their followers.  They also say a person belonging to an inferior caste can be converted to superior caste.

The above pasupatha system of philosophy is denounced by the Sutrakara in the first sutra of this adhikarana which reads as “Pathyu: Asamanja syath”.

The meaning of this sutra is that the philosophy and religion of Pasupatha (Lord Siva) is to be rejected out right because of mutual internal contradictions and his teachings are entirely  against those contained in Vedas.  All the Vedas in one voice proclaim that Lord Sriman Narayana is himself is the material and operational cause of the universe.  Certain references to fourheaded Brahma and Siva in some of the vedic and upanishadic texts have to be interpreted as per the sutra in the Indra prana Adhikarana of the first quarter and  first chapter.  The sutra is “Sastra Drishtyathu upadesha: Vamadva thath” which means that if any other deity is mentioned in upanishadic contexts pertaining to meditation, then in those contexts the object of meditation is Lord Sriman Narayana only who is in the inner soul of the deity mentioned there in.

The other objections to the pasupatha philosophy is that in this system of philosophy opposed to Vedas citing the supreme being as operational cause only and not material cause is based on inference only (Anumana pramana).  A pot maker who is the operational cause for a mud pot handles the heap of clay and is incharge of all the other operations involved in the pot making.  Being incharge of all the operations is called Adhishtana.  The pot maker is an Adhishtana because he has a body.  Even if a body is accepted to Lord Pasupathi that body cannot last for ever as it has to perish on one day or other.  So Lord Siva cannot be nimittha karana.

It is argued that an inpidual soul without itself being a body is the adhishtana for his body and senses for the enjoyment of pleasure and sorrows.So also Lord Siva can be adhishtana to prakrithi and be nimitta karana.  Jiva  is adhishtana on account of his punya and papa.  Because according to them there is no punya and papa to Lord Siva,   he cannot be adhishtana.

Even if punya, papa is accepted to Lord Siva then he will be like any other ordinary soul (Jiva) and with limited knowledge.  So he cannot be nimittha karana ( operational cause).  So the pasupatha matham is to be rejected outright completely.

In the case of sage Badarayana who is the Sutrakara rejecting the Buddhism and Jainism, a doubt many arise.

Buddha and Jaina appeared in this world in Kaliyuga and propagated their respective systems.  The Sutrakara was in Dvapara yuga and composed sutras.  The doubt is how can the sutrakara denounce the systems which were propagated in Kaliyuga only.

This doubt is cleared as follows:-

Buddha and Jaina preached their respective religions and philosophies which were already existing, to their followers.  These philosophies are anadi or without a beginning.  So the Sutrakarar has rejected them.  Another explanation is that the present kaliyuga is 28th Kaliyuga in the cycle of 71 chathur yugas ( Kritha, Thretha, Dvapara and Kali are the four yugas and they to-gether constitute one chathur yuga) of  vaivaswatha manvantara.

Every manvanthara has 71 chathur yugas. Buddha and Jaina would have born in 27th Kaliyuga also and preached their respective religions.  So sage Badarayana who was born in 28th dvapara yuga would have denounced the Buddhism and Jainism which were preached in 27th Kaliyuga.

The 8th or the last adhikarana in this 2nd pada of the 2nd chapter is “Utpathi Asambhavadhikarana”.  In this adhikarana the opponents of Sri Pancharathra Sastra are denounced and the authority of the Pancharathra sastra is established.  Lord Sriman Narayana did not author the Vedas but he only taught Vedas to the four headed Brahma who was created in his navel.  But he is said to be the author of the entire Pancharathra sastra and propagated the same to others.

This Pancharathra sastra was preached by Lord Sriman Narayana to five celestial gods who are Anantha, Garuda, Vishvaksena, Brahma and Indra and this preaching was done in five nights and hence it is calld “Pancharathra”.  Another reason for calling it as pancharathra is that this sastra deals with the daily routine to be observed or performed by an inpidual.  This daily routine is pided in to five parts which are called Abhigamana, Upadana, Ijya, Svadhyaya and Yoga.

This Pancharathra sastra comprises of 108 samhitas which fall in to four categories. (1) Agamasiddhantha  (2) Manthra Siddhantha  (3) Tanthra siddhantha  (4) Tanthranthara siddhantha.

This is just like pision as Rigveda, Yajur veda, Sama veda and Atharvana veda.  It is said if an inpidual strictly conforms to the preachings contained in one samhitha he will attain Moksha that is eternal bliss.  This is equivalent to practicing Bhakthiyoga adopting any of the 32 Brahma vidyas prescribed in upanishads as means for attaining Moksha.

The doubt regarding the authority of Sri Pancharathra sastra arose because of a statement in one of the samhitas as “Sankarashno nama Jivo jayathe” which means that a jiva by name sankarshana was born.  As there is no birth or death to an inpidual soul that is Jiva as per the upanishads the above statement contradiets what is established in Vedas.  When the contradiction is there and as Vedas are of supreme authority it was contended that Pancharathra sastra which is contradiction to Vedas is not an authority.

The first two sutras are the purvapaksha sutras stating the view point of the opponents.  The latter two sutras are siddhantha sutras refuting the view point of the opponent or Poorvapakshi.

The first sutra is “Utpatthi Asambhavath”.  The meaning of this sutra “as there is no creation of the Jiva, the Pancharathra sastra which mentions the creation of the jiva cannot be an authority.  This argument was countered by the sutrakarar who says in the sutra as Vignanadi Bhavevathatda prathisheda:”.

The meaning of this sutra is that Sankarshana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha are the vyuha forms of the Lord Sri Paravasudeva (Sriman Narayana) and there is no jiva by name sankarshana and hence there is no contradiction between veda and pancharathra sastra. So the pancharathra is an authority in its entirety.

Sankarshana is the form of the Lord Sriman Narayana who represents jivas and Pradyumna represents senses.  The port folio of sankarshana is the destruction of the universe at the time of deluge.  Pradyumna is the creator and Aniruddha is the protector.

Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja has quoted profusely from several samhithas, establishing the full agreement of Pancharathra sastra with the Vedas.  So Pancharathra sastra is a complete authority to us.

As already mentioned, earlier the second chapter is called “Avirodha Adhyaya”.  The word Avirodha means “No opposition or No objection”.  This further means Lord Sriman Narayana who is called parabrahman or merely as Brahman is the three fold cause of the universe that is upadana karana (material cause), Nimitta karana (operational cause) and Sahakarikarana (instrumental cause).  This fact was established in the first chapter called samanvaya adhyaya and this was further strengthened and reinforced in the second chapter.  So the second chapter asserts that there is no objection in Lord Sriman Narayana in being the three fold cause of the universe.  This assertion came after Sutrakara who is the sage Badarayana over ruled the various objections raised by Nirishwara Sankhya against Lord Sriman Narayana being the cause of the universe in the first pada by being on the defensive and starting offensive against the other systems of philosophy and denouncing them by pointing their internal contradictions and other drawbacks.

The systems that were refuted are (1) Nirishwara Sankhya system of Kapila  (2) Vaisheshika system of Kanada who is a paramanukaranavadi which means atoms are the cause of the universe  (3) Four sub systems of Bauddha who are Vaibhashika, Soutrantika, Yogachara and Madhyamika who are all paramanu karana vadies.  (4) Jaina system who is also a paramanukaranavadi.  (5) Pasupatha system of Lord Pasupathi who is paramasiva who they say is the nimitta karana only and not upadana karana.

After the above offensive, the Sutrakara finally establishes the authority of pancharathra sastra also called as Bhagavat sastra after clearing some initial doubts regarding the same.  As mentioned earlier the first pada is called Smrithi pada and the second pada is known as Tarka pada.

After establishing decisively that Lord Sriman Narayana is the cause of the universe during the previous six padas (Four padas of the first chapter, two padas on the second chapter), the sutrakarar now begins the discussions on the objects created by Brahman who is Lord Sriman Narayana in this 3rd quarter and 4th quarters of the second chapter.

The 3rd quarter is called viyathpada and the 4th quarter is called Indriya pada.  In these two quarters the sutrakarar settles the internal quarrel or domestic quarrel.  The reason for the domestic quarrel is the apparent internal contradictions in Vedas regarding the objects of creation as detailed below.

1)There are some texts in Vedas which say  that sky is not created and is eternal.  In the same Vedas there are texts which say that sky is created and not eternal.

2)There are some references in Vedas that jivas or inpidual souls are created and in contradiction of these references there are upanishadic sayings that jivas are not created and they are eternal.

3)whether the jiva or inpidual soul has the consciousness.  Here consciousness is Jnana or knowledge which means the ability to perceive things.  The size of the jiva is also discussed.

4)Some quotations are there in Vedas and upanishads that jivas are not doers of any activity which in otherwords mean that a jiva is not a karta.  Quotations are also there that jiva is a doer (kartha).

5)If it is eatablished that jiva is kartha, the doubt has to be cleared whether this doing of an activity is independent or subordinate to Lord’s or paramatma’s will.

6)Again some references are there in Vedas which say that there is absolutely no relationship between jivatma and paramatma.  In contradiction of the above there are references in Vedas and Sri Bhagavadgitha, that jivatma is the body of the paramatma.

7)Some upanishadic texts say that senses or Indriyas are not created and there are texts which say that Indriyas are created.  There are some contradicting statements regarding the number of senses.

8) Mukyaprana is the air which all the living organisms breathe.  There is one saying that this mukyaprana is not created but there is another saying that this mukyaprana is created.

9) The doubt arises regarding the size of the senses and mukyaprana.  Some say they are of big size and some others say they are very near atomic size.

10) whether the task of giving name and form to every object of creation is that of four headed Brahma or that of Lord Sriman Narayana by being the antaryami of four headed Brahma who is called Hiranyagarbha.  This act of giving name and form is known as Namarupa vyakarana.

The above contradictions which led to internal or domestic quarrel are settled in the 3rd and 4th quarters (third and fourth padas of the second chapter).

In the 3rd pada, there are seven adhikaranas.  The first adhikarana is called Viyath adhikarana.  Viyath means sky or akasa.

The topic for discussion in this adhikarana is  whether there is creation for akasa or sky.             The opponent says that the akasa is not created as its creation is unheared.  There are two reasons to support his view point.

(a)                one of the upanishadic texts says that Anthariksha that is Akasa and vayu the air, are both eternal.

(b)               In Chandogyopanishad, in the 6th chapter which deals with sadvidya, it is said that before the creation of the universe there was one entity called “Sath”.  This sath obviously means Paramatma or Lord Sriman Narayana with his consort Mahalakshmi.  In our Visishtadwaitha system both Goddes Mahalakshmi and Sriman Narayana are always to-gether and are inseparable and both to-gether constitute a single entity called Brahman.  So Mahalakshmi has also involvement in the creation of the universe.

Now coming to the point, this “sath” who is Lord Sriman Narayana willed and created fire, then water and there after earth.  In this sequence of creation the Akasa (Sky) and Vayu (Air) are omitted.  So this led to the doubt whether Akasa is crteated.

In this Adhikarana, the Sutrakara counters the above view point of the opponent and gives several reasons to establish the fact there is creation for Akasa.

The reasons cited by Sutrakara to establish the above fact of creation of sky are as follows.

(a)                                        In Taittariya upanishad there is a clear mention of creation of akasa.  This upanishad clearly laid down the sequence of creation from paramatma, as akasa, vayu, fire that is agni, water (AP), earth (prithivi).

(b)                                       In Mundaka upanishad, there is an unambiguous saying that from the Lord Sriman Narayana, Mukhya prana the breath, Mind, the other ten senses akasa, vayu, fire, water and earth were born that is they were created.

(c)                                        The opponent who still holds the view that there is no creation to akasa, says when chandogya upanishad omitted the mention of sky and vayu in the sequence of creation, no literal meaning need be attached to the creation of sky and vayu mentioned in the Taittariya upanishad.

(d)                                       The question again arises how could be there no literal meaning to the words of creation of sky and vayu when there is literal meaning in the same upanishad for fire, water and earth.  For this opponent replies that in Mundaka upanishad, the word Brahman has literal meaning in one context and there is no literal meaning to Brahman in another context likewise in this case of saying in Taittariya upanishad also.

(e)                                        This contention of the opponent was rejected by sutrakara who states that there is no exception to the pledge made in the 6th chapter (Sadvidya) of chandogyo upanishad in which the above pledge says as follows:

If the basic raw material is known then several products produced from this material are known.  According to this pledge when Brahman is the cause of the universe every object other than Brahman is created and there is no exception to this pledge.  If sky and vayu are not created then the above pledge loses its significance or validity.

So the Sutrakara finally establishes the fact that Akasa is subject to creation and not eternal.

The second adhikarana in this quarter is called Thejodhikarana.

Here the doubt arises whether the creation of the five Bhuthas and the tanmatras in between them takes place one after the other in a sequence like.  Mahath from prakrithi, Ahamkara from Mahath, Sabdatanmatra from Ahamkara, Sky from Sabdatanmatra, Sparsha tanmatra from sky, vayu or air from Sparshatanmatra, Rupatanmatra from Air, Thejas or fire from Rupa tanmatra, Rasatanmatra from thejas, water from rasa tanmatra and gandha tanmatra from water and finally earth from Gandha tanmatra.

In other words the doubt is whether the succeeding tatva or element is created directly from the preceeding element or whether the succeeding element or tatva is created from the will of the paramatma who is the inner soul or antaryami of the preceeding element or tatva.

The Taittariya upanishad says that the creation of the five Bhuthas takes place one after the other without any mention of Tanmatra.  There is also no mention in Chandogya upanishad of the antaryami (inner soul) willing and creating the succeeding element or tatva.  In subahopanishad, there is the mention of tatmantra.  Tanmatra is a stage between two consecutive bhuthas.  This is similar to the stage in between Milk and curd.  The Chandogyopanishad says that thejas or fire wills, the water is created, the water wills the earth is created.  Since fire and water do not have consciousness or gnana, they cannot will that is in other words inanimate objects cannot will at all.  So it has to be construed that the inner soul or antaryami of each element or tatva wills and the next element in the sequence mentioned in the preceeding para is created.

The Mundakopanishad clearly states the above fact that Paramatma who is antaryami in every tatva wills and creates the next tatva or element.  The upanishad says that from Lord Sriman Narayana the Breath which is also called Mukya prana, Mind, the ten senses (Indriyas), the five bhutas are created.

So considering the statements of Taittariya upanishad, Chandogyopanishad, Subalopanishad, and Mundaka upanishad the final conclusion with regard to the creation and its sequence is as follows.

Paramatma (Sriman Narayana also called Brahman)

Prakriti ( Lord Sriman Narayana who is the antaryami in prakrithi wills)

Mahan is created (Antaryami of Mahan wills)

Ahamkara is created (This ahamkara is of three categories)

1)      Satvika ahamkara – Lord Sriman Narayana who is the antaryami of satvika ahamkara wills and then the eleven senses are created.  Details of senses will be dealt with in the 4th pada of the 2nd chapter.

2)      Rajasa ahamkara – The antaryami of this ahankara helps both satvika ahamkara and Tamasa krara for creating senses and for creating the tanmatras and bhuthas respectively.

Tamasa Ahankara (Antaryami of this Ahamkara Lord Sriman Narayana wills)

Sabdatanmatra is created (Antaryami of Sabdatabmatra wills)

Akasha or sky is created (Antaryami of Akasa wills)

Sparsa tanmatra is created  (Its antaryami wills)

Vayu or Air is created  (Its antaryami wills)

Rupa  tanmatra is created.  Rupa means colour or form  (Its antaryami wills)

Tejas, Agni or Fire is created (Its antaryami wills)

Rasa tanmatra (Its antaryami wills)

Ap or water is created (Their antaryami wills)

Gandha Tanmatra is created (Its antaryami wills)

Bhoomi or Earth is created.

It should be noted in the above that Apa or water is always plural that is according to sanskrit grammar and hence it was mentioned as their antaryami.  Further also it should be noted that Sabda or sound is the attribute of Akasa, Sparsha or touch is the attribute of Vayu, Rupa or colour is the attribute of Tejas, Rasa or taste is the attribute of water and Gandha or Smell is the attribute of Earth.

Incidentally it may be noted that sabda, sparsa, rupa, rasa and gandha are objects of enjoyment.  They are called vishayas.  Sabda is the object of enjoyment of ears, sparsha is the object of enjoyment of skin, Rupa is the object of enjoyment of eyes, Rasa is the object of enjoyment of tongue, Gandha is the object of enjoyment of nose.

Finally in this Adhikarana the opponent’s (Purva pakshi) point of view is that the creation is sequential and there is no question of Lord Sriman Narayana remaining Antaryami in each and willing.  The Sutrakara who is the sage Badarayana refutes the opponent’s view and says that the paramatma is the Antaryami in every thing who wills and creates the bhuthas.  Willing is called Sankalpa in sanskrit.

In this Adhikarana there are 8 sutras out of which four sutras narrate the view points of the poorvapakshi and the latter four sutras are the view points of the sutrakara as delailed above.

In the last sutra of this Adhikarana the Sutrakara establishes a very important maxim of Visishtadwaitha philosophy which is called “Aparyavasana vritti”.  This means the name of any object in this world finally refers to the lord Sriman Narayana who is the antaryami because every object is his body and any reference to the body finally refers to Sriman Narayana only.  In other words both words referring both sentient and non sentient beings finally refer Lord Sriman Narayana only.

The third Adhikarana in this pada is called Atmadhikarana.  In this adhikarana the doubt whether the inpidual soul who is jiva is subject to creation or not.  The opponent’s view is that jiva is also created because any thing and every thing other than Brahman is subject to creation as Lord Sriman Narayana is the creator of both sentient and non sentient beings in the universe.  There are two statements one in Taittariya upanishad and another in Yajur veda samhita which support the view point of the opponent that inpidual souls are created by Brahman because he is the cause of the entire universe.  Also there are two more statements in the upanishads that jivas are created.

In Taittariya Upanishad it is said that Brahman (Lord Sriman Narayana) is the entity from whom the universe is born, who sustains or protects this universe and who causes the annhilation of the universe at the time of deluge.  In another context in the same upanishad it is said that the universe was born from Brahman who created jivas along with water.  In the yajurveda samhitha the prajapathi who is Lord Sriman Narayana created the prajas who are the jivas.  In Chandogyopanishad it is said that these prajas or inpidual souls are born from sath who is the Lord Sriman Narayana.

Another view point in this context that the same chandogyopanishad says as “Tatvamasi” which mean jiva himself is Brahman, when jiva himself is Brahman, he is eternal.  This point is countered by saying that the same chandogyopanishad says that every thing in this universe is Brahman.  If it is so then the sky which is also Brahman becomes eternal but it has been established that Sky is subject to creation.  So on the same anology jiva also cannot be eternal.

This view point of the opponent is refuted by the Sutrakara in the sutra” Natmasruthe: Nityatvachchachathabhya:”.

The meaning of this sutra is that Jivatma or simply Atma is not subject to creation because of two reasons.

i)                    The Kathopanishad clearly says that jiva is neither created nor destroyed.  Further it is said that Paramatma and Jivatma who are the Supreme soul and inpidual soul respectively are both eternal and not subject to creation.

ii)                   Further the same Kathoupanishad says that inpidual souls who are infinite in number are eternal and the supreme soul who is also eternal fulfills the aspirations of the people.

Now the question arises that when the jiva is not subject to any creation how the pledge or vow that Ekavijnana sarvavijnana ( by knowing the cause, knowing all the things created becomes possible) will be valid and true.  This question is answered as follows.

Except Lord Sriman Narayana the Brahman or Paramatma, all the sentient and non sentient beings are created.  The creation is said to be of two types.

1) Physical transformation which takes place in non sentient beings and this is called Swarupa Anyatha Bhava.  Anyatha bhava is the physical transformation.  Clay becoming pot, pot becoming kapala that is pot broken to pieces and so on.  This is the physical transformation.

2) Transformation in the nature or attribute and this transformation takes place in sentient beings which are jivas.  The jiva possesses consciousness or knowledge.  This consciousness is known as Dharma bhootha jnana by means of which a jiva is able to perceive objects.  This knowledge under goes a transoformation ( By contraction or expansion) contraction means sankocha and expansion means vikasa.  This quantum of Dharmabhootha gnana varies from one jiva to another jiva depending upon his past deeds.  This Dharma bhootha gnana varies from zero in the caseof an inanimate object to infinity in the case of paramatma, Nityasuries and Mukthatmas (liberated souls).  This transformation  in the dharmabhutha gnana of a jiva is called Svabhava Anyathabhava.  Because of this transformation Jiva also gets included in the category of creation though his intrisinc nature is not subject to creation and destruction.  So the pledge of Ekavijnanana, Sarva vijnanam continues to be valid and true.

The opponent’s view that there is creation and destruction to jiva based on some afore said upanishadic texts is replied by saying that though jiva is eternal, the body he assumes in every birth borns and dies and this is not applicable to jiva.

The Fourth Adhikarana in this pada is called the Gnadhikarana.  From this adhikarana onwards the remaining four adhikaranas of this pada basically deal with the nature, size and attributes of jiva and the relationship between paramatma and jeeva.

In this adhikarana it will be established that the jiva is self luminous and it does not require the aid of anything else to know his own self.  Self luminousness is also a form of consciousness and this is called Dharmijnana.  Dharmi is jiva and his luminousness is called Gnana. Jiva requires Dharmabhutha Jnana to perceive objects other than his own self.  So there are two gunas to jiva one is Dharmjnana and the other is Dharma bhuthai jnana.  It should be noted that “I” it self is the jiva or inpidual soul and to know him as “I” is Dharmi Jnana.  This Dharmi Jnana is there even in darkness and even in dreams.  Even in the case of deep and sound sleep there will be realisation of his own self because he says after waking up I had a sound sleep.  He will also say that he did not know himself.  The meaning of this statement is that even though he had the consciousness of “I” during the sound sleep he did not know to which varna (case) and to which Ashrama his body belonged to.

The Dharmi jnana is one and the same to both paramatma and jeevatma since both have self luminous conscience of “I”.   The difference between them is only in respect of Dharmabhutha jnana.  As already mentioned it is infinite in the case of paramatma and it is very limited in the case of unliberated souls like us and its quantum varies according to our pastdeeds that is punya and papa karma.

In this Adhikarana the points for discussion are (1) whether the jiva is self luminous only according to Buddhism and Sankya (2) whether the jiva is just like a stone without any consciousness according to sage Kanada  (3) whether the consciousness in jiva is not there always and consciousness comes to him periodically.  Another school of thought is whether jiva is gnatha and he is able to perceive things.  There is one more school of thought in which if it is said that Jiva’s self luminous ness and consciousness are natural and accepted then jivatma is every where and his consciousness is always there.  Then there is no need for him to have senses or indriyas to have sensual perception.

Obviously the consciousness is not there at the time of sound sleep and in coma stage and therefore it cannot be there always.  In the stage of awakening the jiva becomes conscious provided he has all the requisite aides like light, object and dharma bhutha gnana.  So the opponent belonging to the above school of thought contends that neither jiva is self luminous nor has dharma bhutha gnana.  So it has to be accepted that the consciousness of jiva is only periodical and it has also to accepted that jiva is every where because work is turned out every where.  There is also no authority or testimony to prove that jiva turns out work only by the movement of  his body.

There are upanishadic texts which say the absence of consciousness  during sound sleep and also in the state of Moksha or liberation.

In the light of the above pergent views on the intrinsic nature and attribute of jiva the sutrakarar says in the first sutra of this adhikarana which reads as “Gnotha Eva”.  This Adhikarana has 14 sutras.  The meaning of first sutra is that jiva besides being self luminous he has dharma bhutha gnana that is in other words he is gnatha that is he is having inherent nature of consciousness.  Several upanishadic texts support this view.  One of the upanishads says that the inpidual soul is the seer, listener, smeller, taster, thinker, knower, doer, conscious.  This means he is able to perceive objects through his senses by virtue of his dharma bhutha gnana.  The sum and substance of the remaining 13 sutras is as follows.

(1)                                   This jivatma is of atomic size as it moves out of this mortal body at the time of death and enters into another body at its subsequent birth.

(2)                                   So going out and coming back has to be done physically by the jiva on account of his good and bad deeds (Punya and papa) and going out and coming back is not possible by the mortal body as it perishes soon after death.

(3)                                   The upanishadic text clearly tells regarding the size of the jivatma.  The Svetashwatara upanishad in this context specifically mentiones the size of the jiva as follows.

The size of the jiva is 1/100 th pision of the 1/100 th pision of the end of one of the hairs in the tail of the horse.  This jiva’s dharmabhutha jnana becomes infinite after his attaining salvation.  Another upanishadic text says that the size of the jiva is that of the tip of a needle which is used for stitching leather bag or footwear.  This says he is of micro size.

(4)                                  Now the doubt arises that when the jiva is of mocro size and is in the corner of the heart of the body how he will be able to feel the pain or pleasure that takes place at another place in the body.  This doubt is cleared by an illustration.  The illustration is that when a moist sandal paste is smeared at a particular place of the body the jiva in the heart feels the pleasure of the cooling.  In the same manner the jiva feels the sensation.

(5)                                  Eventhough the jivatma is in the heart of the body of an inpidual he is able feel the sensations taking place in the different parts of the body on account of the dharma bhutha gnana and to explain this point the sutrakara gives another illustration in which he says that eventhough the light or lamp burns at one particular point its light is spread all over the place in which it is placed.

(6)                                  In one sutra the sutrakarar draws a clear distinction between Dharmi gnana that is “I” and dharma bhutha gnana.  Here the dharma bhutha gnana is clearly the attribute of the jiva and not jiva himself.  Another illustration to explain this point is that smell is the attribute of the earth and not earth itself.  There is a clear distinction between them.

(7)                                  Another doubt that arises in this context is cleared when the vignana or consciousness which is dharma bhutha gnana is different from jiva how could jiva be called as vijnana himself in two different upanishadic texts That Lord Sriman Narayana stands always by the side of viguana (jiva) and vignana does yaga (jiva does yaga).  The sutrakarar clears this doubt by saying that there is always the practice calling the noun by its attribute.  A parallel illustration is mentioned in this context that “Ananda” the meaning of infinite bliss is the name of paramatma himself even though Ananda is an attribute of the Lord Sriman Narayana.  Another reason for this is dharma bhutha gnana which is a permanent and eternal attribute of jiva and so he can be called “Vijnana”.

(8)                                  One more doubt arises in this context when dharma bhutha gnana is a permanent and ever attribute of jiva why its presence is not felt in the state of sound sleep.  Dharmabhutha jnana is also very much contracted or restricted in the case of a child and it expands as the child grows.  This doubt is cleared by the sutrakarar by another illustration.  In a male child the masculinity or potency is dormant in the child hood  and it blossoms at the time of the child attaining the age of youth.  So also dharma bhutha gnana is dormant in the state of sound sleep and it blossoms in the state of awakening.

(9)                                  Finally the Sutrakara refutes the argument that jiva is omni present and jiva is self luminous only.  He says if he is omni present then Dharmabhutha jnana should blossom for ever or should not blossom at all.  The same is the case if jiva is self luminousouly.  So the final conclusion is that jiva has both Dharmi jnana and Dharmabhutha jnana.

The fifth adhikarana is karthru adhikaranam.  It is stablished here that jiva is kartha or doer.  The doubt regarding the above arises on account of two statements one in katopanishad and the other in Bhagavadgitha.  The statement in katopanishad says the killer of a person says that he has killed a person and both the killer and killed do no know that one can be a killer and the other can be killed.  Similarly in Bhagavadgitha Lord Krishna says Arjuna, that it is an illusion that jiva is a doer where as in reality the attributes of the prakrithi.  Satva, Rajas and Tamas are the doers.  So the contention of the opponent is that jiva is not the doer.

This contention of the opponent is refuted by the sutrakarar who says in the first sutra as “Kartha sastrartha vatvath”.  The meaning of this sutra is that jivatma is the doer or kartha because the jiva is the enjoyer of the fruits of his doing.

It is said that one who aspires the svargaloka or the heaven should do jyothishtama yaga.  Similarly one who aspires to attain Moksha or salvation he has to meditate on Lord Sriman Narayana.  So if the inpidual soul does yaga he will be the enjoyer of the fruit of the yaga which is the svargaloka.  Similarly if a jiva meditates on paramatma then he will enjoy the fruit of the meditation which is moksha.  When it is so how can the three attributes of prakrithi (primordial matter) could be the doers.  There are six more sutras in this adhikarana in which the Sutrakara cites several upanishadic texts to establish the fact that jiva is the doer.  In one of the statements of the Taittiriya upanishad, it is said that viguanam does the yaga.  According to the opponent viguanam is the buddhi which may be called as a steady state of mind.  But Sutrakara says that viguana is jiva and not buddhi.  If it were buddhi the upanishad should have stated as vignanena.  The third case which is in Sanskrit called as Thriteeya vibhakthi.  So jiva is the doer as he is the enjoyer of the fruit.

The next adhikarana is known as “Parayattadhikaranam”.  In this adhikarana it is established that the actions or doings of jiva are controlled by Paramatma.

The opponent says that if every action of an inpidual soul is controlled by paramatma or Lord Sriman Narayana then the scriptures which say “do this” and “do not do that” become meaning less.  The shastra which says “do this” is called vidhisastra and shastra which says do not do that is called nishedhasastra.  Shastra means scripture.  The sutrakarar says in the first sutra of this adhikarana that actions and doings are controled by paramatma because of some statements in the upanishads.  The first statement in the upanishad is that Lord Sriman Narayana who is the antaryami or the inner soul of every being controls every action of every being or inpidual soul.  Paramatma is by the side of the jiva in the heart of every being, he is different from jiva, jiva is his body, and he controls every action of jiva.

In the Bhagavadgitha also Lord Krishna says that he dwells in the heart of every being and he directs the actions of the jiva.  In another sloka also Lord Krishna says Arjuna that Eswara or paramatma is in the heart of every being and makes every bhutha or jiva rotate in a wheel like machine.  The first sutra is “Paraththu Thath Sruthe:”

In the second sutra the sutrakarar replies to the opponent’s view point that vidhi nishedha shastra becomes meaning less if jivatma does not have freedom for his action and without the body and senses a jiva by himself cannot do any thing.  Depending upon the punya papa karma of a jiva, paramatma gives jiva a body and senses.  Jiva’s actions and doings are through only body and senses.  When a jiva attempts to do a particular thing good or bad paramatma gives basically his consent for the same.  If after paramatma giving the consent, jiva resorts to do bad deeds or sin ful acts on his own it cannot be said that paramatma is merciless and he is responsible for the bad and good deeds of the inpidual.  Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja gives a beautiful illustration in this context.  When the body and senses given by paramatma belongs to both paramatma and jivatma one cannot attempt to do a particular thing without the consent of the other.  It is just like a father signing a blank cheque and giving it to his son for drawing the amount and utilising the same in any manner he likes.  He may use it for a good cause or for a bad cause.  In either case he has to enjoy the fruit of his own action.  He will be happy if he has used it for a good cause and acquired punya and he will regret if he has used it for a bad cause and acquired papa.  So Paramatma’s grace will be there for a person who continuously engages himself in doing good deeds and he is lifted upwards even upto Moksha.  Paramatma’s disgrace is there for a person who continuously resorts to do bad deeds and he is pushed downwards even to the hall.  So the vidhi Nisheda sastra is not meaning less inspite of the fact that jiva’s actions are controlled by paramatma.

The last adhikarana in this 3rd pada is called Amshadhikaranam.  The question that arises here is what exactly is the relationship between paramatma and jivatma.  Is it that both these two are entirely distinct identies? Or Is paramatma himself assuming jiva form on account of the illusion which is called Avidya.  Does Paramatma become jiva after being afficted by upadhi which is the mortal body or is jiva a part of the paramatma.  Upadhi means reason Paramatma or Brahman assumes jiva form after entering in to several mortal bodies.

This four fold doubt arises on account of some upanishadic texts which superficially appear to express pergent views on the axact relationship between jivatma and paramatma.  One upanishadic text says that paramatma is Sarvajna that is omniscient and jiva is ignorant.  This means that jiva and paramatma are two distinct entities.  In another upanishadic saying Brahman is jiva and this jiva is Brahman.  According to these sayings Brahman can become jiva on account of Avidya or illusion.

In the background of the above doubts the Sutrakarar who is the sage Badarayana says in the first sutra as “Amsonana vyapadeshath Anyatha chapi dasakitha vaditvam Adheeyatha Eke”.

This sutra means that jiva is a part of Brahman.  Amsa is part.  Brahman is called Amsi where as jiva is called Amsa.  So this relationship is called as Amsamsi Bhava which is same as sarira Atma Bhava”.  This is in other words means that paramatma is the soul and jivatma is the body.  There is a statement in Atharva veda that Brahman or paramatma is a fisherman, and he is a rogue so on.  This actually means that Brahman is the soul for the jiva in the body of fisherman, rogue etc.

So every jiva in every body without any distinction is the body of paramatma.  Even Lord Krishna tells the same thing to Arjuna in Bhagavad Geetha.  Now the doubt arises in this context that when all the jivas are alike and are bodies of paramatma how could there be a difference between one jiva and other jiva based on the caste, creed, colour or sex.  This doubt is cleared by the sutrakarar himself by stating that there is no difference in the nature of one jiva and that of another jiva but the difference basically lies in the body in which the jiva dwells.  So caste, creed, colour or sex applies to the body and not to jiva who resides in the body.  To explain this view point the sutrakarar gives a beautiful illustration.  Fire or Agni by itself is pure of course.  But could it be said that fire in the cremation ground is same as the fire in the kitchen of our house.  No body agrees that the fire in the above two places is one and the same.  So the difference basically lies in the substance with which the fire is in contact.

In the cremation ground the fire burns in contact with a dead body.  In the house the fire burns in contact with the hearth.  So also the difference between one jiva and other jiva lies in the body of one jiva and the body of the other jiva.  One body may belong to superior caste and the other body may belong to inferior caste.  So the jiva in the body of a brahman should do all rituals like sandhyavandana etc prescribed in the scriptures where as jiva in the body of an inferior caste say fourth caste is not expected to do the rituals as there is no upanayana samskara.

This adhikarana has eleven sutras.  In the remaining sutras the Adwaitha system, Bhaskara system, Dvaitha system philosophies have been refuted.  The 3rd quarter of second chapter concludes with this Adhikarana.

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The 4th quarter of the 2nd chapter is called Indriya pada, because it deals with creation of Indriyas, Number of Indriyas, Creation of Mukya prana (The air that we breathe) and some allied topics.

This Indriya pada settles the domestic quarrel that arose on account of the fact that there are upanishadic texts which say there is no creation of Indriyas and in contradiction of the above there are some other upanishadic texts which say that there is creation of Indriyas.

The dispute is also there regarding the number of Indriyas which are called senses, and their size.  Further the doubt regarding the creation of Mukya prana is cleared in this pada and finally the Sutrakarar establishes the fact that Lord Sriman Narayana does the task of giving name and form for each substance created after doing the mixing of the five bhuthas which is called Panchikaranam by being the antaryami of the four headed Brahma after creating him from his navel.

The First Adhikaranam is named as “Prana utpaththi Adhikaranam”.  Prana means Indriya.  The topic for discussion in this Adhikaranam is a text in Upanishads which says before creation, there were only Rishis and for the question who are the Rishis, the Upanishad says Rishis are Pranas or Indriyas.

This upanishadic statement gives rise to the doubt whether Indriyas are created or not?.  The Sutrakara says in the first Sutra as “Thatha Prana:”.  The meaning of this sutra is just as sky and other elements are created so also the senses are created.  This is because of the fact that before creation there was only one entity that Lord Sriman Narayana with his consort Mahalakshmi and these two to-gether are called “Sath”.  The Mundaka upanishad also says that from the Brahman or Paramatma the Mukhya prana, the indriyas and five Bhuthas are born or created.

But the question still remains that whiat exactly is the meaning of the upanishadic statement which stated that Rishies which are Pranas or Indriyas were there before creation.  The Sutrakara says that Rishies mean Paramatma only and they do not refer to Indriyas.  Again the question arises how the word Rishies which is plural could mean Paramatma  who is singular.  The Sutrakara in the second sutra says that no literal meaning need be attached to the words Rishies and Pranas and they mean only Paramatma.

The Sutrakarar further says that the word Prana means Paramatma only because all the entities other than Paramatma get their names only because of their creation.  Also there was no form and name to any substance or object before creation.  So the senses are created.

The Second Adhikaranam in this pada is called “Sapthagathi Adhikaranam”.  In this adhikaranam the discussion is held regarding the number of Indriyas.  The doubt arises whether the number of Indriyas is seven or Eleven.

The opponent or purvapakshi says that the number of Indriyas is seven only.  This is according to a Sruthi in Taittariya upanishad which says that Jiva moves from one body to the other along with seven Indriyas.  The seven indriyas are Mind, Buddhi, eyes, ears, noses, tongue and skin.

This view of the opponent is contained in the first sutra of this adhikarana and the Sutra reads as “Saptha gathe: Visheshitatvachcha”.  This sutra is called poorvapaksha sutra.

The meaning of this sutra is that while Jiva enters in to one body at the time of birth and departs from the body at the time of death, he is always associated with seven senses.

This contention of the opponent is refuted by the Sutrakarar in the second sutra which is called Siddhantha Sutra.  This sutra reads as “Hastha dayastu Stithe Athonaivam”.  The meaning of this sutra is when there are indriyas like hand etc, the number of indriyas is not seven only but it is eleven.  So the indriyas are as follows.

Mind – (Knowledge giving Indriyas):

1. Eyes

2. Ears

3. Nose

4. Tongue

5. Skin

Action oriented Indriyas:

6. Hands

7. Legs

8. Speech

9. Genital organ (Sexual organ)

10. Excretary organ.

Buddhi is not considered as an indriya because Buddhi is a settled state of mind on a particular object.

The third adhikarana in this pada is called “Prana Anuthvadhikaranam” and in this adhikaranam the size of the Indriyas is decided.

The doubt regarding the size arises because of the fact there is one quotation in Brihadaranyaka upanishad which says that all the senses are equal and endless.  The word endless may imply that senses are every where which means they are vibhu like paramatma himself.

Because of this doubt the sutrakarar says in the Sutra “Anuvasha” which means all the senses are of very limited size.  Eventhough the sutra says that the size is “Anu” (atomic) the size of the indriyas cannot be of atomic size because of the fact in the case of the skin which is there through out the body, it cannot be said that the skin is of the atomic size.  Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja says in the Sri Bhasya in this context, that the senses have a very limited size such that their exit or departure from the body cannot be reaslised by those who are very close to the body at the time of the departure of the inpidual soul from the body.

The composing of the sutra “Anavashcha is based on the upanishadic saying which states that when the jiva departs from the body, his breathing comes to a stop that is in other words the breath which is called Mukhya Prana also departs from the body and following the departure of the Mukhya Prana the eleven senses also quit.  The quitting and entering are possible only when the senses are of very limited size.

In this Adhikarana itself the Sutrakara says that even Mukhya Prana or Breath is created.  The specific mention of its creation had to be mentioned because the doubt that arose in the upanishadic saying which states that Mukya prana which is in the form of Air was there even at the time of great deluge ( Maha pralaya).  The mahapralaya takes place after the tenure of office of four headed Brahma ends. The tenure of office of four headed Brahma is 2 x 1017 years (two Parardhas). One parardha is 1017 years as per our reckoing of years.

It is the contention of Sutrakara that the above upanishadic saying which is in Rig Veda does not specifically mention the existence of Mukhya Prana at the time of deluge but it tells that Lord Sriman Narayana alone was there along with Goddes Mahalakshmi because the word Svadha in this upanishadic saying refers to Mahalakshmi.  In our Siddhantha Lord Sriman Narayana and his consort Mahalakshmi to-gether constitute one single entity as both are inseparable from each other.  This single entity alone was there before creation of universe.  As Mundaka upanishad un ambiguously mentions the creation of Mukhya prana (breath) and hence it is not without creation.

So the Sutrakara clearly states that Mukhya Prana is subject to creation in the Sutra “Sreshtashacha”.  Mukhya prana is also known as “Shreshta prana”.

The fourth Adhikarana in this pada is called “Vayukriyadhikaranam”.  In this adhikaranam the exact nature of Mukhya prana and its function are dealt with.  This Adhikarana has four sutras.  There are three fold doubts regarding the nature of  Mukhya Prana.  They are 1) Whether the Mukhya prana is the second Bhutha that is Vayu  2) Whether it is the movement or action of vayu itself  3) Whether it is a special type of Vayu or Air.

The Sutrakara dismisses the first two views and says that the third view is correct in the first sutra which states “Navayukriye Prithak upadeshath”.  The Mukhya prana is not the function or action of Vayu and it is a special type of vayu because the Mundaka upanishad says that from Lord Sriman Narayana,  Mukhya Prana, Mind, Ten senses and five Bhuthas or elements are born.  In this saying it is clearly mentioned that vayu which is the 2nd bhutha is different from Mukhya prana.

The Sutrakara in the second sutra in this adhikarana dismisses the view that Mukhya prana is a transformed  form of vayu or air and it is just another bhutha like fire.  It is further said that this Mukhya prana is an aid to Jiva just like eyes.  Though the functioning of Prana is not exactly like eyes and other senses still it helps jiva to support the body and Indriyas.

In the Chandogyopanishad there is a story regarding Mukhya Prana.  In the body of  Jiva there are Paramatma as antaryami, Jivatma, Mukhya Prana, Mind and Ten senses.  A quarrel arose among the senses in which each sense claimed superiority over others and all the senses went to four headed Brahma to act as a mediator and arrange an amicable settlement. Lord Brahma asked each sense to leave the body and remain outside for one year and watch  the functioning of the body  one after the other.  First the speech left the body and remained else where and the person became dumb and this did not hamper the functioning the body, later speech returned.  Then the eyes left the body and remained out side and the person became blind.

Even though be became blind the functioning of his body remained normal.  Then eyes returned back.  Then by turn, Ears and Mind left the body and the functioning of the body was not affected much then the Mukhya Prana left the body and the other indriyas followed it.  Then the body became dead and began to decompose.  So the Lord Brahman told the senses that Mukhya Prana is superior to all the senses and it is the leader of all the senses.  This is called Prana Samvada in the Chandogyopanishad.  According to this Mukhya Prana helps the jiva to support the body and senses.

This Mukhya prana functions throughout the body with five different names at five different places.  Prana in the heart, Apana in the excretory organ, Samana in the Navel, Udana in the neck and Vaygana operates throughout the body.  This is just like several stages of mind like desire, will, doubt sincerety, not being sincere in sincerety, Boldness, fear, shyness, etc.  So also the Mukhya prana with the above five names functions within the body at different places and helps the inpidual soul to remain in the body.  The fifth adhikarana in this fourth pada is called “Sreshta anuthvadhikaranam” in which it is established that this Shreshta prana or mukhya prana is of a very limited size.

The doubt that arises in this context is that there are some statrements in the upanishads saying that this prana is every where which means vibhu or Anantha that is without end.  In one statement it is even said that every thing is within prana and the whole thing is encompassed by prana.

The above doubt is cleared by the sutrakarar in the sutra “Anushcha” which means that this mukhya prana (breath) is of very limited size or of cosmic size because of the fact that it also departs from the body along with jiva.  The exit from the body is not possible if the shreshta prana is every where or vibhu.  There is a clear cut upanishadic text which says the departure of this prana from the body along with the jiva.

The sixth adhikarana in this pada is called “Jyothiradi Adhikaranam”.  So far Sutrakara established that Indriyas and Mukhya prana were created from paramatma who is Brahman (Lord Sriman Narayana) and they are of very limited size and the number of senses got fixed at eleven.

In the first pada of the second chapter there is one sutra which states Abhimani vyapadesasthu vishesha Anu gathibhyam” the Sutrakarar established the fact that every inanimate object which has no knowledge or consciousness is controlled by a celestial god called Devatha.

This celestial god is called Abhimanidevatha of a particular object or even called Adhishtanadevatha.  Even in Pranasamvada which was mentiuoned previously that all senses went to four headed Brahma to decide who is superior most among them the speaking of the senses with Brahma was done only by their respective abhimana devathas or Adhishtana devathas.  This is similar to the statement that India tells pakisthan which exactly means that the spokes person of India tells the spokes person of pakisthan.  So Abhimana devatha also means spokes person.

There is an Upanishadic text which says clearly that Agni devatha (Fire god) who is the messenger of devathas is the abhimani devatha or the controlling person of the sense ““speech and entered in to the tongue of a person.  Siumilarly The Sun god (Surya) is the abhimani devatha or the controlling devatha of the sense “eyes” entered in to the eyes in the body of a person.  So also the Vayu devatha who is the abhimani devatha or the controlling god of Mukhya prana entered the noses of an inpidual person for the sake of breathing.

On the same analogy, jiva is the Adhishtana Devatha or controlling entity for all the indriyas in the body which are there for his enjoyment.  Jiva enjoys sound or music through his ears by being its controller.  He enjoys colour or Rupa through his eyes by virtue of being their controller.  He enjoys the pleasure of touch through his sense of skin in the capacity as its controller.  He enjoys the taste of an eatable through his tongue which is controlled by him.  He enjoys the sweet smell of an object through his noses which are under his control.

So it is clear from the above that mukhya prana and the other senses are entrolled by their respective celestial gods and jiva for his or her enjoyment by being their abhimana devathas or Adhishtana devatas.

In this context the doubt arises whether this act of controlling or being adhishtana is on account of his own or her own volition of a jiva (Volition of a celestial god also) or this act is controlled by the will or sankalpa of paramatma who is Sriman Narayana.  The room for the above doubt whether controlling is on the own volition of jiva because that jiva who is also in the list of being meditated upon or worshipped can also grant fruits.

This view is dismissed by the Sutrakara in the sutra “Jyothiradi Adhishtanam thu thadamananath pranavatha shabdath”.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.

Jyothiradi adhishtanam pranavatha means the controlling of mukhya prana and other senses by celestial gods like Agni devatha and so on along with jiva is on account of the will or sankalpa of paramatma.  Here pranavatha means by jiva.  Thandamananath means

the will of the paramatma. Thathmeans paramatma, Amananam means his will or sankalpa.

The reason for the above conclusion is “Sabdath”, here sabda means “Upanishadic quotation”.  In antaryami Brahmana of the third chapter of Brihadaranyaka upanishad sage Yajnavalkya in reply to sage Uddalaka  identifies twenty one objects and says that Paramatma is there in every substance or object and he is different from that object, this object does not know that Paramatma and this object is the body of the paramatma and Paramatma is the inner soul or Antharyami of that object and controls its activities from within and he is also the Antaryami of the questioner that is Uddalaka.

These objects are five elements, senses, jiva, sun, moon and stars, All bhuthas that is creatures, Darkness, light, Directions etc.  According to this Antharyami Brahmana, every activity of every being including jivas, celestial gods and every object in the universe is controlled by paramatma and subalopanishad says that this antaryami is Lord Sriman Narayana himself who is blemishless and resides in Sri Vaikuntha pya loka.  He encompasses the entire universe both inwardly and out wardly.  This nature of paramatma being antaryami in every thing and controlling its activity is eternal.

The seventh adhikarana in this pada is called “Indriyadhikaranam”.  The doubt that arises in this context is whether the mukhya prana is in the category of the senses or Indriyas or whether it is out side this category.  The room for this doubt is that mukhya prana which is breath is also called prana and Indriyas are also called pranas and all are aids of the jivatma within the body.

To clear this doubt the Sutrakara composes the sutra “Tha Indriyanithath vyapadesath Anyathra shreshtath”.  The meaning of this sutra is that all eleven indriyas are senses and mukhya prana is not an indriya.

The Sutrakarar cites another upanishadic text in the second sutra in this adhikarana which reads as “Bheda sruthe: vailakshnyachcha”.  This means that in the upanishadic text which the sutrakarar cites, it is said that Mukhya prana and eleven senses are born from Paramatma.

So this Sruthi or upanishadic saying draws a clear distinction between Mukhya prana and the senses.  The last and eighth adhikaranam in this pada is called Samgna murthi klipthi Adhikaranam.  Samgna means name, Murthi is form.  Every substance or object in the universe has a definite name and form.  This definite name and form distinguishes one object from the other.

The creation of the universe takes place after the deluge.  The deluge takes place after the expiry of the tenure of four headed Brahma,  According to the calculation of human years, the tenure of office of four headed Brahma is 2 x 1017 years that is the at the end of two parardhas.  One parardha is 1 x 1017 years. Incidentally  For Chathurmokha Brahma one kalpa is day which is called svetha varaha kalpa and another kalpa is night which is known as padmakalpa.  One kalpa is 1000 chathur yugas.  One kalpa is 4320000000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              4320000000      end_of_the_skype_highlighting human years.  Duration of one chathur yuga is 4320000 human years.

Duration of Kaliyuga is 432000 years.  The duration of Dwapara yuga is 864000, Duration of Tretha yuga is 1296000 years where as duration of Kritha yuga is 1728000 years.  Duration of deluge is also two parardhas that is 2 x 1017 years.

The creation of the universe is having the following stages.

a)      Samasutisrtshti – Lord Sriman Narayana creates the five Bhuthas or elements.

b)      Tri vruthkaranam also other wise called Pancheekaranam

c)      Anda Srshti – Creation of Anda.  Anda is in the form of egg and it comprises of fourteen worlds or lokas which are called Chathur dasa Bhuvana.  The names of the fourteen lokas are 1) Bhuloka  2) Bhuvarloka 3) Suvarloka  4) Maharloka  5) Janoloka  6) Tapoloka  7) Sathya loka.

Bhuloka is the world in which we are living now.  Below Bholoka, There are seven lokas which are 1) Athalam  2) Vithalam  3) Suthalam  4) Thalathalam  5) Mahathalam  6) Rasathalam  7) Pathalam.

In all fourteen lokas, The head of each Anda is called Andadhipathi who is the four headed Brahma.  There are infinite number of Andas and hence Lord Sriman Narayana is Ananthakoti Brahmanda Nayaka.           In each Anda therefore there is one Chathurmukha Brahma, Siva, Indra and so on.

d)      After doing Anda Srishti (Srishti means creation) chathur mukha Brahma of each Anda is born from the navel of Lord Sriman Narayana.

e)      Lord Sriman Narayana by being the Antharyami of Chathurmukha brahma does the nama rupa vyakaranam which is also called Vyashti Srishti.  In this context Chathurmukha brahma is called Samashti Purusha.  Details of Trivruthkaranam otherwise called Panchukaranam are as follows.

f)        After Samashti srishti was done by Paramatma, no work took place.  There is a saying in Sri Vishnupurana in which it has been clearly spelt out that though the five bhuthas created are having potential, no work could be carried out and creation of devas, human beings, animals, creatures and inanimate objects could not take place because these bhuthas were not mixed with one another.  This mixing of bhuthas with one another is called Pancheekaranam(Quintuplication).

This is something similar to saying that cement is there, sand is there, water is there, jelly is there, steel is there still there is no construction.  It is therefore clear that mere procurement of materials will not cause any construction.  The reinforced cement concrete structure can come in to being by mixing of cement, sand, jhelly with water which constitutes the cement concrete and which when poured on steel reinforcement and cured produces a stable reinforced cement concrete structure.  So for any work to be turned out mixing of the constituent materials is essential.  So also in the case of the universe work could be turned out and further creation can take place only if the bhuthas(elements) are mixed with one another.

Lord Sriman Narayana does the pancheekarana even before the creation of Anda and Andadhipathi chathur mukha Brahma.  The manner in which the Pancheekaranam is done is as follows.  As already said the Pancheekaranam means the mixing of Bhuthas with one another.

Pancheekarana of Akasha (Sky)

Akasha         – 50 %

Vayu (Air)   – 12.5 %

Thejas (Fire) – 12.5%

Water            – 12.5 %

Earth             – 12.5 %

That is 50 % of Akasha gets mixed up with 12.5% of each of the remaining four Bhuthas and the sky we are seeing now is the mixture of all the five bhuthas as per the above mentioned percentage.  Similar is the pancheekaranam of the other bhuthas which is as follows.

a)      Vayu (Air)

Vayu – 50%, Akasha – 12.5%, Fire – 12.5%, Water – 12.5%, Earth – 12.5%

b)      Thejas (Fire)

Thejas – 50%, Akasha – 12.5%, Vayu – 12.5%, Water – 12.5%, Earth – 12.5%

c)      Water

Water – 50%, Akasha – 12.5%, Vayu – 12.5%, Fire – 12.5%, Earth – 12.5%

d)      Earth

Earth – 50%, Akasha – 12.5%, Vayu – 12.5%, Fire – 12.5%, Water – 12.5%

So in the universe the ingredients of any object or substance are five bhuthas.  Similarly the human body also consists of five bhuthas and hence it is called pancha bhutika sareeram.

In Chandogyopanishad, it is said as Trivrithkaranam only because it mentioned the creation of only three bhuthas which are fire, water and earth.  So the mixing of these 3 bhuthas is known as Trivrithkaranam.  Sage Uddalaka tells about this Trivrithikaranam to his son Svethakethu by an illustration. Uddalaka tells Svethakethu that the flame has three colours Red, White and Black.

The Red colour confirms the presence of the bhutha thejas in the flame and the white colour confirms the ingredient of water in the flame and the black colour confirms the presence of earth in the flame and so on.

But in Taittariya upanishad, the creation of all the five bhuthas is mentioned and hence pancheekarana.  Pancha is five.      The chandogyopanishad says that Lord Sriman Narayana who is called sath in this upanishad entered into the body of samashtijiva who is Hiranya garbha (Chathurmukha Brahma) and allotted names and forms to various objects in the universe.

Infact every substance or object in the universe gets a name and form on account of the Paramatma entering into every object along with a jiva.  So there is no substance in which there is no jiva and his antaryami, Paramatma.

In the case of inanimate objects the existence of jiva and its antaryami is dormant where as in the case of animate objects the existence of jiva and paramatma is evidently clear.

So it is clear from the above that all sentient and non sentient being are the bodies of paramatma.

The first sutra in this adhikarana is “Samjna murthi klipthisthu Trivruth kurvatha upadeshath.”

This sutra means that Lord Sriman Narayana who does the Trivruth karana earlier also does nama rupa vyakarana that is allotment of names and forms.

With this the second chapter gets concluded.

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The third chapter is called “Sadhana” Adhyaya dealing  with means (upayam) of attaining moksha or eternal bliss.

The first two chapters exclusively dealt with the entity who is the cause of the universe (material cause, operational cause and instrumental cause) and dealt with the objects created by him. It was conclusively and irrevocably established that Lord Sriman Narayana who is called Brahman or even Para Brahman is the cause of the universe in the first chapter known as Samanvaya Adhyaya and in the first two padas of the second chapter which is called as “Avirodha Adhyaya”.  In the 3rd and 4th quarters in the 2nd Adhyaya the objects created by the Brahman and their nature were discussed and decided.

There are four padas in this chapter which are called (1) Vairagya pada  (2) Ubhaya linga pada  (3) Gunopasamhara pada (4) Anga pada.

There are two essential prerequisites for a person to adopt the means for attaining Moksha. The prerequisites are (1) a sense of detachment from worldly pleasures which is called Vairagya (2) an intense or extreme desire to attain the lotus feet of Lord Sriman Narayana in the super world called Sri Vaikunta pya loka.

If these two prerequisites are there then only a person resorts to Bhakthi yoga which is deep meditation on the Lord Sriman Narayana which is having eight ancillaries and this bhakthi yoga is known as Ashtanga yoga.

An inpidual soul who is in the bondage of samsara has four phases or states of his remaining in a mortal body. The four phases are

1)       State of awakening: This is called Jagrath Avastha. Avastha  means phase or state , Jagrath means awakening.

2)       State of sound or deep sleep: This is called sushupthi Avastha. Sushupthi means sound sleep.

3)       State of seeing dreams: This is called Svapna Avastha. Svapna means dreams.

4)       State of unconsciousness or coma state: This is called MoorchaVastha. Moorcha means unconsciousness.

So the Sutrakarar who is the sage Badarayana felt if the draw backs or defects in the above four phases are highlighted in the first pada, then the person who hears these will develop vairagya or sense of detachment in the worldly pleasures and then begins to do meditation or bhakthi yoga to attain moksha.  In this first  pada the defects in the state of awakening are dealt with while in the second pada the defects in the other three states namely state of sound sleep, state of seeing dreams and coma state are dealt with. The  reason for this is that in these three states some auspicious attributes that is in other words Kalyana gunas of Lord Sriman Narayana are also established. The Kalyana guna in the state of seeing dreams is that Lord Sriman Narayana is creator of objects we see in the dreams. The Kalyana guna in to state of deep sleep is that Lord Sriman Narayana allows the  inpidual soul to sleep on him only as he is antaryami and dwells in the heart of every body. The Kalyana guna in the case of  coma  state is that Lord  Sriman Narayana protects the inpidual soul from departing from the body.

In the second pada which is called ubhaya linga pada the Sutrakarar establishes two basic characteristics of Lord Srimon Narayana which are (1) being blemishless  and (2) repository of infinite number of Kalyana gunas. These two charactristics are  known as ubhaya linga. Ubhaya means two and linga means basic characteristic or distinction. This establishment of ubhaya linga of Lord Srimon Narayana became necessary  because of the fact that the object to be attained by a jiva by doing either bhakthi yoga or prapatti (also known as Saranagathi.) in Sri Vaikunta pya loka, must be much superior to him in all respects.

In the third pada of this chapter which is called Guna upasamhara pada the various brahma vidyas in upanishads are discussed. Vidhya is knowledge of meditation and Brahma vidya means knowledge of meditation on Brahman who is  Lord Srimon Narayana. Meditation is a mental activity based on knowledge of Brahman. This Brahma vidya is nothing but Bhakthi yoga which is a means for attaining eternal bliss.

The last pada of this third chapter is called Anga pada. Anga means ancillary and this pada deals with the essential ancillaries required for doing Bhakthi yoga.

So Summing up this third chapter mainly deals with Sadhana or means of attaining the eternal bliss. As already said the first pada which is also called Vairagya pada highlights the defects in the state of awakening of jiva who is struggling in this Samsara. This deals with the process of reappearance of jiva in this world after his enjoyment in heaven or swarga loka or after his suffering in the hell which is called naraka loka. To explain this process a particular portion in the fifth chapter of chandogyopanishad is considered. This portion is briefly dealt with here as this happens to be the basic upanishadic text for discussion in this pada.

Svethakethu the son of the Sage Aruni was sent to a king named as Pravahana who was the son of the Jibila. This King asks Svethukethu under whom he has received instructions or in other words he has been taught for which Svethakethu replied that his father has taught him. The King puts him the following five questions.

1)       The place or destination to which a Jiva who has done yagas, goes after departing from the mortal body  in this world.

2)       The route in which the Jiva comes back to this world for rebirth after his enjoyment in Swarga loka.

3)       The difference between Deva yana route and pithru yana route.

It may be mentioned in this context that there are three destinations for a Jivatma departing from the mortal body in this world. The destinations are (a) Sri Vaikunta pya loka and this destination can be reached by a Jiva who has done Bhakthi Yoga or Prapatthi. The route for this destination is called Deva yana marga and it is also called Archiradi gathi.

b) Swarga loka or heaven which can be attained by a Jiva who does sacrifices like Jyothishtoma yaga etc. The route to this loka is called pithru yana marga also called as dhoomadi marga. This Jiva is called Ishtadhikari which will be elaborated later.

c) The third destination is the Naraka loka or hell which is reached by a Jiva who commits heinous crimes and sins in this world. He is called anishtadhikari. The route to this Naraka loka is of a very difficult terrain and the route is called as Kashta marga.

4)       4th question – why the heaven or Svarga loka is not filled up by Jivas.

5)       How the Jiva returning from heaven to earth assumes the body in a mother’s womb after he goes through four agnies or fire.

In this context it requires the mention of five agnies or fires through which a Jiva goes through  before entering the mother’s womb and then he comes out of the mother’s womb with a rebirth in this world to again enjoy the fruits of the balance of his punya and papa in this world.

The five agnies are heaven, Rain, Earth, male person and female person. The  Jiva after his enjoyment of punya in svarga loka is poured in to the fire of heaven Just like ghee is poured in to the Sacrificial fire. From the heaven Jiva comes in to the rain which falls on to the earth. When the rain falls on earth the crops are grown and then Jiva enters in to the grains of the crops like paddy wheat or any other eatable crop. Then Jiva enters in to the body of a male person through the food which the male person eats and lies within his semen who becomes father. Jiva enters in to the womb of the mother through semen during the mating of father and mother. Then the Jiva assumes a body in the mother’s womb and dwells there for ten months or little more or less and comes out of the mother’s womb, and takes a rebirth. The child grows and enjoys the fruits of the balance of punya and papa and again does punya and papa during his life time and again goes to the other world heaven or hell and again comes back, in the process explained above and this cycle of birth and death continue till he attains moksha or Salvation after doing Bhakthi Yoga or prapatthi. The five agnies mentioned above are not the real fires and they are only compared to the agnies to drive home the point the process involved in the Jiva taking rebirth in this world. The sanskrit names to the five agnies referred to above are Dhyu.(heaven) ParJanya (rain) , Prithivi (earth) , Purusha (male person) and Yoshith (female person). The substances that are poured in these agnies are Sraddha, Somaraja, Varsham, Annam and rethas.  Sraddha is in liquid form, Somaraja is the beautiful body of Jiva in heaven. Varsha means rain. Annam means food, rethas means semen.

In the light of the above we can now take the adhikaranas in this pada for discussion and conclusion. There are six adhikaranas  in this pada.

The first adhikaranam is known as “Thadanthara Pratipatti adhikaranam”. The topic for discussion  in this adhikaranam is the particular portion of the upanishadic text in chandogya upanishad which was dealt with above. The doubt that arises here is whether the Jiva who goes from one world to the other is always associated with the five elements i.e Sky, Air, Fire, Water and Earth in their comic form. These  five bhuthas in cosmic form are called “Bhutha Sukshmas”.  This mortal body is made up of five bhuthas and hence this body is known as Pancha bhoutika Sareeram. These bhutha sukshmas, should always go along with Jiva to facilitate him to assume a body in the mother’s womb for the sake of rebirth.

The opponent or poorvapakshi contends that Jiva becomes associated with bhutha sukshmas whereever he goes because they are easily available. This contention is refuted by the Sutrakara in the first sutra of this Adhikarana which reads as “Thadanthara Prati paththan ramhathi Samparishvaktha: Prasna niroo panabhyam”.

The meaning of this sutra is when ever Jiva goes from one world to the other (from one body to other body) he is always associated with the bhutha sukshmas because this fact is revealed in the questions put by the king Pravahana and the answers he himself gave. As soon as Jiva enters in to the svarga loka for enjoyment he assumes a beautiful body there for the enjoyment of the pleasures there and this body he gets out of the “ Sraddha” poured in to the fire of heaven by Devas who are said to be Indriyas. This “Sraddha”  is in the liquid form which contains both Jiva and bhutha Sukshmas. This Adhikarana  has seven sutras. In all these sutras the Sutrakara refutes the contention of the poorvapakshi based on some upanishadic sayings in this context and establishes the fact that Jiva goes from one body to the other always associated with Bhutha sukshmas. It is said that Indriyas also go along with Jiva. The points contained in the other sutras are briefly narrated as follows.

a)     It is said in the upanishadic text that the semen from the body of the father which flows in to the mother’s womb assumes a human body. So when the Jiva is in contact with the semen in the liquid form  and enters in to the womb of the mother it should be said that Jiva is in contact with the liquid which belongs to the Bhutha (element) of water.  Then the doubt arises whether the Jiva is in contact with the other bhutha sukshmas or not. The Sutrakara clears this doubt by saying that the semen which is in liquid form comprises of all the five bhuthas in minute form on account of Pancheekaranam explained earlier (Pancheekaranam is called Trivrithkaranam in Chandogyo Upanishad) and in this liquid the water has a major component.

b)      It is also said that when Jiva departs from the mortal body at the time of death, the mukya prana and all the eleven senses go along with the Jiva. In Bhagavad githa Lord krishna says that when ever Jiva departs from one body and enters in to another body after his sojourn in heaven as the case may be he is always in conjunction with the indriyas and Bhutha sukshmas.

c)      Again it is said in this portion of Upanishadic that when Jiva departs from the body his speech which is an indriya gets absorbed in the Agni (fire) , the mukya prana  gets absorbed in the air and the eyes get absorbed in Surya. (Sun god) . The doubt arises  in this context that when the senses get absorbed how it is possible for these senses to go along with the Jiva. The Sutrakara clears this doubt stating that the literal meaning need not be attached to this upanishadic saying because of the fact it is also said in continuation of the above, that hairs in the body get absorbed  in plants and the hairs in the head get absorbed in trees and this absorption is not true because we physically see the hairs in the dead body and hence they do not disappear.  Hence literal meaning should not be attached to the above.

d)    Again the opponent contends that in the heaven which is mentioned as the first fire. Sraddha is poured into it and not watery substance which is semen, how can jiva go accompanied with Bhutha sukshmas.  The Sutrakara says that Sraddha means water or watery substance and hence there is no inconsistency in the upanishadic statement.

e)   Once again the opponent contends that there is no mention of jiva in this upanishadic statement and hence he does not go associated with bhutha sukshmas.  For this, Sutrakarar replies saying that in the very next upanishadic saying it is said that the Ishtadhikari who is a jiva and who has done yagas goes to heaven to assume a beautiful body there for the enjoyment of pleasures there and at the conclusion of enjoyment there he comes back to this world for rebirth.  The beautiful body he assumes there is called Somaraja.  This body called Somaraja he assumes after pouring of Sraddha in the first agni or fire called heaven and finally the jiva comes back to earth for taking a rebirth after the same “Snaddha” which in liquid form or watery substance and which in other words called “Semen” enters in to the mother’s womb.  So there is the mention of jiva in this context and he goes there and comes back associated with bhutha sukshmas.

f) The opponent took advantage of another saying in the upanishad relating to this context to reiterate his point that jiva does not go associated with bhutha sukshmas.  The saying is that jiva is an eatable substance to devas or celestial people in heaven when he goes there. The opponent says that as jiva cannot be eaten, the somaraja the name given to jiva and his beautiful body in the svarga loka cannot be a jiva.  This view of the opponent is countered by Sutrakara by saying that jiva is not eaten there but his enjoyment there is equal to that of devas and he also becomes an aide to them there.  So there is no literal meaning to the statement that he is eaten there by Devas.

Hence Jiva goes to heaven accompanied by “Bhutha Sookshmas”.

The Second adhikaranam in this chapter is called “Krithathyadhikaranam”.  Here the topic for discussion is whether the jiva who after the enjoyment of pleasures in the svarga loka reborns in this world with the balance of punya and papa or without any balance of karma.  The opponent or the poorvapakshi is of the view that jiva returns to earth with the nil balance of karma which comprises both punya and papa.  In support of his contention he cites an upanishadic text which says that jiva will remain in svarga loka till his punya karma is exhausted and then he will return to this world without any balance of karma.  There is also another Upanishadic statement which also confirms his above view point.

The Sutrakara refutes the above contention of the poorvapakshi in the sutra which reads as “Krithathyaye Anusayavan rishtasmrithibyam Yathetham Anevamcha”.

The meaning of the above sutra is that Jiva returns back to this earch with a balance of punya and papa karma and takes a rebirth because of some special statements in upanishads and smrithis and also he takes a slightly changed route while descending from heaven to earth.  The upanishadic statement is that those who have done good deeds and acquired punya will born here in superior castes and those who have done bad deeds or who have committed sins and acquired papam will born here in inferior castes and even as animals.  Those who have done virtuous deeds are called Ramaniya charana, while those who have committed sins are called Kapuya charana.  Charana means deeds.

The route taken by a jiva during his ascending to heaven which is called dhoomadi marga is as follows.  This route is also called pithru yanamarga.  Dhooma (Smoke), Rathri (night), Aparapaksham (Krishna paksha or fortnight ending in Amavasya), Dakshinayana and then Pithruloka, Akasa, moon and then heaven.  The route while descending is Moon, Akasha, Vayu, Dhooma, Abhram, Megha. Abhram means water borne cloud, Megha is also cloud which is about to rain.

The difference in the above two routes is in the ascending there is pithru loka and no vayu loka and in the descending there is vayu loka and no pithru loka.

The above mentioned names in the route are all lokas as well as names of celestial gods and each of them conducts the jiva through each one’s territory and the next in the order takes charge of the jiva.

The view point of the poorvapakshi countering the sutrakarar’s above statement is That charana referred to above in the upanishadic text, means only righteous conduct or Achara which is also synonimous with words like Seelam and Vrittam because it is said in Taittariya Upanishad that doings or activities which are flaw less alone are to be done and also it is said that good deeds alone are to be performed.

Here in this context the view points of the two disciples of the sage Badarayana are mentioned. The Names of the disciples are Sage Karshnajini and Sage Badari.  Therefore the above sage namely Karshna jini contends that righteous conduct alone is responsible for the jiva to take rebirth in superior castes and not Anushaya which meant balance of punya and papa karma.

In this context I think it is necessary to keep you all informed regarding what we have to do daily in keeping with the preachings of our ancient Rishies contained in Smrithies and scriptures.

What we have to do daily comprises of two important components namely (1) Nityakarmanushthana and (2) Naimiththika Karmanushthana.

I. Nithya Karmanushthana(Obligatory rites)

Nithyakarmanushtana refers to what we have to do daily which is elaborated below sequence wise one after the other.

(a)    Taking bath after doing Sankalpa for the same.  This sankalpa has to be done after doing Achamana and Pranayama.

(b)   After the bath the dhothi has to be worn.  A married person should wear the dhothi with a Kachcha which is most important.  Kachcha means the hem of the lower garment tucked in to the waist band.  Without having a kachcha a married is not fit to do any Vaidika karma like Sandhyavandanam and every other thing there after.  A bachelor should not wear the kachcha.

(c)    Having Urdhvapundras at 12 places in the body if Pancha Samskara has been undergone.  Otherwise a single urdhvapundra on the forehead (Face) will do.

(d)   Doing Snananga devarshi tarpana.

(e)    Doing Pratha sandhyavandanam with Gayathri japa atleast 10 times.

(f)     Those who have undergone Panchasamskara, should ashtakshara manthra japam.

(g)    Adhara sakthi tarpanam.

(h)    Devarshi Kandarshi tarpanam

(i)      Brahma yagnam.

(j)     Madhyanhikam with atleast 10 times Gayathri japam.

(k)   Worshipping or doing Thiruvaradhanam to Salagrama murthi and then Vaisvadeva and Pancha maha yajnam.

(l)      Doing Sandhyavandam in the evening  with atleast 10 times Gayathri japam and Vaishvadeva in the evening.

Important Note: – Doing Sandhyavandam thrice a day is the most essential pre requisite for doing any Vaidika karma.  Without sandhyavandana no brahmin in general and Sri Vaishna in particular has no basic eligibility to do any other karma.  It is said that “Sandhyaheena : Asuchi : nityam. Anarha : Sarva Karmasu.”  The body of one who does not do sandhyavandanam is always polluted (impure) and unfit for doing any other karma.

II. Naimiththika Karmanushthana (Occasional rituals)

The Naimiththika karmas have to be done only on special days as detailed below.

(a)    Upakarma on full moon day in the month of Sravana.

(b)   Gayathri japam on the next day of Upakarma

(c)    Special pujas on the days of Sri Jayanthi, Sri Ramanavami and Nrisimha jayanthi and also on the day of Thirukkarthigai.

(d)   Father ceremony and mother ceremony to be performed by those whose parents are not alive.  They have to do the following Tarpanas.  Amavasya tarpana, Tarpana on the Sankramanam days (Commencement of Solar month), Mahalaya Tarpana, Tarpana on the days of Ashtaka and Anvashtaka in the month of “Masi” (Kumbha month). Tarpana on the occasion of Solar and Lunar eclipses.

If the above things are performed without lapse then only a person is said to possess Achara.  It is said that Vedas do not purify a person without having Achara.

The view point of the Sage Karshnajini in this context is that the upanishadic text Ramaneeya charana must be construed as Nitya and Naimittika karma performed by an inpidual soul as elaborated above and he is said to be associated with Achara or righteous conduct.

The punya karma is the yaga and the yaga can be performed by observing the basic principles of Achara as explained above.  The Kapuya charana in the upanishad refers to papakarma or sinful acts and obviously the above basic principles of Achara are given a go by.  The enjoyment of Sukha is the result of the punya karma and suffering is the result of papa karma.

The poorvapakshi raises the doubt in this context that righteous conduct or Achara prescribed in Vedas and smrithies become purposeless if they are not of any use to jiva and this doubt is cleared by the Sage karshnajini who says that if there is no Achara to a person he does not get the basic eligibility to do a punya karma.

The sage Badari expresses his view point in this context that charana mentioned in the Sruthi or upanishad means only the performance of good or bad deeds Punya or Papa Karma. So the upanishadic statement Ramaniya charana : and Kapuya charana means the Punya, Papa Karma and a Jiva descends to earth for a rebirth with the balance of punya, Papa karma.  Doing Sandhya Vandana is a must and there is no relexation in this point.

The third AdhiKaranam in this pada is called as “Anishta dikarya dhikaranam”.  In this world there are only three categories of human beings. They are

(1)   Ishtadhikari – one who does only good deeds or Punya karya as per scriptures. This includes performance of Yagas besides Nitya, Naimittika, Karmanushtanas. These ishtadhikaries go to heaven.

Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja in Saranagathigadya mentions five categories of sinful acts. They are (a) Akrithya karana which means doing a thing which should not be done.

(b) Krithya akarana – not doing a thing which should be done.

(c) Bhagavada apachara – Apachara means mis conduct. Bhagavathapachara means mis conduct to–wards the Lord Sriman Narayana. This means not being devotional to-wards Sriman Narayana and at the same time remaining dis respectful to-wards him.

(d) remaining disrespectful to-wards Bhagavathas who are extremely devoted to-wards Lord Sriman Narayana.

(e) Committing of heinous crimes. This is called Asahya Apachara.

So Ishtadhi Karies are those who do what is to be done (Kritya Karana )  and who will not do what is not to be done ( Akrithya Akarana) and who will not commit Bhagavadapachara, Bhagavathi Apachara and Asahya Pachara. These ishtadhikaries attain heaven through the route knowns dhooma dhi marga as already mentioned.

The second category is

2)Anishta dhikaries – Those who do what should not be done ( Akrithiya karana), Those who do not do what is to be done, commit Bhagavathapachara, Bhagavathapachara and Ashyapachara are the Anishtadhi karies. They go to hell through the route of a difficult terrain which is called kashta marga.

3) The third category is Mokshadhikaris – Those who desire to attain eternal bliss by developing a sense of detachment from wordly pleasures and also from heavenly pleasures which do not last long are mokshadhikaries. They do Bhakthi Yoga or do Saranagathi at the feet of Lord Sriman Narayana and attain Moksha ( Sri Vaikunta pya loka) through the route called Archiradi marga or Deva yana marga.

The topic for discussion in this Adhikarana whether these Anishtadhikaris go to Moon before going to hell. The room for this doubt arises out of a statement of Kawshitaki Upanishad which says that those who depart from this world would invariably go to moon and converse with him.

According to this statement all the three categories of human beings go to moon before reaching their respective destinations. This statement is a very general statement.

This Adhikaranam has ten sutras out of which five sutras are Purva Paksha Sutras and the remaining five sutras are siddhantha sutras.

In the first five sutras the opponent or Poorvapakshi is assertive of the fact that even Anishtadhikaries go to moon after undergoing punishment awarded to them for their sinful acts in narakas or hells.

The first sutra reads as “Anishthadhikarinamapicha Srutham”.

The meaning of this Sutra is that we hear in the Kausitaki upanishad that even anishtadinakaries as explained above go to moon because the upanishadic statement is general in saying that all those who depart from this world go to moon without any distinction.

In the second sutra, to Sutrakara clears the doubt that both Ishtadikaries and anishtadi karies go to moon in the same route by saying that going to moon by anishtadikaries is after undergoing punishment in hells which are under the control of Lord Yama.

In the next Sutra , the Sutrakara reminds of a sloka in Vishnu purana in which the sage Parasara says that all those who depart from this world will be under the control of Yama.

In the sutra next to the above it is said that there are seven hells or narakas to which those who commit sinful acts go for undergoing punishment.  The names of the seven hells are Rourava, Sukara, Rodha, Thala, Vishasana, Mahajwala, Taptha kumbha.

Actually in Vishnupurana, sage Parasara identifies twenty eight hells and gives the names of them.  Sage parasara also elaborates by saying the various sins that could be committed by the human beings and the name of the hell to which a particular jiva goes after committing a particular sinful act.

In the next sutra it is said that all the hells are under the control of yama and therefore what ever may be the name of the hell to which a sinner goes, he goes to yamasadana or house of yama because all hells are within the jurisdiction or control of yama.  The sinner goes to the hell under the orders of yama only just like an offender is remanded to a jail by a judge.

After expressing the views of purvapakshi by five sutras in which he argued that even an anishtadhikari goes to moon after his punishment in hell the sutrakarar in the next five sutras refutes the above viewpoint and gives some additional information in this context.

The first of these five sutras reads as “Vidyakarmanorithi thu Prakrathathvath”.  The meaning of this sutra is that Anishtadhikaries do not go to moon and going to moon is confined to only ishtadhikaries and mokshadhikaries.  The word “Thu” in the sutra means the view point of the opponent is refuted or rejected.  This is a convention in Brahma sutras that wherever there is word “Thu” in any of Brahma sutras it means the view point of the opponent is rejected.

The word “Vidya” in the sutra refers to mokshadhikaries who practices Brahmavidya which is Bhakthi yoga.  Even the saranagathi or prapaththi done at the feet of the lord instead of Bhakthi yoga is called Nyasavidya.

The word “Karma” referred to in the sutra means ishtadhikaris.  The reason given by the Sutrakara is that in the chandogyopanishad in which king Pravahana tells the sage Aruni that in the Devayana marga or route through which the mokshadhikaries go to Sri Vaikuntam meet the moon and converse with him.  As already mentioned Devayana marga is also called Archiradimarga.

He further tells in the pithru yana marga through which ishtadhikaris go to heaven, they meet the moon and converse with him.  This Pithru yana marga is called Dhoomadi marga as already mentioned.  So the position of the moon in these two routes is a junction point.  So two separate routes mentioned above starting from Agniloka in Deva yana marga and starting from Dhoomaloka in pitru yana marga converge at the position of moon and again perge one leading to Sri Vaikuntam and the other leading to heaven.

It should be noted here that narakas (hells) are located below the Bhuloka or earth where as heaven and Vaikunta pya loka are above earth.  Moon are above earth.  So the possibilities of the anishtadhikaries who go to hell below earth meeting the moon is completely ruled out.

In the sutra next to the above, another doubt is cleared.  The opponent says when there is no question of anishtadhikari going to moon, how can the jiva of this anishtadhikari who is also called papa karmi take rebirth in this world without the jiva entering the mother’s womb from the father’s body.  This process of the jiva entering into mother’s womb from the body of the father is called “Panchama Ahuthi”.  The king Pravahana asked Svethakethu as told in the beginning whether he knows how a jiva assumes a body in the mother’s womb after the panchamahuthi.

This doubt is cleared by the Sutrakarar by saying that for the third category of Anishtadhikaries (the first two category are Ishtadhikaries and  Mokshadhikaris) no Panchamahuthi is required for those jivas to take rebirth in this world.  These jivas of Anishtadhikaries who return from hell after undergoing punishment there are born as creatures and insects.  These creatures and insects born and die at very frequent intervals.  These insects and creatures can born as human beings if they have done punya during any of their innumerable previous births.  Lord Sriman Narayana alone who is omniscient and who alone grants fruits for punya and papa karmas knows who has done punya karma to take birth as a human being.  Pravahana tells gowthama (another name of Svethakethu’s father that on account of these Anishtadhikaris not going to heaven it is not getting filled up.

The Sutrakara in the further sutras says that in the case of jivas who have done extra ordinary punya karmas can take birth in this world without Panchamahuthi just like Draupadi the wife of Pandavas who appeared in this world from the sacrificial fire or Agni kunda.  The Sutrakara further says that in the upanishads it is said that there are three categories of living beings or organisms in this world.  There is a fourth category also.  These categories are,

(1)   Jivajam also called as Jarayujam – These are the living beings who are born on account of the mating of male and female partners.  They are human beings, animals like cows, goats, dogs etc.  All these require panchamahuthi.

(2)   Andajam – These are living beings appearing in this world from eggs.  They are snakes, birds etc.  Panchamahuthi is required.

(3)   Svedajam – Insects or organisms appearing on account of heat.  For example if rice or any other food grain is kept without exposure to the air or sun, some insects appear in them.  These are called Svedajas.

(4)   Udhbijjam – These are the plants emerging above ground on account of the sowing of their respective seeds.

Among the above categories, panchamahuthi is not required in the case of svedajam and uthbijjam categories.  So jivas who have committed only sins will not go to moon.

The fourth adhikarana in this pada is called That Svabhavyapaththi adhikaranam.  Now it is eatablished that Ishtadhikaries return to this earth with balance of punya and papa karma after meeting moon.  While descending from heaven it was also said that jivas come in contact with Akasha (Sky), Vayu (Air), Dhooma (Smoke), Abhram (Water bearing cloud), Megha (Cloud which rains) and they fall on earth through rain water.

The doubt arises here that whether the jivas are merely in contact with the above while returning to earth or whether they enjoy any thing there like somabhava in heaven or human bhava in this world.

This doubt is cleared by Sutrakarar in the sutra “Thath Svabhavyapatti: upapaththe:”.  The meaning is that jivas become similar to the above and there is no question of any enjoyment there.  There is only enjoyment in the case of a soma bhava in heaven and manushya bhava in this world.

The fifth adhikarana is called “Nathichiradhikarana”.  The doubt that arises here is whether jivas stay in the lokas like Akasha, Vayu etc. and up to their entering into the food grain like paddy for a long time or for a short time.  The Upanishad says that the exit of jivas from out of the food grains and entering in to the bodies of male beings is rather very difficult.  When the Upanishad says this particularly in the case of jivas in the food grains like paddy etc. it should be construced or inferred that jivas do not stay for a long period in Akasha, Vayu, dhooma, abhram and megha and they come out quickly from the above.

The last adhikarana in this pada is called “Anyadhisthitha adhikarana”.  The topic for discussion in this adhikarana is whether the jiva who has descended from the heaven for rebirth and who has entered in to the food grain like paddy assumes the paddy grain as his body for enjoyment or merely gets associated with it.

The room for this doubt is the upanishadic statement which says that the jivas who fall on earth through the rains are born in the form paddy and other food grains.  Because it is said as born the above doubt arose.  The opponent says that literal meaning should be attached to the word “born” and just as we say the man was born it should be said the jiva is born assuming the body of paddy grain.

This contention of the poorvapakshi is countered by the Sutrakara who says in the first sutra which reads as “Anyadhishtithe Poorvavath Abhilapath”.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.  The paddy grain is the body of another jiva who has specifically assumed it on account of his papa karma and he is subject to suffering in this where as the jiva who has come down from heaven for rebirth in this world in superior caste, inferior caste or any animal or creature according to his Anusaya which is the balance of his punya, papa karma gets merely associated with the paddy grain as in the case of Akasha, Vayu, dhooma etc.

The poorvapakshi contests the above contention saying that jiva is subject to the suffering by assuming the body of paddy grain on account of the sin committed by him by killing an animal in the yaga and offering the same to the celestial gods through the sacrificial fire.

It is said that animals and creatures should not be harmed, hurt or killed.  If the animal is killed it is a sinful act.  But at the same time the veda says that a yaga has to be performed by killing the animal.  As this is a sin ful act the jiva under goes punishment by assuming the body of a paddy grain even though prior to this the jiva attained heaven and enjoyed all the pleasures there.

This argument of the purvapakshi is refuted by the Sutrakara in the sutra, “Asudda mitchenna sabdath”.  “Asuddhamithi ceth” means the killing of the animal is a sin ful act which the opponent says.  The Sutrakara says by the words “Nasabdath” refutes the above and asserts that animal killing is not a sin ful act because the jiva in the animal killed during the performance of yaga goes to swarga and assumes a beautiful body there and enjoys all the pleasures there.

The jiva enters in to the body of a male member through the food he eats and assumes a body in the mother’s womb after entering in to the mother’s body from the body of the father.

The first pada of the third chapter concludes with this Adhikarana.

The 3rd chapter is called “Sadhana Adhyaya” and this second pada is known as Ubhayalinga pada.

As already explained  Ubhaya linga refers to two basic charactertistics of Lord Sriman Narayana which are (1) Blemishlessness (2) Repository of infinite number of auspicious attributes.

The blemishless ness is known as “Heya pratyanikatvam” and the second characteristic is known as “Asankyeya kalyana guna mahodadhi” and unless the above two characteristics are proved the supremacy of Lord Sriman Narayana over other Gods like four headed Brahma, Siva, Indra cannot be established.  These other gods are called Devathantharas and Lord Sriman Narayana is called Para devatha.

It is said that four headed Brahma, Siva and Indra so on are afflicted by punya and papa karma like us and they are all inauspicious lords or amangala devathas.  Thirumazhisai Alwar declares or even swears that the above inauspicious lords or devathas are Echchil devargal and Thiruilla devargal.

The meaning of Echchil devargal is that Lord Sriman Narayana who is the creator, protector and destroyer of the universe at the time of deluge of this universe swallowed it and kept it safe in his stomach.  At the time of creation he spitted the universe from his mouth during which the devathantharas like four headed Brahma, Siva and Indra etc appeared in this world.  Hence they became Echchil devargal.  Lord Sriman Narayana alone has goddess Mahalakshmi who is called Thiru in Tamil and “Shri” in sanskrit as his consort.  The other lords cannot have Mahalakshmi as their consort and hence they are called Thiru illa devargal.

So it is said decisively that those who aspire for moksha should not have any kind of devotion to-wards these devathanthras because the fruits granted by them are very limited and ending.  They should not be saluted.  The fruit of moksha granted by Lord Sriman Narayana is infinite and never ending eternal bliss which in other words means doing service or Kainkaryam to Goddess Mahalakshmi and Lord Sriman Narayana in Sri Vaikuntha pya loka for ever, evey where and in all their phases.  The phraseology for this kainkaryam in Sanskrit is Sarvadesha, Sarvakala, Sarva Avastha uchitha sarva vidha kainkarya.

So for the sake of the above the supremacy of Lord Sriman Narayana is to be established.  The main purpose of this pada is only the above.

As mentioned earlier the defects of an unliberated inpidual soul or samsari jiva in his phases of seeing dreams, sound sleep and the coma stage are dealt with in this pada and at the same time the auspicious tributes of Lord Sriman Narayana who helps the jiva in the above three phases are also inferred and proved.  The defects in the state of awakening were dealt with in the previous pada called Vairagya pada.

The first adhikaranam in this pada is called “Sandhyadhikaranam” which deals with Svapna-avastha or the state (phase) of seeing dreams.  Sandhya means Svapna sthanam that is state of seeing dreams.  This is a state between the state of awakening and state of sound sleep.  The topic for discussion is a passage in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad in which the sage Yajnavalkya discusses the nature of Svapnavastha.

Here the sage Yajnavalkya says that in the state of dreams there are no chariots, there are no horses, there are no roads.  Then the chariots, horses and roads are created.  Similarly there are no joys, delights and happiness but there are joys, delights and happiness which are created.  Further Yajnavalkya says that there are no ponds, lotus ponds or rivers but they are created.  He is the creator.  Here the doubt arises whether that “he” or Sa: in the upanishadic text is jiva or paramatma.  Similarly there is a statement in Kathopanishad which says that during sleep that is in the state of dreams, what ever things are desired they are created.  The same doubt arises here also whether the creator of the objects in the dreams is jiva or paramatma.

The view of the opponent is that jiva is the creator of the objects which he enjoys in the dreams.  This view point of opposition is contained in the first two sutras of this adhikarana.  The sutras are Sandhye Srishtir Ahahi and Nirmataram cha Eke putradaya sha.

The meaning of the first two sutras is as follows.

In the state of seeing dreams which is called Sandhya the objects seen in the dreams are created by the jiva or inpidual soul who sees the dreams.  The view point is further strengthened in the second sutra the meaning of which is that in the state of dreams the jiva creates the objects like sons etc as per a statement in katopanishad.

In the remaining four sutras of this adhikarana which are called Siddhantha sutras, the sutrakarar refutes the above view point of the opponent and states that Lord Sriman Narayana is the creator of the objects in the dreams according to the Punya papa karma of the seer of the dreams that is Jiva.

The first siddhantha sutra is “Mayamatram Thu kartsnyena Anabhivyaktha svarupatvath”.  This means the view point of the opponent is rejected.

Mayamatram means that the entire creation of the objects in the dreams is really wonderful.  Karsnyena Anabhivyakthi means that the inpidual soul or jiva is totally in capable of creating the objects in the dreams because eventhough he is satya sankalpa (capable of willing and creating) this particular attribute does not blossom or shine when he is in samsara.  So the objects in the dreams are created by parama purusha or paramatma.  Even the saying in Kathopanishad referred to above does not refer to jiva but it refers to paramatma only.

The word Sa: in the portion of Brihadaranyaka upanishad pertaining to the state of dreams refers to Paramatma only and not jiva.

The next question arises that when the attribute satya sankalpatva is inherent in the intrinsic nature of jiva or jiva swarupa, Why the attribute satya sankalpatva did not blossom and remained dormant.  The reply to the above question that paramatma willed that the above attribute should remain dormant in an unliberated soul because of his punya papa karma.  So a jiva remains in samsara on account of his punya papa karma the fruits of which he enjoys are granted by paramatma and the jiva gets liberated from samsara by the will of the parama purusha only who grants the fruit of the Moksha to jiva when he resorts to the means of Bhakthi yoga (Meditation) or Prapatti yoga which is Saranagathi or Surrender.

In this context Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja quotes a few quotations from Taittariya upanishad.  The dormance of the attribute of Satya sankalpa in the jiva takes place by his entering in to a mortal body at the time of creation and by his contact with a non sentient being which will be in atomic (sukshma) form at the time of deluge.  The sutra which gives the above meaning reads as “Dehayogadva sopi”.  In the 4th Siddhantha sutra in this adhikarana, the Sutrakara says that an inpidual sees both bad dreams and good dreams.  These bad dreams are an indication of bad omen and the good dreams are indication of good omen.  Good omen leads to happy events in the life of the inpidual who sees good dreams.  Bad omen leads to unhappy events.  So the objects of Good and bad dreams are created by parama purusha Sriman Narayana which are the fruits of ‘punya’ and ‘papa karma’ respectively of the person who sees the dreams.

In this context, it should be noted that the fruits of the ‘punya’, ‘papa’ karma of a jiva are enjoyed in the following ways.

(a)     Fruits of a portion of punya and papa karma are enjoyed during the state of awakening of a jiva.

(b)     Fruits of a second portion are enjoyed in the state of dreams.

(c)     Fruits of the third portion are enjoyed in heaven or Svarga loka.  Fruits of exclusive ly punya karma are enjoyed in svargaloka.  Fruits of exclusively papa karma are suffered in hell or naraka.

(d)     The remaining punya and papa karma help the jiva to take rebirth in this world and assume a mortal body and again enjoy the fruits of punya and papa by his continued existence in this world and again do punya and papa in the life time and this cycle gets repeated until the jiva resorts to the means of attaining moksha.

The second adhikarana in this pada is called “Thadabhavadhikaranam.”  In this adhikaranam the state of the sound sleep of the jiva is discussed.  This has two sutras.  There are three upanishadic texts that come up for discussion.  These three texts pertain to the state of sound sleep.

The first text is from the 8th chapter of chandogyopanishad which says that the inpidual soul will have sound sleep on the nadies (pulses or tubular organs in the heart).  The second text is from the 4th chapter of Brihadaranyaka upanishad which says that jiva sleeps on purithatha (a red coloured piece of flesh in the heart) and there are 72000 nadies which are called “Hitha” and they go to-wards the purithatha.

The third text is from 6th chapter of Chandogyopanishad which says that jiva goes asleep on Paramatma who is called “Sath” in this chapter of Chandogyopanishad.

From the above upanishadic sayings the doubt arises whether jiva sleeps on any of the above that is Nadis, Purithatha or Paramatma arbitrarily as per his convenience or on all the above.  The first is called Vikalpa (on any of the above three) and the second is called Samuchchaya (on all the above three).

The opponent or poorvapakshi tells that it only vikalpa and not Samuchchaya.  The basis for his argument is that in the above three places where it is said that jiva can sleep, one is independent of the other and the jiva cannot sleep on all the three simultaneously.  The Sutrakarar refutes the above view point of the opponent in the first sutra of this adhikarana which reads as “Thadabhava Nadeeshu thath Sruthe: Atnanicha”.

The meaning of this sutra is as follows.

Thadabhava:-  In the absence of svapna or dreams that is in the state of sound sleep.

Nadeeshu Atmanicha – The state of sound sleep of jiva takes place on Nadis, Purithatha and Paramatma.  Here cha denotes purithatha because,

Thath Sruthe:- all the above three places of sleep have been mentioned in the above mentioned sruthies or upanishads.

Here Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja mentions of a maxim called Prasada, Khatvanga, Paryanka Nyaya.

Prasada means palace.  Khatvanga means cot.  Paryanka means bed.  Here Nadies are in the place of prasada.  Purithatham is in the place of Khatvanga.  Paramatma is in the place of bed.

Finally it is said the inpidual soul enjoys sound sleep on paramatma himself who is the bed and paramatma is on purithatha which is cot and and this cot is on the floor of the palace which is said to be nadies.

The exact reason for the rejection of the argument of the poorvapakshi (that is the opponent) is just like there is difference in the fuctions of palace, cot and bed so also there is difference in the functions of Nadis, Purithatha and paramatma and on account of this one should be above the other only.  So the vikalpa (alternative) that is either nadis or purithatha or paramatma as the place of sleep and each place having the position over the other is most correct.  There are several defects in vikalpa argument and hence samuchchaya argument alone is correct.  Vikalpa means either or (alternative) and samuchchaya means combined (all to-gether).

The second sutra in this Adhikarana says that jiva after enjoying sound sleep on paramatma is woken up by paramatma only.

The third adhikarana in this pada is called Karmanusmrithi adhikaranam.  The doubt that arises here is whether the same person who slept on paramatma the previous night wakes up in the next morning or another person wakes up and appears.  Though this doubt is silly or foolish still the poorvapakshi raises a valid point to justify the above doubt.  His valid point is that Moksha or salvation is the union of jiva with paramatma.  When this union has taken place at the time of the sound sleep he asks where is the question of that person coming back again and so another person alone should wake up and appear.

In reply to the above argument the Sutrakarar refutes his view point in the Sutra.  “Sa Eva, Karma, Anusmrithi sabala vidhibhya:” – The meaning of this sutra is the person who woke up in the morning is the same person who went to bed the previous night.  This is the meaning of words sa Eva in the sutra.  The Sutrakarar cites four reasons for the same which are as follows.

(1) First is karma.  Here karma means punya papa karma.  The fruits of the balance of punya papa karma have to be enjoyed by the same person who went to bed the previous night after getting up in the morning.  Here in Sri Bhasya Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja uses a word “Tatvagnanath Prak thenaiva Bhokthavyam”.  This means the person who slept in the previous night and gets up in the morning he alone has to enjoy the fruits of the balance of punya papa karma committed by him before acquiring the knowledge of Brahman or Paramatma till he resorts to Bhakthi yoga or does Prapatti.  At the moment of the person starting the Bhakthi yoga or doing Prapatti, the Lord Sriman Narayana wills that the fruits of the Punya papa karma not enjoyed by the inpidual at the above moment be freezed and the person need not enjoy its fruits.  Subsequent to the commencement of Bhakthi yoga or doing prapatti he will not commit sins knowingly or deliberately.  Committing of sins in advertently will not affect him in any manner and Paramatma  pardons automatically.

(2) Anusmrithi – This Anusmrithi means re collection or recounting.  The person who went a sleep the previous night recounts that he got up in the next morning.

(3) Sabda – Sabda means upanishadic saying.  The Sutrakarar says that there is upanishadic saying in support of his above contention.

In Chandogyopanishad there is a saying that the tiger, lion, a jackal or pig  insect bird,  fly or mosquito which sleeps gets up in the same form.  So the same jiva who slept gets up.

(4) Vidhibhya:-  Vidhi means a command or order.  If the person who slept on paramatma goes to mkosha or attains salvation then all the upanishadic texts which prescribe bhakthi yoga or prapatti as means for salvation become meaning less or purpose less.

This person who sleeps on paramatma is not yet liberated from the bondage of samsara and therefore his going to moksha by his mere sleeping on paramatma is absurd or meaning less.

The fourth adhikarana in this pada is called Mugdhadhikarana in which the unconscious state or coma state of a jiva is discussed.

The doubt that arises here is whether coma state is another form of state of sound sleep or whether it is completely a different or separate avastha or state.

The poorvapakshi says that this coma state is another form of sushupthi avastha (state of sound sleep) as there is the usual practice of calling Moorchavastha (Coma state) as another form of sushupthi avastha.

The Sutrakarar clears the above doubt in the sutra which reads as “Mugdhe Ardha sampatti:: Parisheshath”.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.  Mugdhe means in a person who is in coma state.  Ardha sampatti: – Half the death. Because Parisheshath – As there is no sensual perception it is not the state of awakening.  As there is no mental activity it is not the state of the dreams.  As the person cannot be woken up, it is not the state of sound sleep.  As the breathing has not come to a stop it is not death.  As the breathing is there, it is half the death.

So the conclusion is that coma state is half death.

So in the above four adhikaranas the states of seeing dreams, sound sleep and unconscious ness of a jiva in samsara were dealt with to generate vairagya or a sense of detachment  for adopting means to attain moksha or eternal bliss.

In the above three auspicious attributres of Lord Sriman Narayana (Kalyana gunas) were also established which are creating of objects in the dreams of every person, allowing each jiva to sleep on his own during the state of sound sleep and preventing the departing of the jiva or soul from the body in the coma state as there is a chance for the survival.

The defects in the state of awakening were already discussed in the previous pada called Vairagya pada.

So a person after knowing the defects in all his four states will develop a sense of complete detachment from th worldly pleasure becomes well poised for adopting Bhakthi yoga which is the means prescribed in upanishads for attaining moksha.

This complete detachment is an essential prerequisite for doing Bhakthi yogam.  The other essential prerequisite is unshakeable and intense desire to attain lotus feet of Lord Sriman Narayana in Sri Vaikuntha pya loka and do eternal service to the pine couple there.  This is infact called Moksha, Salvation or eternal bliss.

In this context a doubt may arise.  Whether for a person who resorts to prapatti which is also called saranagathi is it necessary to develop a complete sense of detachment for doing prapatti.  The essential prerequisites for doing prapatti are realisation of his utter and complete inability to do Bhakthi yoga in other words upayantara sunyatva (upaya is prapatti.  upayantara is Bhakthiyoga. Sunyatva is the utter in ablity to do Bhakthiyoga) and prapyantara sunyatva that is realisation that there is no object to be attained other than lotus feet of Sriman Narayana in Srivaikunta pya loka.

The eight ancillaries of Bhakthi yoga and five ancillaries of Prapatti will be dealt with later.

Before resorting to the means of attainment of moksha, a person has to come to a definite conclusion that the object he is going to attain after departing from this world should be superior to him in all aspects.

This superior object in all aspects is the supreme being who is Lord Sriman Narayana always associated with his consort Goddess Mahalkakshmi.  In our Sri Vaishnava sampradaya, Lord Sriman Narayana together with Goddess Mahalakshmi which is called “Mithunam” (always together) is a single entity called Divine couple.  It should be remembered always wherever there is a mention of Lord Sriman Narayana in any context or occasion, he is associated with Mahalakshmi.

On account of the above eternal conjunction of Sriman Narayana and Mahalakshmi, the four-headed Brahma, Siva, Indra and other celestial gods get automatically ruled out or eliminated from the status of being supreme being.  The above celestial gods are also like us enjoying the furits of punya and papa.  Hence they are karma vasyas meaning being afflicted by punya and papa.  So in the entire universe comprising several crores of Brahmandas all living beings are karma vasyas except Lord Sriman Narayana and Mahalakshmi.  It should be noted that one single Brahmanda comprises of 14 lokas (worlds) right from Satyaloka upto Patala loka.  In every Brahmanda there are separate Four-headed Brahma, Siva, Indra and other Celestial Gods.

Now coming to the subject proper, there are two characteristics of supreme being (Lord Sriman Narayana associated with Mahalakshmi) which are called Ubhaya linga.  Ubhaya means two and linga means characteristic.

The two characteristics are (1) Blemishlessness (2) Being the repository of innumerable auspicious attributes. In Sanskrit they are known as Heyapratyanikatva and Kalyana Gunaa Karatva.  So a Supreme being is identified by these two characteristics.

It is in this context that the fifth adhikarana in this pada which is called Ubhaya Lingadhikaranam acquires relevence.

This Ubhaya Lingadhikaranam has 15 sutras.  The poorvapakshi contends that when the parabrahman Who is Lord Sriman Narayana is antaryami (inner soul) in every living being or even in inanimate object, he cannot escape from the suffering and enjoyment of happiness just like jiva who also undergoes the same.

Eventhough in some of the previous adhikaranas, it has been said that paramatma is Apahatapapma which means blemishless ness, still the punya papa karma of jiva confers a body to him and Paramatma becomes antaryami controlling both jiva and body.  When jiva under goes the sufferings as a result of his papa karma similarly Paramatma who is always with jiva is also subject to the above.  In the body there are nasty substances like pus, Blood, Urine, Stools etc and Paramatma who is in contact with these is definitely feels bad about it and this itself is a blemish to him.  For example even if a person falls in to a gutter carrying sewage or dirty water knowingly or un knowingly, he feels very bad about it and cleans the body after watrds.  So also in the case of paramatma.  So the contention of purvapakshi is Paramatma is not blemishless.  So Ubhaya lingatvam as explained above is not applicable to Paramatma.

In reply to the above or in refutation of the above the Sutrakara says in the first Sutra which reads as “Na sthanathopi Parasya ubhayalingam Sarvatra hi”.

The meaning of this sutra is that paramatma always possesses ubhaya lingam irrespective of the place where he is and his contact with nasty substances mentioned above does not cause any blemish to him.  He is always apahata papma.  His ubhaya lingatvam which are being blemish less ness and being repository of all auspicious tributes or in other words “Heya paratyaneekatvam” and “Kalyana gunakaratvam” is always maintained every where without any change.

The Upanishadic authority and other scriptural authority on the basis of which the Sutrakara has coined the above sutra are as follows.

(1)    In the 8th chapter of Chandogyopanishad it is said that Paramatma is Apahatapapma (being blemishless, or free from every type of defect and drawbacks), Vijara (being from the defects of old age), Vimrutyu (being free from death), Vishoka (being free from sorrow), Vijighatsa (being free from hunger) , Apipasa (being free from thirst).

Satyakama (capable of getting all his desires fulfilled) and Satya sankalpa (capable of carrying out anything which he wills).

Among the above the first six indicate that Paramatma is flawless (blemishless) that is in other words heyapratyanika and the last two indicate that he is repository of all auspicious tributes.

(2)    In Sri Vishnu purana sage Parasara says that Lord Sriman Narayana or paramatma is repository of all auspicious tributes and he created this universe by exercising an infinitesimal quantum of his infinite strength or power.

Paramatma is the treasure house or mine of all kalyana gunas and he does not have any sorrow and other sufferings of jivas.

The supreme abode is free from all defects or flaws and the paramatma should also be free from all the above.

In the remaining 14 sutras the sutrakarar mentions several interesting points which are worthy of knowing and they are as follows.

(a)    To a query from poorvapakshi that when it is said that jiva also possesses the 8 attributes mentioned above starting from Apahata papma in the same 8th chapter of chandogyopanishad in which the four headed Brahman called Prajapathi preaches Brahma vidya to Indra and he is subject to sufferings when he is in the body why not paramatma also subject to the above when he is antaryami, the Sutrakara replies that in Antaryami Brahmanam of Brihadarayaka upanishad, Sage Yajnavalkya identifies 21 objects in which paramatma is antaryami and says in every object the Paramatma is Antaryami and Amritha.  This word Amritha means that he controls all actions and functions of jivas and his bodies and is free from the defects of the bodies and jivas.  In the case of jiva the above 8 attributes are dormant till he gets liberated from the bondage of samsara.  Again another objection is raised in this context.

Even though Paramatma does every thing on his own will, still he cannot escape from his contact with nasty substances in the body.  This objection is overruled by Sutrakara though not explicitely in the sutra, But Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja gives a beautiful explanation to the above point citing several quotations from Sri Vishnu purana.  The explanation is that one substance or object is liked by one and disliked by the other.  For example a sweet is liked by a few where as the same sweet is not liked by a different set of persons.  The reason for this is that the fault is not in the object but it lies in the inpidual person who likes or dislikes it. Liking or disliking of an object depends on the karma of the person.

The punya papa karma of a person may makes him to like sweet.

The ‘punya papa karma’ of another person which is different makes him to develop dislike to sweet.  Similarly for the same person the sweet may be liked by him at one moment and the same may be disliked by him at an another moment.  This is also according to the vaguaries of his punya papa karma.  As paramatma is free from karma there is no question of a substance being liked by him or disliked by him.  Hence the nasty substances in the body do not affect his ubhaya lingatvam.

(b)    In Mundaka and Svetashvatara upanishads, it has been said that paramatma and jivatma are two birds in the same branch of a tree (here body is the tree, heart is the branch) in which jivatma enjoys the fruits of his punya and papa karma and paramatma shines without the enjoyment of fruits of punya papa karma.  Hence paramatma is ubhaya lingam.

(c)    Here again the Sutrakara raises a doubt and clears the same.  It is said in chandogyopanishad that Lord Sriman Narayana who is the atma to jiva (Inpidual soul is the body of paramatma) enters in to the body along with jiva and does both nama rupa vyakarana meaning allotment of body or form and also the name.  There are four types of bodies which a jiva can assume acording to his punya papa karma.  They are celestial body (Called Deva), human body ( Manushya), animal body (Called Thiryak) and inanimate object (Called Sthavara).  So paramatma who is the inner soul or supreme soul cannot escape from the vidhinishedha sastra which is also applicable to him.  Vidhinishedha sastra means scripture mandating the jiva do this (Vidhi sastra), do not do that (Nishedha sastra).  So the doubt is when paramatma is subject to vidhi nishedha sastra how can he be ubhaya linga.

The reply to this doubt is even though the paramatma dwells within a body along with jiva he is without a form which in other words means that the four types of the bodies assumed by jiva according to his punya papa karma are not directly that of paramatma who is free from karma.  Further it is said that paramatma is the doer of nama rupa vyakarana and when this unique feature is there he must be ubhaya linga even though he is antaryami.

(d)    Here the opponent contends that paramatma is without any attribute and so nirivishesha (Vishesha means attribute or virtuous quality) according to the upanishadic text Satyam, Jnanam, Anantham Brahma.  According to them Satyatvam means not a satyam, Jnanam means not innocent or ignorant.  Anantham means not limited.  So these three are not attributes and they are in the intrinsic nature or swarupa of Brahman. Another text says that nethi nethi ( no, no) for the Paramatma and so the attributes which are omniscient, possessor of the will which cannot be changed, the cause of the universe, antaryami in every object, and fulfiller of all his desires should be false and when it is so how can he be ubhayalingam.  This contention of the opponent is refuted by saying the text satyam, jnanam and anantham brahma does not say that Paramatma is nirvisesha (without attribute) and on the other hand it means that paramatma shines with the qualities of satyatva, gnanatva and ananthatva.  Satyatva means  there is no transformation in his svarupa or intrinsic nature and hence he is different from the non sentient body and from the un liberated soul within the body ( Non sentient body under goes continuous transformation).  Gnanatva means the conscious ness or Dharma bhutha gnana which helps the perception is ever un limited or infinite.  So he is different from Mukthatma or a liberated soul because his dharma bhutha gnana was limited when he was in the un liberated state or samsara.  Ananthatva means paramatma is unlimited with regard to space, time and object.  So he is different from Nityasuris.  Paramatma is unlimited with regard to space means he is every where.  He is unlimited in respect of time means he is there always.  He is unlimited in respect of object means that he is the antaryami in both sentient and non sentient beings and every thing is a body to him.  In the same manner the other qualities like omniscience etc narrated above are also there.  So paramatma is ubhaya lingam.  The meaning of the words Nethi, Nethi is different and it will be dealt with later.

(e)    There are scores of upanishadic texts, texts in Bhagavad githa and puranas that paramatma is ubhaya lingam.

(f)      The illustrations of sun (Surya) and Akasha are mentioned by Sutrakara here to establish the fact that paramatma is blemishless even though he dwells in every being or object as antaryami.  Akasa is in contact with every object because it is above every object and flawless.  The images of the sun are seen in every  layer of water and images of objects are seen in mirrors.  The sun is free from flaws and so also Brahmam or paramatma is flawless and ubhaya lingam.

(g)    In this context the opponent raises the point that the images are all illusory where as the existence of paramatma is true in every being and so the above illustration does not hold good.  The sutrakarar replies to the above point as follows.

The Akasha or sky though in contact with every object is not subject to vaguaries in the size of the object.  One object may be big and the other object is small.  Similarly even though sun whose image is seen in water is not actually there.  But the point is that the image of the sun is not subject to the size of container of water.  For example,. the image may be in water contained in a small vessel or a big tank or lake.  So also paramatma dwelling in all objects both sentient and non sentient beings is blemishless and repository of auspicious attributes.

(h)    The Purvapakshi raises another point which is replied by the Sage Badarayana (Vedavyasa Bhagavan) who is the composer of Brahma sutras.  The point is as follows.

In Brihadaranyaka upanishad (4th chapter 3rd sub pision) it is said that Brahman or paramatma has two forms or bodies.  One perceivable called Moortham and the other non-perceivable called Amoortham.  Moortham means hard and Amoortham means soft.

The elements Earth, Water and fire constitute the moortham; They are hard, perishable not pervading and they are perceived by our senses.  The Solar disc which is also called Surya mandalam is the essence of these three elements.  This solar disc can be seen by our eyes and it has to be meditated in the manner explained above.

The elements sky and air constitute amoortham which are soft , not perishable.  The essence of these two elements is in the purusha or paramatma who is at the centre of the solar disc.  He is to be meditated as such.  This purusha wears yellow coloured dhothi, blanket having colour similar to a red colured insect, and his body is like a red coloured lotus flower (red colour similar to the flame of a fire) and several lightnings taking place simultaneously.  One who meditates on the above purusha in solar disc or surya mandala also becomes shining like several lightnings that take place simultaneously.

Further to the above the upanishad says after preaching the above regarding the Brahman or Sriman Narayana who is at the centre of the solar disc that the greatness of Brahman is not only that much explained above.  Infact his greatness is unlimited and there is no object or being superior to the above.  He is different from prakriti which is a non sentient being and jiva who is a sentient being in all aspects.

But the upanishad while telling the above uses the words “Nethi nethi”.

The poorvapakshi who may be an advaitin exploited the words Nethi Nethi (meaning No, No) in his favour and said the above upanishad explained the greatness of Brahman after which it suddenly said no-no meaning that Brahman is nirguna or Nirvishesha without any auspicious tribute.

The Sutrakara in this context refuted the above argument of the poorvapakshi in the sutra “Prakrutha Etavathvam Prathishedathi thatho braveethicha bhuya:”.

The meaning is that the upanishad negated the limit of the greatness of Brahman and further said that there is no object superior to the above Brahman in its nature and attributes.  So Sriman Narayana alone is the supreme being and ubhaya lingam.

(i)      Brahman cannot be perceived by any other authority like pratyaksha and anumana.  (Pratyaksha is sensual perception and Anumana is inference) and he is to be perceived by scriptures only.  He can be perceived by intense meditation on him which is called Bhakthi yoga.  Sage Vamadeva by virtue of his doing Bhakthi yoga perceived the paramatma in his physical form.

Finally the Sutrakara concludes that Paramatma is Ubhaya Lingam only for the reasons explained above and he is repository of all infinite auspicious attributes or kalyana gunas.

The sixth Adhikarana in this pada is called Ahikundaladhikaranam.  This has four sutras out of which the first two are purvapaksha sutras and the latter two are siddhantha sutras.

In this adhikarana the exact relationship between the Brahman and the nonsentient being gets established.  It was proved before that Brahman (Sriman Narayana) who is antaryami and atma to both sentient and non sentient beings in the atomic form (Sukshma form) which are his bodies. He wills to become upadanakarana and nimitta karana to the universe (Upadanakarana is material cause and Nimitta karana is operational cause) and then transforms to become the antaryami or Atma to sentient beings and non sentient beings.  Here it should be noted that though jiva a sentient being is of the size of an atom.

His body may be in the form of deva sarira (celestial) manushya sarira (human body), Thiryaksarira (animal body) or sthavara (inanimate) according to his punya papa karma.  Even in human being it may be a male body or a female body.

There are certain upanishadic texts which say every thing is Brahman, every thing is atma.  Here atma is paramatma.  These two texts opine that Brahman himself is a sentient being and a non sentient being.  This is called Abheda sruti telling that Brahman himself is chethana (sentient) and achethana (non sentient) and there is no difference.  In the Chandogyopanishad it is said that Brahman or paramatma enters in to every body along with jiva that is having jiva as his body to do nama rupa vyakarana by giving name and form to every object in the universe and in this text, it is clear that Brahman is different from jiva and jiva is different from his body which is inanimate.  It is in this back ground, the Sutrakarar in the first sutra which is a purva paksha sutra in this adhikarana which reads as “ubhaya vyapadeshath Ahikundalavath”.

The meaning of this sutra is as follows.  Brahman or paramatma is one single entity before creation it assumes the forms of two entities which are sentient being and non sentient being at the time of creation.

This is said as Eka (one) before creation and Nana (many) at the time of creation.  The poorvapakshi contends that paramatma may be Eka (one) or Nana (many like chethana and achethana) like a serpant assuming two different forms one Rujubhavam (real form or straight form) and the other kundala bhavam (coiled form).  In the real form or straight form it is Eka (one) and in the coiled form it is nana (many).

So according to this Sutra Brahman himself assumes different forms of in animate objects.

In the second purva paksha sutra it is contended that Brahman and non sentient being (Achethana or in animate) belong to the same category like burning lamp and the light it emits.  Lamp is different from light.  This is in contrast of the previous view that Brahman himself assumes two different forms.

In the third sutra which reads as “Poorvavadva” both the previous two different contentions are rejected by stating that non sentient being is also a body of paramatma just like jiva is also a body which was established in the Amsadhikaranam, the last adhikarana in the 3rd pada of the 2nd chapter.  Poorvavath means like before and “va” means the rejection or refutation of the views mentioned in the previous two sutras.

In the last sutra which reads as “Prathishedhachcha”.  It is said citing two upanishadic texts that Brahman is not subject to blemishes or defects of non sentient beings which are old age for bodies and decaying for the other inanimate objects.  So Brahman can only be atma or soul to the inanimate objects which are his bodies.  The body and soul form is also known as visheshanaya.  This is also termed as Amsamsibhava (Amsa is visheshana or body and Amsi is visheshya or soul) and prakara prakari bhava (prakara is body and prakari is soul).  So this adhikarana further reinforces or strengthens the ubhaya lingam of paramatma and his being material and operational cause of the universe.

The Seventh adhikarana in this pada is called “Paradhikaranam”.  In this adhikarana the supremacy of Lord Sriman Narayana is eatablished beyond any doubt and further to prove that he is siddhopaya (ready means) and he is the object of attainment in Sri Vaikuntha pya loka.  In other words prapya  (object of attainment) and prapaka are one and the same.  Prapaka is also known as upaya and prapya is known as upeya.  Lord Sriman Narayana who is siddhopaya grants moksha after becoming pleased by the performance of sadhyopaya which may be Bhakthiyoga or Prapattiyoga (Saranagathi) by a person.

The argument of Lord Sriman Narayana granting moksha by simply remaining siddhopaya without the performance of Bhakthi or prapatti which is sadhyopaya is not correct.  So the theory of “Nirhelutka kripa” means less grace is completely ruled out.  This adhikarana has seven sutras out of which one is poorvapaksha sutra and the remaining six sutras are siddhantha sutras.   The first sutra reads as “Paramatha: Sethu-unmana, Sambandha-bheda vyapadesebhya:”

In this sutra it is contended that there is an entity which is superior to Lord Sriman Narayana on account of the following four reasons.

(1)       Sethu – This means Bridge.  There are two upanishadic texts which say that paramatma is the bridge to cross the ocean of samsara.  The term Bridge generally refers to means for going from one bank to opposite bank.  So it means that object attained after reaching the opposite bank should be different from the bridge which takes him from one bank to the other.  When paramatma is the bridge, it leads to the view that there should be some one superior to paramatma after reaching the opposite shore.  Sethu is prapaka and the entity on the other shore is prapya.

(2)       Unmana – This means limited size.  It is said in chandogyopanishad that paramatma has four legs and sixteen organs.  Pada in the upanishad is called leg and kala is said to be organ.  When the supreme being is said to be of infinite size, it leads to the view that there should be a different supreme being other than paramatma having a limited size as mentioned above.

(3)       Sambandha – This means relationship.  When there is a relation ship between prapya and prapaka they should be different which in other words means prapya is different from prapaka.

(4)       Bheda – This means different.  In mundaka upanishad it is said that jiva attains an object which is superior to supreme.  In taittariya upanishad it is mentioned that which is superior to supreme is bigger than big.  This contends that supreme is Lord Sriman Narayana and there is some body else superior to or bigger than him.

Further in Svetashvatara Upanishad it is said that purusha who is Lord Sriman Narayana has pervaded the entire universe and that there is an object which is superior (Uttarataram) to Sriman Narayana which is blemishless.  So the conclusion that on account of the above four reasons there is some one superior to Lord Sriman Narayana.

The Sutrakara in the six sutras that follows the above sutra gives satisfactory and convincing replies to the points mentioned above and affirms that Lord Sriman Narayana is supreme being and no body else is above him.

(a)                         To the point that Paramatma is sethu or bridge and there is some one above him on the opposite shore the Sutrakara in the sutra “Samanyaththu” says that the word sethu is not used to give the meaning that there is some body else to be attained.  The word sethu actually means that Lord Sriman Narayana has in him the entire universe comprising both sentient and non sentient beings.  Without any mixing or linking between them. The word sethu arises out of the word “Sinothi” which means binding or tying together.  Further sethu which generally means crossing means attaining in this context.

Without any mixing or linking actually means that the characteristics of sentient beings which are jivas are exclusively different or separate from those of non sentient beings.  Even though the sentient beings which are jivas dwell within non sentient beings which are mortal bodies, there is no question of mixing or linking of their exclusive and intrinsic characteristics.  The exclusive characteristics of jiva are i) of micro atomic size (Anuthva)  ii) realising his own self without any external aid.  This is called pratyaktva.  Being conscious in his intrinsic nature or swarupa.  iii) possessing Dharmabhutha jnana through which the objects are perceived  (iv) doer of virtuous and sinful deeds  (v) These deeds subject to overall control of paramatma.  (vi) doing prapatti at the lotus feet of Sriman Narayana through an Acharya and attaining Moksha.  These characteristics are not there in the non sentient beings.

b) Regarding the limited size of paramatma the sutrakarar says that it has been mentioned so in upanishads for the sake of meditation.  This does not however affect the characteristic of paramatma in being infinite in his svarupa (intrinsic nature) and in his kalyana gunas.

c)                  To the query that how an infinite Paramatma could be finite for the sake of meditation it is said that Paramatma becomes finite to occupy a limited space available.  This is just like an infinite sky occupying a limited space when viewed through a window.  The limited space occupied is called upadhi.

d)                  Regarding the point that the object of attainment which is called Amritha in the relevent upanishadic text is different from the or superior to paramatma who is called sethu or bridge in the same upanishadic text the sutrakarar in the sutra which reads as “Upapaththesha” says that it is only appropriate that the object of attainment  is called prapya and which is referred to as sethu in this context.  So as already mentioned in the beginning of this adhikarana Lord Sriman Narayana along with his consert Mahalakshmi is Siddhopaya (ready means) or prapaka and he himself with Mahalakshmi is upeya or prapya.  Moksha or eternal bliss is granted by both (Divine couple) after they become pleased with the person or inpidual doing prapatti (Saranagathi) at their lotus feet. In the moksha or in Sri vaikunta pya loka, both are to be attained and eternal service has to be done to both (Divine couple).  So in our Swami Desika Sampradaya the Siddhopayatvam being means for moksha lies in both and upeyatvam also lies in the both.

The Saranagathi done at the lotus feet of the consort Mahalakshmi is called “Purushakara” prapatti.  Purushakara means recommender (mediator) unless goddess Mahalakshmi recommends to Lord Sriman Narayana to accept the prapatti done at his lotus feet by a person (jiva or inpidual).  Lord Sriman Narayana does not grant moksha because he is the holder of the stick (Dandadhara – Danda is stick) for punishing the person for his committing sins.  So the aspect of danda dharatva in the Lord is changed on account of the consort Mahalakshmi being purushakara.

So Lord Sriman Narayana has three aspects which are Danda dharatva, Upayatva and Upeyatva and the consort Mahalakshmi has also three aspects which are purushakaratva, upayatva and upeyatva.  This is called “Akarathraya”

This is why it is said about consort Mahalakshmi as Akaratraya sampannam Aravindanivasinim Asshesha jagath Ishatram vande varada vallabham”.  Incidentally though out of context it is said that Goddess Mahalakshmi pervades the entire universe by her svarupa itself like Sriman Narayana and this is said on sage parasara’s sloka in Sri Vishnu purana which reads as “Yatha sarvagatho vishnu: thathaiva eyam dvijothathema”.  So Mahalakshmi is also vibhu or omni present that is she is every where along with Sriman Narayana.  She is not of atomic size or anu as opined by a few.

(e)     Regarding the point mentioned that there is some one superior or supreme to Lord Sriman Narayana based on a text in Svetasvathara upanishad (Thatha: Yaduththara tharam) the Sutrakara says in the sutra “Thatha Anya prathishedhath” that there are several upanishadic texts which proclaim that Lord Sriman Narayana is the supreme being and there is none else who is supreme to him.

This adhikarana gets concluded with the sutrakarar saying in the sutra “Anena sarvagathatvam Ayama sabdadibhya:”. Which means that Lord Sriman Narayana is all pervading and omni present according to several quotations in the upanishads and hence he is the supreme most being.

The last adhikarana in this pada is called “Phaladhikarana”.  In this it is eatablished that Lord Sriman Narayana alone grants fruits for all the karmas done by persons (jivas) including moksha.  In this world people can be pided in to three categories.

I)                   Aisvaryarathi – One who has desire in attaining worldly pleasures like be getting children, acquiring wealth and higher positions in the professional career etc., and also attaining pleasures in the svarga loka.

In Vedas several means are prescribed for acquiring wordly pleasures and heavenly pleasures.  Some of these are listed below.

(a)    Putrakameshtiyaga – For be getting children

(b)    Vayavya ishti – For acquiring wealth

(c)    Rajasuya yaga – For becoming king or monarch

(d)    Kareeri ishti – for getting good rains which is called suvrishti and not under rains called Alpavrishti and not over rains called Athi vrishti.

(e)    Jyothishtoma yaga and other yagas – For acquiring heavenly pleasures

(f)      One hundred Ashwamedha yagas – To become Indra or Thrilokadhipathi

And so on.

II)                 Kaivalyarthi – A desire to enjoy his own soul or atma.

This is possible by meditation of his ownself subject to the grace of paramatma.

III)              Moksharthi – A desire to attain moksha (gets liberated from the bondage of samsara) that is reaching Sri vaikunta pya loka through Archiradi marga ascending the throne there (Divya paryanka) where the pine couple are seated and do eternal service there.  This can be attained by doing Bhakthi yoga or prapatti.

The point for discussion in this adhikarana is as who is to grant fruits for various means explained above.

This adhikarana has four sutras in which the first two are siddhantha sutras, the third one is poorvapaksha sutra and the 4th one is siddhantha sutra in reply to the argument of the poorvapakshi.  In this adhikarana sage Jaimnin is the purvapakshi who is the composer of sutras for poorva mimamsa or karmakanda.

It is reminded in this context that mimamsa satra which is one of the universally accepted fourteen branches of learning is a single satra having three pisions.  It should also be remembered that Mimamsa sastra is basically meant for proper interpretation of vedic texts and deciding their meanings.

The first pision of Vedas is called karmakanda comprising of Vedic texts dealing with the performance of yagas and other karmas which are in the form of worship of Lord Sriman Narayana and please him to grant fruits.

Sage Jaimini who is the disciple of Sri Vedavyasa Bhagavan who is also called Sage Badarayana directed jaimini to compose sutras for the proper interpretation of vedic texts of karma kanda.  Accordingly he composed sutras grouped in to 12 chapters, 60 padas and 907 adhikaranas.These are called Karmakanda sutras or poorva mimamsa sutras.

The second pision of Vedas is the devatha kanda dealing with the nature and form of various celestial gods like Prajapathi (four-headed Brahma) Pasupathi (Rudra or siva), shachi pathi (Indra), Surya, Soma (moon), Vayu, Agni, Varuna and others.  For the interpretation of these vedic texts sage Badarayana directed his disciple the sage Kasakritsna to compose sutras.  These sutras are again grouped in to 4 chapters.  There is some doubt in the authorship of these sutras and one school of thought says that the author is Jaimini and the other school of thought says the author is Kasakritsna.  Sri Swami Desikan says in Sri Adhikarana saravali that if Jaimini has been the author then kasakristna would have composed vritti.  If Kasakritsna is the author than Jaimini would have composed vritti.

The third pision is upanishads which constitutes Brahmakanda.  This is head portion or last portion of Vedas and hence called Sruthisiras, Vedantha, Thrayyantha Nigamantha.  It is needless to repeat here that Sage Badarayana is the composer of Brahma sutras numbering 545 and grouped in to 4 chapters and these Brahma sutras are being dealt with now.  Sage Bhodhayana wrote an elaborate vritti for these Brahma sutras.

Vritti is a work which explains the meanings of the sutras concisely or elaborately.  Now in the first sutra of this adhikarana, the sutrakarar that is sage Badarayana says that the fruit for any karma (yagas) and upasana (Bhakthi or meditation) is granted by Lord Sriman Narayana who was proved beyond doubt as the supreme most being in the previous adhikarana.  The first sutra is “Phalamatha: uppaththe:” Phalam is fruit, Atha means from Sriman Narayana upapaththe: means that Lord Sriman Narayana alone is omniscient, and omni potent and very liberal and hence it is only appropriate that he grants fruits for yagas, danas, homas and upasanas.  In the second sutra upanishadic texts are quoted to establish the above.

In the third sutra which is the poorvapaksha sutra sage Juaimini says that Karmas and not upasanas directly grant fruits.  Jaimini says that there is an imaginary Apoorva which confers fruits for yagas.

It should be noted that virtuous acts or punya karmas are classified as yagas, danas and homas.  Yagas are sacrifices in which an animal (goat) is sacrificied and juice of soma latha (latha means creeper) is drunk.  In yagas the words uttered for offerings various things to the sacrificial fires which are three in number named as Dakshnagi, Ahavaniyagni and Garhapatyagni are he Yaja, he Yajamahe, Asthu vonshat, Ashravaya and voushat.

Danas are offerings given to the needy.  Homas are those offerings made to Agni without animal sacrifice.

In the last sutra which reads as Poorvanthu Badarayana hethu vyapadeshath, the sutrakarar refutes the argument of sage jaimini and establishes the fact that Sriman Narayana grants fruits to karmas done in the form of yagas. He grants moksha to the person who has done prapatti instead of upasana or Bhakthiyoga. Sri Vedanta desika says and upasanas.

All the upanishads say in one voice that Bhakthi yoga is the means for attaining Moksha.  Bhakthi basically means devotion to-wards elders.  Intense meditation with single minded devotion on Lord Sriman Narayana is Bhakthi yoga.

Before dealing with the eight ingredients of Bhakthi yoga its ancillaries are to be clearly under stood.

The two basic ancillaries are (1) Karma yoga and (2) Jnana yoga.

The nature of Karma yoga and Jnana yoga have been dealt with in detail in Sri Bhagavad gita.

This karma yoga is basically meant for the purification of mind which helps concentration of mind on Lord Sriman Narayana which is an essential prerequisite for deep meditation which is called Samadhi.

In the chapter 9 of Srimath Rahasyatrayasara, Sri Vedanta Desika (reverentially known as Sri Swami Desikan) explains the nature of Karma and Gnana yoga as follows in precise terms without much dilation or elaboration.

Karmayoga:-  After acquiring the knowledge of the true nature of the inpidual soul that is jiva (one’s own self) and supreme soul who is paramatma one has to resort to any of the karma yoga which is possible for doing by him (Jiva).  This karma yoga has to be done without expecting any fruit out of it.

The various classifications of karma yoga are

(a)        Devarchana Rupa – Worship of Lord Sriman Narayana utilising money earned by righteous means.

(b)        Doing yaga or sacrifice like Jyothishtoma yaga, Vajapeya yaga etc in which animals like goats are sacrificed.

(c)        Controlling our senses by perting from the objects of sensual pleasures like sabda, sparsha, Rupa, Rasa and Gandha and directing them to-wards Lord Paramatma.

(d)        Controlling our breathing by doing pranayama

(e)        Offering of the alms to the needy.

(f)          Doing the daily rituals of oupasina, Agnihotra and Panchamaha yagnas.

(g)        Doing tapas.  Tapas means penance.

Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja in Sri Githa Bhasya explains Tapas as krichchra, Chandrayana etc.  The activity which is done with difficulty and with a vow is called Krichchra.  It includes fasting.  Anything which is done with a vow is called vrata.

In the chandrayana vrata, taking of food is to be regulated.  One mouth ful of food is grasa.  The regulation of taking food is as follows.

From the beginning of Sukla paksha ( a fortnight that gets concluded with full moon or poornima) up to the day of full moon, the quantum of food has to be increated by one grasa every day and on the full moon day there will be full square meals.  From the beginning of krishna paksha that gets concluded on the new moon day, the quantum of food has to be reduced by grasa every day such that it becomes virtually nil on the new moon day (Amavasya) and the fasting has to be done on that day.

The above is called Tapas.

h) Taking holy dip in sacred waters is also a form of Karma yoga.

i) Learning Vedas

j) Knowing the meaning of Vedic texts

The above all are the difficult forms of karma yoga and a person can adopt any one of them.  By doing this karma yoga, the mind gets purified for realising one’s own self.

It should be remembered that this karma yoga is besides doing daily rituals of sandhya vandana three times and other allied karmas which are called as Nitya Naimittika karmas.

Jnanayoga:- After getting the mind purified by doing karma yoga as explained above and after winning over the mind, the inpidual soul that is jiva who is different from the body and after realising that jiva is supported and  controlled by paramatma and is subordinate to him.  The person should meditate on his ownself always without break.  When the person realises his own self by karma yoga and gnana yoga and  if the person is not caught in the pleasure of the enjoyment of his own self, then he gets down to Bhakthi yoga which is the direct means for the attainment of supreme goal of enjoyment of paramatma in Sri Vaikunta pya loka.  Sri Swamy Desikan cites a beautiful example.  There is a jewel and jewal box containing jewel.  To see the jewel inside the jewel box, first jewel box has to be seen.  So also here paramatma who is the antaryami or inner soul in every being is the jewel and the inpidual soul that is jivatma is the jewel box.  After seeing jewel box that is after realising his own self which is called Atmavalokanam, it is but natural or obvious or even sequential to get a desire to see the antaryami who is the supreme soul and jivatma is the body to him.  So this atmavalokanam confers the basic eligibility on a person who wants to resort to Bhakthi yoga to attain eternal bliss or Moksha.

The details of Bhakthi yoga will be dealt with later.

In practicing Karma yoga and Jnana yoga the following seven ingredients also form an integral part.  These seven ingredients are called Sadhanasapthaka which Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja mentions in the Laghu siddhantha in the beginning of Sri Bhasya.

The sadhana saptaka or the seven ingredients are as follows.

In this context the Bhakthi yoga is called Dhruva smrithi or Dhruvanusmrithi.  Smrithi or Anusmrithi is meditation on Lord Sriman Narayana who is the antaryami or the inner soul of the meditator.  Dhruva means deep concentration of the mind that is in other words not allowing any other thought to come in between during meditation.  This state of mind is possible only by sadhana sapthaka which has been referred to above.

The details of Sadhana Sapthaka are as follows.

1)      Viveka – The food we take should be free from three defects.  The three defects are Jathidushtam, Ashraya dushtam and Nimiththa dushtam.

Jathidushtam – defects arising out of the prohibited categories to which they belong like onion, potato, cabbage, drumstick, etc.

Ashraya dushtam – defects arising out of the connection of the food with some unholy substances like hair etc.  Tender coconut in a brass or bronze vessel, Honey kept in a copper vessel, Ghee and milk served by using an iron vessel.

Nimiththa dushtam – Under some special or peculiar circumstances the prepared food should not be taken.  These circumstances are known as Nimiththam.

Food touched by people belonging to inferior castes.  Milk sold by brahmins, Food touched by dogs, crows, cock, rats, cats and young children.  Food smelt by human beings and cattle.  The balance of water in the vessel after washing of our feet etc.

It is said in the chandogyopanishad that if the food we take is pure then the satva guna in our mind will increase which helps the meditation in Bhakthi yoga.

2)      Vimoka – Free from desires especially sexual.  Meditation has to be done with a peaceful mind.  There should not be any desire  in the mind to enjoy the objects like sound, touch, beauty, taste and smell.  If the desire is not fulfilled it leads to anger.  If the anger is there there will be no peace of mind.

3)      Abhyasa – This means repetion.  In other words the mind should meditate on an auspicious form of Lord Sriman Narayana.  This also means choosing suitable place and time for meditation, so that concentration becomes possible.

4)      Kriya – Kriya means performance of daily rituals to the extent possible especially,  Panchamahayagnas like Devayagna, Pithru yagna, Bhutha yagna, Monushya yagna and Brahma yagna.  It is said that those who perform the daily rituals including the above pancha maha yagna are the best among brahma viths. Brahma vith means person having complete knowledge of Brahman that is Lord Sriman Narayana.

5)      Kalyana – Possession of virtuous qualities that is satya, Arjava, Daya, Dana, Ahimsa and Anabhidhyaah.

Satyam means compassion to-wards living beings, Arjavam means complete synchronisation of mind, speech and action that is what we think that should be spoken and what we speak should be put in to action.

Daya means mercy or compassion which in other words means a sincere desire to remove the distress of others without expecting any return or reward out of it.

Ahimsa means complete nonviolence that is not causing suffering to others in mind, speech and action.

Danam means without being greedy or avaricious.  This also means offering of any thing to the deserving and needy person which he has acquired by righteous means.

Anabhidhya means not aspiring to possess another man’s property and wealth.

It also means not thinking of harming the others.  There should be no intention to cheat others.  It also means possession of qualities told by the Lord Krishna in the 13th chapter of Bhagavad gita and also eight qualities of the inpidual soul mentioned in the Gauthama dharma sutra.

6)      Avavasada – Avasada means distress, sorrow or grief.  Anavasada means just opposite of it that is being without distress.  A person who resorts to Bhakthi yoga should be without any mental grief.

7)      Anudhdharsha – Udhdharsha means excessive happiness or pleasure.  Anudhdharsa means just opposite of it that is being without too much of happiness.  This also should not be there for a person to do bhakthi yoga.

The above sadhana sapthaka (Seven point means) should be there along with karma yoga or along with both karma yoga and gnana yoga as explained above and these are essential prerequisites for a person to do Bhakthi yoga.

Bhakthi yoga:-  Again Sri Vedantha Desika in the Upaya Vibhaga Adhikara of Srimad Rahasyatraya sara explains beautifully the nature of Bhakthi yoga which is as follows.

Bhakthi yoga is deep meditation with excessive devotion on Lord Sriman Narayana who is the supporter of meditator, who is not under the control of any body else and who is also not subordinate to any body else.  This meditation is continuous flow of thought like the flow of oil leading to a state of realisation of the Lord in the mind which is almost equal to external and full realisation.  This has to be done every day till the day of his journey to the supreme abode Sri Vaikuntha Divyaloka and ends with the remembrance of the Lord just before the departure of the soul from this mortal body.  This is called Antimasmrithi. As already said the performance of daily rituals according to one’s varna (Caste) and Ashrama (Stage of Life) along with karma yoga.  With Sadhana Sapthaka and realisation of one own self that is atma or along with karma yoga, jnana yoga combined with sadhana sapthaka and realisation of one’s own self which was mentioned as atmavalokana before.

The four castes are Brahman, Kshatriya, Vysya and Sudra.  The four stages of the life or the four ashramas are Bramacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Samyasa (Bachelor, Married, Living in forest and ascetic).

Bhakthi yoga has to be done only by those belonging to Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya castes only.  (This bhakthi yoga is there fore called Trivarnikadhikara or confined to three varnas).  Ladies are also not eligible to do Bhakthi yoga because both sudras and ladies are not eligible to recite Vedas.  This in other words mean Vedas are not accessible to them.

This Bhakthi yoga which is prescribed as means for moksha or salvation is called parabhakthi.  This parabhakthi generates a deep desire to realise Lord Sriman Narayana.  When this realisation is achieved at the time of meditation this state is called paragnana.  This paragnana leads to the development or generation of a deep and devoted desire to enjoy the supreme being continuously and this is called parama bhakthi.  This parama bhakthi makes Sriman Narayana to expedite the granting of moksham to the concerned person who has crossed the three stages (States) which are parabhakthi, paragnana and parama bhakthi.

To attain the state of deep meditation which is called “Samadhi” which is the highest state there are seven lower steps and these seven steps together with the state of samadhi is called Ashtanga yoga.

The eight angas or ancillaries (components) of Bhakthi yoga are

1)      Yama – This means of controlling senses.  This is possible if only five sub ancillaries of this are practiced and achieved.  The five sub ancillaries are

(a)     Brahmacharya or celibacy – One should not aspire women other than his own wife.  He should be devoted to-wards his wife.

(b)     Ahimsa- One should not think, talk or do harm to others.

(c)     Astheya – One should not steal other man’s belonging or property.  Also one should not think that his soul which is ever sub ordinate to and exclusive property of Lord Sriman Narayana as quite independent and not subordinate.  If he thinks like the above he will be charged as Atmapahari (One who has stolen his soul).

After all stealing means of thinking of one substance belonging to the other as his own.  The atma pahara is the gravest crime in this world.

(d)     Aparigraha – Not accepting any gift for the sake of his own self.

(e)     Satyam – One should speak truth which is palatable to others and which will be well taken by them.  An unpalatable thing though a fact or true should not be spoken.

2)      Niyama – Bringing all the senses under one’s direct control and not allowing to run after any material pleasure giving object.  This has again has five sub ancillaries which are as follows.

(a)       Santhosha:- having contentment with what one gets and escheuing the objects of material pleasure.

(b)      Saucham – Saucham means purification.  This purification is of two types.  The first is external purification which is the purification of body with mud and water and the second type is the internal purification that is the purification of mind.  There should be purity in the food one takes.

If should not be jathi dushta, Ashraya dushta and nimiththadushta as explained earlier under sadhana sapthaka.

Any food one takes should have been offered to Lord Sriman Narayana after worshipping him in archa form which may be in the form of salagrama or consecrated idol form or both.

(c)       Tapas – This means fasting on special days like Ekadasi, Sravana dwadashi, Sri Jayanthi, Sri Ramanavami, Sri Narasimha jayanthi days.  Tapas also means avoiding over eating over eating or under eating is always enemy to meditation.

(d)      Svadhyaya – Reciting of Vedas after leaning it under the feet of a preceptor.  It also means uttering the names of Lord Sriman Narayana.

(e)       Pranidhanam (Brahma pravanyam) – making the mind rest on Lord Sriman Narayana.

(3) Asanam – Being seated.  The meditator should get seated at a purified place.  The purification of the place should be done by smearing with water along with gomayam (cow dung) on this dharbam (Kusa grass) should be spread over.  Over this Aginam (Skin of the deer) should be placed.  Over the above cloth should be placed and this arrangement gives a cushioning effect.  Over the above a wooden board in the shape of any of the following.  Chakra, Padma, Kurma, Mayura, Kukkuta, Veera, Svasthika, Bhadra, Simhasana, Mukthasana, Gomukha should be kept over which the meditator should get seated facing the east.

(4) Pranayamam – This means controlling the breath.  This has three stages of operation.  The first stage is called Rechaka in which the left nose is closed by the shortest finger and next to it and exhaling the air from the right nose with eyes closed.  The second stage is called Puraka in which the right nose is closed by the thumb and air from out side is inhaled through the left nose.  The third stage is called kumbhaka in which both the noses are closed by the three fingers as mentioned above and the breath is controlled and maintained at that level for about 36 seconds which is the best period, 24 seconds which is next best or for at least 12 seconds.  One second can be considered as Mathra the duration required to pronounce a short alphabet like the first alphabet Aa. During the period of holding the breath the ashtakshara mantra or dvaya mantra has to be recited with in the mind for 25 times.  This pranayama is required for keeping the body healthy.

(5) Pratyahara – This means dragging the mind which is after senses and senses are after the objects of enjoyment, to-wards the Lord Sriman Narayana by developing a sense of detachment and by realising draw backs or defects in the sensual pleasures.

(6) Dharana – After getting detachment in the sensual pleasures and after developing love or devotion to-wards auspicious and beautiful form of Sriman Narayana which in other words called Divya mangala vigraha (auspicious means subhashraya) the meditation should get his mind constantly and continuously on the lotus feet of the supreme being and seeing that the mind does not move away from the above.

(7) Dhyanam – This means deep meditation on Lord Sriman Narayana along with the auspicious attributes as enunciated in the upanishads in the contexts of various brahma vidyas the details of which will be dealt with after this.  This dhyanam is always compared to the flow of oil to indicate that there is no break.  So this meditation is continuous thought which will not be interupted with any other thought.  When this meditation is under taken the mind should constantly be thinking of Divya Mangala vigraha of the supreme being who is adorned with five weapons and ornaments.  The weapons are

Sudarsana chakra- Disc – This represents the mind of a human being.

Panchajanya – Sankha- Conch shell – This represents Sathvika ahamkara which is one of the 24 tenets.

Kaumodaki – Gada – Mace – This represents Mahan.

Sarngam – Bow – This represents Ahamkara

Arrows – These represent ten senses.

Khadga – Sword.  This represents the Gnana or conscious ness.

The ornaments are

Kireeta – Crown

Makuta – Ornament of head

Chudavatamsa –  a garland worn on head.

Makara kundala – Ear rings in the shape of a crocodile.

Graivayakahara – Neck lace

Keyura – Arm let

Kataka – Bracelet

Srivatsa – hair on the chest of the lord

Kousthubha – Gem on the breast of the Lord.  This kousthubha represents jivatma.

Muktha – Single string of pearls.

Peethambara – Yellow garment

Kanchee guna – Golden waist belt.

Nupura – An anklet.

(8) Samadhi – A state that is reached after the daily practice of dhyana in which the intrinsic nature or swarupa of the supreme being is meditated upon.  Samadhi also means full mental realisation of the Lord even after getting up from dhyana.

Thirtytwo Brahmavidyas:

Vidya means knowledge.  The basic root of this word is “Vid jnane”.  This knowledge is of two types which are (1) ordinary knowledge (2) Meditatory knowledge.  Brahma means the supreme being Lord Sriman Narayana.  So Brahma vidya means meditation on Brahman for liberation from bondage of samsara and attainment of eternal bliss.  So this Brahma vidya is Bhakthi yoga the details of which were dealt with in the preceeding paragraphs.

These Brahmavidyas, each of which is an independent means of attaining moksha are thirty two in number and each one of them is a form of Bhakthi yoga excepting nyasa vidya which is saranagathi or prappaththi which is also an independent means of attaining moksha.

As explained earlier Karma yoga and Jnana yoga are ancillaries to Bhakthi yoga (Brahmavidya).  In addition to this Prapatti or Saranagathi has to be done at the lotus feet of the Lord Sriman Narayana to wash off sins (both punya and papa) which are blocking a Traivarnika man from doing Bhakthi yoga (Trivarnika means a person belonging to Brahmana, Kshatriya or Vaisya castes).  This Prapatti done to remove impediments for starting Bhakthi yoga is called as Anga prapatti.  Anga means ancillary.  The sequence of commencement of Bhakthi yoga or Brahma vidya is as follows.  There are two alternative sequences.

I – First Sequence:

(a)                Karma yoga and practicing of Sadhana sapthaka

(b)               Realisation of one own self (Atmasakshatkara or Atmavalokana)

(c)                Anga prapatti

(d)               Bhakthi yoga – Choosing any one of Brahmavidyas whose names will be mentioned below adopting Ashtanga yoga.

II-Second sequence:

(a)     Karma yoga and practicising of Sadhana sapthaka

(b)     Jnana yoga

(c)     Atmavalokana

(d)     Angaprapatti

(e)     Bhakthi yoga choosing any one of the Brahma vidyas adopting Ashtanga yoga

While doing Bhakthi yoga adopting Ashtanga yoga Three things are to be essentially meditated upon which are

(a)      Meditating upon Lord Sriman Narayana having a Divya mangala vigraha and always associated with his consort Mahalakshmi and both to-gether becoming one single entity who is the inner soul  or antaryamin of the meditator who is his body that is the meditator or jivatma is the body of paramatma or paramatma is the soul of jivatma.

While meditating on the supreme soul or paramatma as mentioned above two categories of the auspicious attributes of the Lord Sriman Narayana are also to be meditated.  They are (I) Six basic auspicious attributes which are called Svarupa nirupaka dharmas (here Dharma is Kalyana guna) and (ii) The auspicious attributes which are exclusively related to the particular brahma vidya which the meditator chooses to meditate.

(b)     Meditating on his own self as knower, doer, enjoyer, always subordinate to Sriman Narayana, of atomic, knowing his own self (called Pratyaktva)

(c)      Thinking of Brahmavidya which one has adopted for attaining salvation.

(d)     The sequence of fruits one is going to enjoy at the conclusion of Brahma vidya which are Antima Smrithi (last memory), departure of the soul with a miniature body or sookshma sarira from the mortal body, reaching the bank of viraja river, along the Archiradi marga or route and there deserting the sookshma sarira, crossing the Viraja river and reaching the opposite bank and entering in to the territory of Sri Vaikuntha pya loka, getting Brahmalankara, being conducted to pya paryanaka or throne where the pine couple are seated, ascending the throne and reporting to Divine couple, blossoming of Eight attributes called Gunashtaka, getting ordained or initiated into the eternal service to the pine couple there by attaining moksha samrajya.

The thirtytwo Brahma vidyas are as follows.  This is narrated below in the sequence of the Adhikaranas in Sri Bhashya.

(1)     Sadvidya:  This brahmavidya is taught to Svethakethu by his father sage Uddalaka in the 6th chapter of Chandogyopanishad.

(a)     The six attributes of Lord Sriman Narayana which are to be meditated upon and which are called svarupa nirupaka dharmas are,

i)                    Satyatva – By virtue of this attribute the supreme being is different from the unliberated soul who is called Baddha jiva and also different from the mortal body in which the baddha jiva dwells.

Satyatva also denotes being free from transformation both in the intrinsic nature which is called svarupa and ordinary nature which is called Svabhava.

ii)                   Jnanatva- Always omniscient.  By virtue of this attribute the paramatma is different from muktatma (liberated soul)

iii)                 Anantatva- Paramatma is limit less or infinite with regard to space, time and substance which in other words he encompassess the entire universe both externally and internally He is antaryami to both sentient and non sentient beings.  This aspect makes him different from Nitya suries.

iv)                 Anandatva – Always with Infinite bliss.

v)                  Amalatva – blemishless ness

vi)                 Sriyahpativa- Consort of Goddess Mahalakshmi.

The above six attributes which establish the svarupa or intrinsic nature of Lord Sriman Narayana are to be meditated upon in every brahmavidya without exception including nyasavidya.

(b)     The exclusive attributes or Kalyana gunas which are to be meditated upon in this vidya only are as follows:

i)                    Jagadupadanatvam – Material cause for this universe

ii)                   Jagannimitatvam – Operational cause for this universe.

iii)                 Sarvajnatva – Omniscient

iv)                 Sarva sakthi yoga – Omnipotent

v)                  Satya sankalpatvam – Possessing unshakeable will.

vi)                 Sarvantaratvam – being inner soul or antaryami in everybeing.

vii)               Sarvadharatvam – Supporting the entire universe.

viii)              Sarva Niyanthrutvam – Controlling or ordaining every thing.

(c)     Specific mention of Moksha phala in this vidya :  In the sixth chapter of the chandogyopanishad it is said that who practices this Brahma vidya (Sath vidya) and meditates attains moksha on the expiry of Praraba karma.

2) Anandamaya vidya:- This brahmavidya is mentioned in the Anandavalli of Taittariya upanishad.

(a)       The six svarupa nirupaka dharmas as mentioned above are to be meditated upon while meditating on Lord Sriman Narayana who is Anandamaya.

(b)       Exclusive attributes to be meditated upon in this vidya are

i)                    Creator of five elements or Bhuthas which are Akasa, Vayu, Thejas, Water and earth

ii)                   He is antaryami to Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya and vignanamaya

iii)                 He wills and creates the universe

iv)                 He has entered in to all the sentient and non sentient beings as antaryami and they have become bodies to him

v)                  He confers happiness on all jivas and without his grace none can survive.

vi)                 He is a terror to Sun, Moon, Vayu, Indra, Agni, Yama and other celestial gods who perform their duties correctly and promptly on account of fear to-wards Sriman Narayana who is Anandamaya.

(c)       Mention of Moksha phala to one who resorts to this Brahma vidya

At the conclusion of this Anandavalli it is said that Brahmananda which is eternal and infinite bliss in Sri Vaikunta Divya Loka is also attained by Akamohata Sratria which means a person who has vairagya and who has meditated upon Anandamaya who is paramatma.

Note : Knowing the names of all the Brahma Vidyas and exclusive auspicious attributes relevent to each and every Brahma Vidya to be meditated is of academic interest and it will be a very elaborate and lengthy affair.  No body in this Kaliyuga resorts to Bhakthi yoga which is very difficult to practice.  It is said even sage Nathamuni who was a yoganishta and who chanted “Kanninun Siruththambu” a Tamil deivatamil composed by the Sage Madurakavi Alwar in praise of Nammalwar 12000 times with deep concentration to see or realise Nammalwar to get the preaching of 4000 verses called Divya deivatamil did not practice Bhakthi yoga.  In Bhakthi yoga it cannot be precisely said that Lord Sriman Narayana will grant Moksha at the end of that birth or janma in which one may resort to Bhakthi yogam.  He may have to take several births before the supreme being grants him moksha.

So no body will dare to practice Bhakthi yoga in this Kaliyuga.

So in this lecture I will mention merely the names of 32 Brahma vidyas and the name of the upanishad in which it is mentioned.  This information will suffice.

I have already dealt with Sadvidya and Anandamaya vidya.  For the sake of the completeness of the list I repeat their names here and try to give some details of Nyasa vidya at the end.

Name of Brahma Vidya

Name of the upanishad in which it is mentioned

Phala or fruit for  Name of the adhikarana in Sri Bhashya in which this vidya is discussed or dealt with.

Sadvidya.  Uddalaka preaches to Svethakethu

Chandogya – 6th chapter

Moksha phalam

Ikshathyadhikarana

Ananda vidya or Anandamaya vidya.  This is not preached to any body.

Taittariya upanishad.  Anandavalli

Moksha phalam

Anandamayadhikarana

Antharaditya vidya

Chandogya Ist chapter, 6th khanda, 6th Mantra

No moksha phalam as this is a part of Udgeetha vidya.

Antharadhikarana

Akasha vidya

Chandogya Ist chapter, 9th khanda

No moksha phalam as this is a part of Udgeetha vidya.

Akasa adhikarana

Prana vidya

Chandogya 1-11-5

No moksha phalam as this is a part of Udgeetha vidya.

Pranadhikaranam

Gayathri Jyothir vidya

Chandogya 3-12

Moksha phalam.  Here the attainment of Svarga loka means Moksha

Jyothiradhikaranam

Prathardana vidya

Kousithaki upanishad 3rd chapter

Moksha phalam.  The person who resorts to this vidya first attains svarga loka abode of Indra and stays there for a considerable period and then goes to Sri Vaikunta

Indra pranadhikaranam.

Sandilya vidya

Chandogya 3-14

Agnirahasyam Brihadarayanaka upanishad 7-6-1

Moksha phalam

Sarvatra prasiddhi Adhikaranam

Nachiketha vidya.  Lord Yama preaches this vidya to Nachi kethas

Kathopanishad

Moksha phalam

Attradhikaranam

Upakosala vidya.  Sage Satyakama preaches this vidya to upakosala.

Chandogya 4th chapter. 10 to 15 Khandas

Moksha phalam

Antharaa adhikaranam

Antaryami vidya

Brihadaranyaka 5th chapter and 7th Brahmanam subalopanishad

Moksha phalam

Antaryami adhikaranam

Akshara para vidya

Mundaka upanishad

Moksha phalam

Adrasyatvadi Adhikaranam

Vysvanara vidya.  King Ashwapathi teaches this vidya to six sages

Chandogya – 5-11-24

Moksha phalam

Vysvanadhikaranam

Bhooma vidya.  Sage Sanathkumara preaches this vidya to sage Narada.

Chandogya 7th chapter

Moksha phalam

Bhoomadhikaranam

Gargi Aksara vidya

Brihadaranyakam 5-8-8

Moksha phalam

Thrimatra pranava vidya

Prasnopanishad 5-5

Moksha phalam

Ekshathikarmadhikaranam

Dahara vidya

Chandogya 8th chapter

Moksha phalam

Daharadhikaranam

Angushtha pramitha vidya

Kathopanishad

Moksha phalam

Pramithadhikaranam

Jyothisham jyothir vidya

Brihadaranyaka upanishad 6-4-16

Moksha phalam

Madhvadhikaranam

Madhu vidya

Chandogya 3-1

Moksha phalam

Madhvadhikaranam

Samvarga vidya.  Sage Raikva preaches this vidya to king Janasruthi.

Chandogya 4-3

Moksha phalam

Apa sudradikaranam

Akasa vidya

Chandogya 8th chapter

Moksha phalam

Arthantara vyapadesadhikaranam

Balaki vidya

Kausitaki upanishad.  Brihadaranyaka upanishad

Moksha phalam

Jagadva chitvadhikaranam

Maitreyi vidya

Brihadaranyaka upanishad 4-4

Moksha phalam

Vakya Anvayadhikaranam

Panchagni vidya.  King pravahana preaches this vidya to sage Aruni.

Chandogya upanishad 5-3

Moksha phalam enjoing his ownself first and then doing service to the pine couple in Sri Vaikunta pya loka.

Tadanthara pratipatti adhikaranam

Purusha vidya

Taittiriya upanishad

Moksha phalam

Purusha vidyadhikarana

Akshistha Satya Brahma vidya

Brihadaranyakam upanishad 5-7

Moksha phalam

Isavasya vidya

Isavasya upanishad

Moksha phalam

Ushasthikahola vidya.  Sage Yagna valkya preaches this vidya to ushastha and kahola.

Brihadaranyaka 5-4 and 5-5

Moksha phalam

Antharatvadhikaranam

Paryanka vidya

Kaushitaki 1st chapter

Moksha phalam

Vyahrithi vidya

Brihadaranyaka upanishad 7-5-1

Moksha phalam

Nyasa vidya

Taittariya upanishad, Svethashwara upanishad

Moksha phalam

Details of Nyasavidya:

Of all the Brahma vidyas listed above, Sri Nyasa vidya is superior most and Sri Swamy desikan in Rahasyatrayasara says that Bhakthi yoga cannot be even equal to 1/107 Nyasa vidya and this Nyasa vidya is prapatti or saranagathi.

The Taittiriya upanishad says that this Nyasa vidya is superior to all forms of Tapas.  Svetasvara upanishad says that I will surrender at the feet of Lord Sriman Narayana who created the four headed Brahma and preached Vedas to him and by whose grace his knowledge is acquired.  Here surrender means entrusting the responsibility or burden of protecting the soul of a person who does prapatti.  This is called Bhara samarpanam.  Protecting the soul means Lord Sriman Narayana granting moksha to him and he makes him render all service and at all times to him and to his consort Mahalakshmi.

In Sri Bagavad githa Lord Gitacharya stipulated to Arjuna to do prapatti at his feet to wash of all his sins (Punya and Papa) which are standing in the way of his attaining moksha.  This is applicable to all of us while arjuna did not do prapatti and attain Moksha.  The above stipulation is called Charamasloka in Sri Bhagavad githa.  All of us are getting the benefit of the above stipulation and we are doing prapatti through an Acharya and we will certainly attain Moksha, which is eternal bliss.

The basic definition of prapatti according to Bharatha muni is when any person desires to attain any thing and when it is not possible by any other means the person makes a prayer to Lord Sriman Narayana to be the means for the above and make him to attain that thing.

Just like Bhakthiyoga has eight ancillaries and it is called Ashtanga yoga, this prapatti has five ancillaries and this is called Panchanga yoga.  The basic eligibility factors to do prapatti are Akinchanya and Ananya gathikatva.  Akinchanya is utter in ability to do bhakthi yoga and becoming miserable on account this inability.  Ananya gathikatva means there is no object other than the pine couple Lord Sriman Narayana and Mahalakshmi (both constitute a single entity) to attain.

This Prapatti can be done by all without distinction of caste, creed, colour or sex.  Prapatti can be done even for animals, trees and non sentient beings because there are jivas (Souls) in all these things.

In prapatti yogyadhikarana of Srimad Rahasyatraya sara Sri Swamy desikan mentions the following four factors for becoming eligible to do prapatti or Nyasavidya.  They are

i)                    Uttar physical inability to do Bhakthi yoga.  This tells inability to do karma yoga which is prerequisite to Bhakthi yoga.

ii)                   Not possessing the requisite quantum of knowledge to do Bhakthi yoga.  This tells in ability to do gnana yoga which is also a prerequisite to Bhakthi yoga.  It may also refer to inability to get the concentration of mind required for meditation which is also a form of knowledge.

iii)                 Being born in a caste inferior to Brahmana, Kshatriya or Vysya or belonging to fair sex.

iv)                 not being able to bear the delay in attaining moksha because in Bhakthi yoga there is no guarantee that the inpidual who does bhakthi yoga attains moksha at the end of that janma or birth itself.  But in prapatti attaining moksha at the end of that birth itself is guranteed or it is cent percent certainly.

There are fifteen categories of persons who become eligible to do prapatti.

i)                    Four categories of persons having any one of the above four factors.

ii)                   Six categories of persons having any two of the above four factors.

iii)                 Four categories of persons having any three of the above four factors.

iv)                 One category of persons having all the above factors.

Doing Prapatti is a very very simple affair and it will not last for more than 30 minutes and an one time affair where Bhakthi yoga has to be repeatedly done for several years and during several births.  Obviously some doubts arise regarding the efficacy of prapatti as to how a short durationed prapatti can confer the same moksha to its doer when it is conferred on a person resorting to Bhakthi yoga for several years and births.  Sri Swami Desikan raises five doubts and gives convincing clarifications or replies.  This is called Sankapanchakam which is as follows.

Doubt I:

When the mean minded gods like Siva, Indra, Four-headed Brahma, Ayyappan, Mariamman etc grant fruits to persons who make prayers very quickly and when Lord Sriman Narayanan grants fruits after considerable delay how can he grant fruit or Moksha to a person who does prapatti within the time prayed by a person at the time doing prapatti and when the person who does prapatti has committed countless number of sins.  Added to this Lord Sriman Narayana is omniscient and knows the sins committed by persons and he is capable of awarding punishment to persons who have committed sins because he is danda dhara holding the stick always.  Also he gives the fruits of sorrow and happiness according to the deeds (Papa and Punya karmas) of a person.

Reply: Lord Sriman Narayana who has neither equal to him nor superior to him ignores all the sins of the persons and extends a gracious look at those persons on account of purushakara or recommendation made by a person to him for condoning all the sins.  In the case of prapatti done for Moksha, Goddess Mahalakshmi becomes purushakara and recommends to the Lord to condone the sins and extend a gracious look.

Doubt II: How can Lord Sriman Narayana confer the Moksha fruit which is infinite bliss on an inpidual who has committed countless sins for his short durationed prapatti?

Reply: There is the relationship of “Seshi Sesha” between Lord Sriman Narayana and the inpidual soul.  “Seshi” is Swami or Master who expects service from Sesha or servant.  So the Lord wants persons to come to him to do service to him and Mahalakshmi eternally.  This aspect makes him grant infinite eternal bliss to that person who does Prapatti.

Doubt III: Still the doubt arises as to how the Supreme Lord Grant moksha for a too small and insignificant act of Prapatti?

Reply: Lord possesses virtuous and auspicious qualities Daya and Vatsalya etc.  Vatsalya means unlimited affection shown to an inpidual like a cow to-wards a just born calf.  Daya or Karunya is the quality by virtue of which the Lord exhibits limitless compassion to-wards a person indistress and sincerely wants to relieve the distress without expecting any return out of it.  Vatsalya also means ignoring the drawbacks of an inpidual.  These qualities make the lord to grant moksha for the too small act of prapatti.

Doubt IV: How can the Lord grant moksha without delay?

Reply: The supreme being has the vyapara or action (business) of willing and his strong and unshakable will cannot be changed by any body.  This is called satya sankalpa.  This makes him grant Moksha without delay at the time prayed by an inpidual soul while doing prapatti.  In this context it should be noted that there are two categories of prapannas (one who does prapatti is called prapanna).  The categories are Driptha prapannas and Arthi prapannas.  A driptha prapanna wants Moksha at the end of his life or janma.  Arthi prapanna who gets disguested or vexed with samsara wants Moksha soon after doing prapatti.  Lord accepts both druptha prapatti and artha prapatti and grantsmoksha at the time prayed during Prapatti without any delay.

Doubt V: How can the Lord grant moksha without any descrimination among the persons who do prapatti?

Reply: There is a purpose or prayojana derived by the lord in accepting Prapatti.  Any person who takes refuge under him becomes a true devotee or Ashritha.  His main purpose is to protect the inpidual who becomes a true devotee.  So there is no question of any descrimination in granting moksha to persons who do prapatti.

The five ancillaries of Prapatti Yoga

As already said prapatti is a panchanga yoga.  The angas or ancillaries are

i)Anukulyasya sankalpa:- This means that person who does prapatti at the feet of the Lord should always be favourable to the Lord.  This in other words mean that he should always act according to sastras which contain the dictates of the Lord.  It also means kritya karana that is what is to be done has to be done that is doing Nitya nainittika karmanushtana.

Also sentient and non sentient beings are the bodies of paramatma.  Acting favourable to them

ii) Pratikulyasya varjanam:- This means refraining from doing things which are not to the liking of the Paramatma.  This also means Akritya Akarana that is not doing things which are prohibited.  Paramatma’s mandates or dictates are contained inscriptures or sastras and we should not go against them.  Also refraining from thinking that one is a master of one’s own self is also pratikulyasya varjanam.  This also implies that one should be harm less to-wards sentient and non sentient beings.

iii)Rakshishyathi Iti Vishwasa:-  This is also called Mahavishwasa which is the most important anga of prapatti.  Vishwasa is faith.  One should have absolute and unshakeble faith in the supreme being and his granting the fruit after accepting our prapatti.

iv) Gopthritva varanam:- This means requesting the paramatma to be the protector of our souls (Jivas) by granting moksha in response to our prapatti.  It also means making a humble submission to the Lord Sriman Narayana what we actually desire.

v) Karpanya:-  This indicates our humble ness.  That is our uttar inability to do Bhakthi yoga which is called upayantara and realising that the object to be attained cannot be any thing other than Lord Sriman Narayana and his consert Mahalakshmi.  Not having means other than prapatti is called upayantara sunyatva which is called Akinchanya.  Not having object to be attained in the Moksha other than the pine couple is called Prapyantara sunyatva which is called Ananyagathi katvam.  So Karpanyam denotes the above.

After thinking of the above five ancillaries the angi of samarpanam should be done which is also a mental activity.  There are three samarpanas which are

i)                    Svarupa samarpanam – The intrinsic nature of jivatma was given by paramatma and it has to be offered back to him.

ii)                   Bhara samarpanam – Placing the responsibility or the burden of the protecting the jivatma (Soul) at the lotus feet of Lord Sriman Narayana.

iii)                 Phala samarpanam – After reaching Sri Vaikuntham the mukthatma does eternal service to the Divine Couple there and the pine couple become pleased with this service.

The actual enjoyers of the moksha phalam are the pine couple and this enjoyment makes the muktatma attain the eternal bliss.  So the fruit of moksha should also be offered to the pine couple and this is called Phala samarpanam.

Some important points in this prapatti are

i)                    Lord Sriman Narayana is suddho paya or ready means.  So he is the granter of moksha to a person after getting pleased with his prapatti done at his feet.

ii)                   Because a person cannot do Bhakthi Yoga which is the established means in the upanishads, the person who does prapatti places paramatma in the place of Bhakthi yoga and does bhara samarpanam.  This is called upayantara sthana nivesha that is requesting paramatma to be in the place of Bhakthiyoga.

iii)                 The auspicious attributes to be thought while doing Prapatti.  Firstly the Purushakara (recommendor) prapaththi is done at the feet of Goddess Mahalakshmi for catching the attention of Sriman Narayana towards the person.

For doing Purushakara prapatti, the attributes of Goddess Mahalakshmi are

(a)                             Satyatva, Gnanatva, Ananthatva,anandatva, Amalatva and vishnu patnitva.  These are the svarupa nirupaka dharmas (attributes) of Mahalakshmi.

(b)                            Attributes which are helpful for doing Prapatti.  These are called upayatva upayuktha guna:  without which neither Mahalakshmi nor paramatma cannot be siddhopaya or ready means.  They are twelve in number.

Vatsalya – Ignoring or not seeing the blemish of the inpidual who does prapatti.

Svamitva – Being master

Sausilya – Free ming ling with devotees.

Saulabhya – Easy accessibility

Sarvajnatva – Omniscience that is knowing every thing.

Satya sankalpatva – Strong and unshakeable will.

Paramakarunikatva – having deep mercy with an intention to relieve the suffering of the devotees without expecting any return or reward.

Kritagnatva – Possessing a sense of gratitude.

Sthiratva – Strong desire in protecting devotees.

Paripurnatva – having all desires fulfilled.

Sarvasakthitva – Omnipotent.

Paramodaratva – deep desire to offer any thing and every thing to the devotees.

The above attributes are also applicable to Lord Sriman Narayana and they are to be thought while doing Prapatti at his lotus feet.  Instead of Vishnu patnitvam, Sriyapatitvam is to be considered in the case of Paramatma.  An important point to be noted in this context is that Lord Sriman Narayana will cancel prapatti done by a person if he continuously devoted to-wards a Devatantara like Siva, Murugan, Ganesha, Ayyappan and others and if a person commits sin or apachara with Brahmavits and Bhagavathas who are extremely devoted to-wards Sriman Narayana, the supreme being.

Gunopasamhara pada which is the third quarter in the third chapter.

In the light of the above Bhakthi yoga and Nyasavidya (Prapatti yoga) this pada will be dealt with now.  In this pada along with Brahma vidyas mentioned earlier prana vidya and udgeetha vidya are also considered.  Prana Vidya is the meditation on Mukhya prana or the air we breathe.  Udgeetha is Pranava which is meditated upon in several ways.  As these two vidyas are mentioned in the upanishads only and no where else the Sutrakarar thought it fit to deal with them in Brahma sutras which are only the inperpretation of upanishads.  Upasamhara means unifying or combining the attributes.

That is if a particular Brahma Vidya is mentioned in more than one upanishads like Vaisvanara vidya, Dahara vidya and if it is established that a vidya with the same name appears in two or three upanishads for the same moksha phalam then the Kalyana gunas mentioned in one and not mentioned in the other are to be added to the kalyana gunas mentioned in the other and they are to be jointly meditated upon.

This pada has the largest number of adhikaranas which is 26.  It is enough if the conclusion arrived in each adhikara is known in a nutshell.  Now the adhikaranas can be considered one by one.

1)      The first adhikaranam is Sarva vedantha pratyaya adhikaranam.

In this first adhikarana the topic for discussion is whether vysvanara vidya mentioned in many upanishads is one and the same.

The poorvapakshi says when the above vidya has been retold completely in another context in other upanishads they should be different.

The Sutrakarar in the first sutra “Sarvavedanta pratyayam chodanadi aviseshath” says the above vidya is one and the same.

The meaning of the sutra is,

Sarva vedantha pratyam – A vidya mentioned in several upanishads is one and the same because

Chodanadi Avisheshath – Avisheshath means one and same chodanadi means motivation, fruit, nature of the object of meditation and name.

In every vidya there should be a command or motivation for doing Bhakthi yoga or meditation.  The fruit or Moksha phala should be one and the same.  The nature and attributes of the object of meditation that is Lord Sriman Narayana should be one and the same.  The name of the vidya should also be one and the same.

When a particular vidya mentioned in several upanishads is one and the same, then the upasamhara that is the adding of attributes of the object of meditation mentioned in the upanishads arises.  The reason of retelling the vidya of the opponent for proving the vidya is different is countered by saying when the student learning the vidya is different naturally the same vidya has to be repeated.  This is some thing similar to that the same subject of mathematics is taught to different batches of students at different points of time at different places.

Even the Daharadikarana mentioned in Chandogya, Taittariya and Brihadaranyaka is one and the same.

2) The second adhikarana is called Anyathathvadhikaranam.

The topic for discussion is udgeetha vidya.  As already pointed out the udgeetha vidya and prana vidya which are mentioned in the upanishads are to be discussed and interpreted here only.

This Udgeetha vidya has been mentioned in chandogya and Brihadaranyaka upanishads.  The doubt is whether this udgeetha vidya told in the above upanishads is one and the same.

In Chandogya, the object of meditation is an organ of udgeetha which has to be considered as mukya prana (the air that we breathe) and meditated where as in Brihadaranyaka the meditation is on the entire udgeetha considering it as Mukhya prana.  As there is difference in the objects of meditation the conclusion is the udgeetha vidya in chandogya is different from that in Brihadaranya.

3) The third adhikaranam is Sarva abedhadhikaranam.

In this Adhikarana the Prana Vidya is discussed.  The prana vidya is told in Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka and Kaushithaki upanishads.  While in Brihadaranyaka and Chandogya the Prana vidya is identical and there is a slight difference in Kaushitaki upanishad.

So the doubt whether prana vidya in koushtaki is same as in chandogya and Brihadaranyaka or not.

The poorvapakshi says it is not because the gunas or attributes of mukya prana mentioned in koushitaki are different from that in the other two.

The siddhantha is that pranavidya mentioned in all the three is one and the same as gunas mentioned in koushitaki are not contradictory to these mentioned in the other two.

The sutra is sarva abhedath Anyatra Ime.  Which means that because of Abheda that is no difference in the gunas the prana vidya is one and the same and the gunas mentioned in koushitaki are to be added (Upasamhara) to that in chandogya and Brihadaranyaka and meditated.

Here the upanishad narrates a story.  The pranas or indriyas wanted to know who among them is superior.  They sent their spokes men to the Lord Brahma (Four headed brahma) to know the above.  The Brahma asked them to leave the body one by one stay out side for one year and watch the functioning of the body.  First the vagindriya that is speech left the body for one year and the person became dumb.  The other faculties of the body functioned normally.

Then the eyes left the body and the person became blind and other wise the functioning of the body was normal and all the parameters functioned normally except vision.  Then the eyes returned back.  Then ears left and the person became deaf and the other parameters functioned normally.  Then the ears returned.  Then mind left and the same thing happened.

But the question may arise as to how body could function without mind.  The reply is that children do not do any thing with mental concentration as they are always play ful.  Like wise the body functioned.  The mind came back.  When the Mukhya prana that is the air we breathe left the body it made all the other senses also to leave the body along with it.  The breath came to a stop and the body began to decompose.

Then all the Indriyas and Mukhya prana came back and all indriyas accepted the Mukya prana as their Chief or Leader.  Then Vagindriya told the Mukhya prana that just because it is vasishta the mukya prana is also vasishta.  The eyes told the mukya prana as prathishta, Ears told that it is sampath.  Mind told that it is Ayathanam.  The gunas to be meditated in prana vidya

Jyeshtathavam – Elderliness

Shreshatvam – Superiority

Vasishtatvam – Superiority attained on account of Eloquence or oratorical skill.

Prathishtatvam – Even minded ness

Sampaththavam – becoming learned

Ayatanatvam – Body through which all pleasures are enjoyed.

The above story is called prana samvada in upanishads.

Udgeetha and prana vidyas are not Brahma vidyas and hence there is moksha palam for these two vidyas.

4) The next adhikaranam is Anandadhikaranam.

The topic for discussion is the kalyana gunas to be meditated upon compulsorily in each Brahma Vidya.  These Kalyana gunas are called Svarupa nirupaka dharma:.  The poorvapakshi says when these kalyana ginas are not attached to any brahma vidya there is no need to meditate upon them.

Sutrakara says when Lord Sriman Narayana is the upasya (the object of meditation) in every brahma vidya and when his intrinsic nature cannot be realised without thinking of some gunas, these gunas are to be essentially meditated upon in every brahma vidya.  These kalyana gunas are there fore called Svarupa nirupaka gunas or dharmas.  They are six in number which are, Satyatva, Jnanatva, Anantatva, Anandatva, Amalatva and Sriya:Pathitva.  Amalatva will be dealt with in another Adhikarana.  Though Sriya:pathitva is not explicitly mentioned here it is implied.

5)      The next adhikarana is called Karyakhyanadhikaranam.

This is in continuation of sarvabhedhadhikaranam in which the Prana vidya was dealt with.

When Indriyas accepted the Mukhya prana as their chief, Mukhya prana asks them what is my clothing.  They replied that water is its clothing and that is why people while taking food do achamanam before taking food and after taking food.  So those who practice Prana vidya should consider the achamanam they do before food and after food as the clothing of Mukhya prana.  This prana vidya is not in any way connected with Brahma vidyas.

6)      The sixth adhikarana is called Samanadhikaranam.

This deals with sandilya vidya which is mentioned in Agnirahasya.  This is again mentioned in Brihadaranyaka upanishad.  In the Kalyana gunas mentioned in these two upanishads vary to some extent.  So the dbout arises whether this Sandilya vidya in the above two upanishads is one and the same.  The opponent says it is different because the very structure of this vidya in one is different from the other.  The Sutrakara says in his judgement that this Sandilya vidya is one and the same in both.

7)      The next adhikarana is called Sambandhadhikaranam.

In Brihadaranyaka the upasana (meditation) of the Lord Sriman Narayana in solar system (Aditya mandala) and also right eye has been mentioned.  This Brahman or Paramatma has been mentioned as vyahruthi sariraka (having of vyahruthies which are Bhu, Bhuva, Suva, Mahr, Jana, tapa and satya lokas as his bodies) and also he has been named as satya.

The doubt is whether meditation of Lord in Aditya is different from the meditation of the Lord in Right eye are one and the same.

There is purvapaksha sutra “Sambandadevam Anyatrapic which says that they are one and the same while the siddanta sutra “Nava visheshath”, says there are different because the very characteristic (rupa) is different in both.

8)      The next adhikarana is Sambruthi Adhikaranam.

In Ranayani sakha and in some khila sruthies the upasana is mentioned.  Khila sruthi is that portion of upanishad in which its preceding portion and succeeding protions are missing and not traceable.

It is said here that Brahman (Paramatma ) is superior and is known for his valour and he is supporting the entire universe.  This superior Brahman is encompassing the entire svargaloka (heaven also called as Dyuloka)

The doubt here is whether the above aspects (attributes) of Brahman are to be meditated in every Vidya.  The purvapakshi says that they are to be meditated because they are not attached to any particular Brahma vidya.

The Sutrakara in his judgement contained in the sutra “Sambruthidhyu vyapthicha atha” says that the above gunas or attributes need not be meditated in vidyas called Alpasthaniya vidyas in which the paramatma is meditated as Antaryami of upasaka (meditator).  The antaryami dwells in a very small place in the heart where as the above mentioned aspect or attribute is that paramatma encompasses the entire svarga loka or it may be even said as Akasa.  These two aspects are contrary to each other.  The Alpasthana vidyas are sandilya vidya, Dahara vidya etc.  So in these vidyas the above aspect of dhyu vyapthi (encompassing of heaven ) should not be meditated.

9)      The next adhikarana is Purusha vidyadhikarana which has been mentioned in Taittiriya upanishad and Chandogyopanishad.

The Purusha vidya in Taittiriya Upanishad is subordinate to Nyasa vidya and the Phalam is Moksha.

The Purusha vidya in Chandogya is for extending the longe vity of the meditator.

The Purvapakshi says that just because the vidya in both the above upanishads bears the same name they should be one and the same.  The Sutrakara gives his judgement in the sutra “Purusha vidyayam Apicha itaresham Anamnanth” and says that the above purusha vidya in Taittariya Upanishad is different from the purusha vidya in chandogya because the phalas are different.

10)  Next adhikaranam is Vedhadhyadhikarana.

At the commencement of the recitation of a particular branch of Veda, a Shanthi Patha which is an integral part of that branch has to be recited according to a practice from time immemorial.  This shanti patha is very near the brahma vidya mentioned in those branches.  This Shanthi patha varies from branch to branch.  The doubt is whether the Shanthi patha of any particular sakha or branch is an ancillary or Anga of the Brahma vidya or not.

The poorvapakshi contends that the shanthi pata is a part and parcel or ancillary of Brahma vidya.  He further says that while some of the shanthi patas are used for other purposes, the mantras like sanno mitra sam viruna; and sahanava vathu have no other use and hence they should be part of the vidya.

The sutrakara’s contention which is siddhantha says in his sutra ”Vedhadhi Artha bedath” that these shanthi patas are not ancillary (Anga) to Brahma vidyas.

11)  The next adhikarana is Hani Adhikaranam”

In this adhikarana the final disposal of ‘punya’ and ‘papa karma’ of a Bhakthi yoga nishta or Prapanna just before he leaves this mortal body and then goes to Moksha is discussed.  There are several upanishadic texts in this regard.

(a)               The Chandogya says that a person (Bhakthiyoganishtha or Prapanna)  sheds his karma or sins (sins include punyas also because they also block the attainment of moksha) like a horse sheds its hairs and he comes out of his mortal body just like chandra comes out of the clutches of Rahu after the eclipse and them enters the vaikunta pya loka which is called Akritham (not created).  For the vaikunta pya loka which is called nitya vibhuthi of Lord Sriman Narayana there is no creation or destruction.

The universe comprising of the worlds which constitute one brahmanda in which we are living is called Lila Vibhuthi and this Vibhuthi subject to creation and destruction by the Lord Sriman Narayana.  Vibhuthi means wealth or aishwarya.  Lord Sriman Narayana is called Ubhaya Vibhuthi Natha.

(b)                    In Mundaka upanishad it is said the vidwan who may be Bhakthi nishta or prapanna after shadding punya, papa attains equality with paramatma after reaching Sri Vaikunta pya loka.

(c)                     The Satyayani branch of Vedas says the sons of a vidwan (Bhakthi nishta or prapannas) in herits the property of their father and punya portion of his karma gets transferred to the friends of the vidwan and the papa portion gets transferred to foes or enemies of the vidwan.

(d)                    The Kaushitaki upanishad says the vidwan sheds sukrutha (punya) and Dushkrutha (papa) and while his friendly relatives get the punya  his relatives who are his enemies get the papa.

Here shedding punya and papa is called hani and the transfer of the same to his friends and foes is called upayana.

While doing Bhakthi yoga by adopting any brahma vidya given in the list mentioned before, this hani and upayana has to be thought while doing meditation.  This thinking forms an integral part of upasana or meditation in all brahma vidyas except nyasa vidya.  This thinking is an ancillary of Bhakthi yoga.

As narrated above some upanishadic texts mentioned only hani that is shedding of punya papa karma and some other upanishads mentioned only upayana that is transfer of punya and papa to the friends and foes respectively while some upanishads mentioned both hani and upayana.

The doubt that arises here is whether it is enough if hani alone is thought, or if upayanam alone is thought or whether both are to be thought during meditation.

Either hani or upayana is called vikalpa and both is called Samuchchaya.

The poorvapakshi says it can be vikalpa or samuccaya as per the dictates of the upanishad.

The Sutrakara gives the judgement stating that it is samuchchaya only and not vikalpa because hani is always subject to upayana or sub ordinate to upayana.

The Sutra is “hanouthu upayana sabda seshatvath kusha chchanda, stuti upaganavath thaduktham”

The Sutrakara cites four maxims of purva mimamsa in this sutra the details of which are not required.

12)  The next adhikarana is Samparayadhikaranam.

Here the topic for discussion is whether the bhakthi nishta or prapanna who goes to Moksha sheds the punya papa karma at the time of departure from the mortal body or on the banks of viraja river which demarcates between the prakrithi manlda and Sri Vaikuntha pya loka.  This doubt arose on account of a statement in kaushitaki upanishad, where it is said that jiva who is going to become muktha comes near viraja where he sheds the punya and papa karma.  In another text it is said that at the time of death.

The Sutrakara says in the sutra which reads as “Samparaye Thartavya bhavath thathahi Anye”.

Samparaye means at the time of departure from the mortal body.  So the conclusion that vidwan who is going to become mukthatma sheds the karma at the time of death only because there is nothing for him to enjoy out of punya papa karma after the death.  What ever happens after death that is his going to Sri Vaikuntha through the route of Archiradi marga by assuming a Sookshma sarira (miniature body not visible to any body) is on account of the efficacy of bhakthi yoga or prapatti which he has done.  The Sookshma sarira is required for the vidwan for conversing with moon on the way to Moksha.

13)  The next adhikarana is Aniyamadhikaranam.

In this adhikarana the topic for discussion is whether all the vidwans who have done either Bhakthi yoga or prapatti go to Moksha through the same route of Archiradi marga or only those who have done Bhakthi yoga according to Upakosala vidya or Panchagni vidya alone go to Moksha through the Archiradi marga.

This doubt arises on account of the fact that only in the case of upakosala vidya and panchagni vidya, the Archiradi marga has been mentioned.

The Sutrakara clears this doubt by saying that all the Brahma vidya nishtas that is those who have done Bhakthi yoga or done prapatti go to the Moksha through the Archiradi marga only as there is no other route for going to Moksha.  There is no rebirth if the vidwan goes to Moksha through Archiradi gathi only.

The Sutra is “Aniyama: Sarvesham, Avirodha: Sabda Anumanabhyam”.  This means that there is no rule that only those who have done Bhakthi yoga adopting upakosala vidya or panchagni vidya should go through Archiradi marga.

14)  The next adhikarana is Aksharadhya dhikarana.

In this adhikarana the svarupa nirupaka kalyana guna that is Amala is prescribed  to be meditated upon in all the Brahma vidyas.

Amala means blemishless ness or Heya prathi bhatathvam. Heya means blemish.

This guna is the essence of the upanishadic text in Brihadaranyaka upanishad in which the sage Yagnavalkya replies to Gargi a woman for her question.

One of the replies is as follows.

The brahmins who have understood or realised paramatma who is called Akshara in this context say or declare that the intrinsic nature of paramatma which is called Divyatma swarupa is as follows.

Asthulam          – Not massive or big in size

Ananu              – Not atomic in size

Ahrasvam         – Not short

Adirgham         – Not long

Alohitham         – Not reddish

Asneham          – Not oily

Achchayam      – Not shadow

Athama            – Not darkness

Avayuh – Not air

Anakasam        – Not ether

Asangam          – Without attachment

Arasam            – Without taste

Agandham        – Without smell

Achakshusham – without eyes   Asrotram – without ears                        Avak – without the organ of speech

Amanah – without mind                        Athejaskam – without light        Apranam – without breath

Amukham – without mouth       Anantharam – not interior (not inside)

Abahyam – Not outside                        That nakinchana asnathi – does not eat any thing

Nathat ashnathaa kaschana – nor can any body eat it.

The sum and substance of the above narration is that there is no blemish in pyatma svarupa.

The sutra is “Aksharadhiyam thu Avarodha Samanya that bhavabhyam oupasadavath thadukthi”.  Akshara dhiyam is the above which is to be meditated in all vidyas.

15)  The next adhikarana is Antharatvadhikarana.

The topic for discussion is a passage in Brihadaranyaka upanishad in which the sage Ushastha puts a question to sage yagnavalkya and sage Kohola puts an identical question and sage ygana valkya replies.  The question by ushasti is as follows.  Please tell me who is the direct and perceivable brahman and who is the inner soul in all beings?.

Similarly Kahola puts the same question.  But the yajnavalkya’s replies were different.  There are two brahma vidyas in this context.  One is that of Ushadstha and the other of  Kahola.  The question whether these two vidyas are one and same or they are different.

Poorvapakshi says that these two vidyas are different as the replies are different.

The sutrakarar says that these two vidyas are one and the same, because both the replies refer to the same paramatma.

16)  The next adhikarana is Kamadhikaranam.

The topic for discussion is Dahara vidya which has been mentioned both in Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka.

The doubt is whether this Dahara vidya is different in these upanishads or it is one and the same in both.  Poorvapakshi says it is different because in chandogya the paramatma who is called akasa is associated with eight kallyana gunas where as in Brihadaranyaka it is said paramatma is sleeping on Akasa and is associated with the kalyana guna vashistva.  Vasitva means controlled.

The Sutrakara delivers the judgement saying that Dahara vidya is one and the same in both the upanishads.  So the attributes like vashitva have to be added to 8 attributes mentioned in chandogya and then meditated.

17)  The next adhikaranam  is Thannirdhanadhikarana.

This deals with udgeetha vidya.  This vidya is meditation on pranava.  This vidya is adopted as an ancillary of yaga to get exalted or superior fruits and to remove the impediments for getting quick fruits.  The doubt that arises here is whether doing udgeetha vidya is compulsory or optional.

There are two maxims in Poorva Mimamsa.  The first is called “Godhanena pasukama: pranayeth”.  In this maxim it is said that if a person likes to be gifted with cows, he should prepare what is called purodasha which is a paste of rice flour or wheat flour which is offered to sacrificial fire and the paste is prepared by pouring water on the flour from the vessel used for milking.  Pouring water to flour and preparing the paste is called pranayanam.  This maxim is mentioned in the context of doing a thing which is optional.

There is another maxim called “Parnamayee juhuu”.  Juhu is a spoon like thing with a long hand which is used to offer ghee to the sacrificial fire in a yaga.  This is made up of a particular type of wood.  This is compulsory and not optional.

The conclusion in this adhikarana is that doing udgeetha vidya as an ancillary or adjunct of a yaga is optional like Godohana nyaya or maxim.

18)  The next adhikarana is called Pradana adhikaranam.

In Dahara vidya it is said that besides meditating on Lord Sriman Narayana with the svarupa nirupaka gunas or dharmas, his eight gunas are also to be meditated.

The eight gunas are,

Apahatha papma – The paramatma is without any sin or blemish.

Vijara – There is no oldage to him.                    Vimrutyu – No death to him.

Vishoka – No sorrow or grief to him.    Vijigitsa – No hunger to him.     Apipasa – No thirst to him

Satyakama – capable of attaining or acquiring any thing which he desires.

Satyasankalpa – capable of doing any thing which he wills.

The doubt that arises here whether it is enough to meditate merely on the above 8 gunas after meditating on the Lord and is it necessary to think of him again associated with these 8 gunas.

The Purvapakshi says it is enough to think of 8 gunas only. The Sutrakara in his siddhantha says that paramatma should be meditated again associated with the above 8 gunas.

19)  The next adhikarana is called Lingabhuyasthavath Adhikarana.

In this adhikarana only after a long suspense the sutrakarar tells who is the supreme being to be meditated upon.  The upanishadic passage that comes up for discussion is the Narayana Anuvaka in Taittariya Upanishad.  This anuvaka appears in the upanishad immediately after the narration of Dahara vidya.  The purvapakshi contends that this Narayana Anuvaka is subordinate to Dahara vidya and there fore Sriman Narayana is to be meditated upon in Dahara vidya only.  The Sutrakarar gives his decision in the sutra “Linga Bhuyastvat thath hi badliyas thadapi”.

Linga means indication or symbol.  In this Anuvaka there are words like Akshara, Sambhu, Indra, Brahma, etc are mentioned and they are said to be Sriman Narayana.  This means Lord Sriman Narayana is the antaryami to all like Indra, Siva and four-headed Brahman and others.  Certain words like Akasha, Parajyothi directly refer to Sriman Narayana.

So the Sutrakara says that in all brahma vidyas Lord Sriman Narayana alone has to be meditated upon.

20)  The next adhikaranam is Purva vikalpadhikarana.

This adhikaranam is out of context.  However the Sutrakara discusses a passage in Agnirahasya which is not of much importance and relevence to the theme of this Gunopasamhara pada.  So the details of this adhikarana may be skipped.

21)  The next adhikaranam is Sarire Bhavadhikarana.

In every Brahma vidya the following three things are to compulsorily known.

(a)    The nature of upasya that is that of Lord Sriman Narayana

(b)   The nature of upasana or Brahma vidya

(c)    The nature of upasaka or the nature of person (Jiva) who does upasana.

This is as per a sutra in Anumanikadhikaranam as “Thrayanam Evacha upanyasah prasna:cha”.  Thrayanam means three points as mentioned above.  Also the nature of the inpidual soul has to be known as it is said the Lord is soul of the jiva who is his body.  There are two sets of characteristics of jiva one set while he is still in samsara and another set while he is in vaikunta pya loka.

The set of characteristics while he is in still in this world or samsara are (a) Knowing (b) Doing (c) Enjoying.

While in moksha the characteristics are eight gunas of Lord Sriman Narayana which blossom soon after he climbs Divya parryanka or Simhasana in which the pine couple are seated.  The eight gunas are Apahathapapma, Vijara, Vimrutyu, Visoka:, Vijigitsa, apipasa, satya kama and satya sankalpa.

Now the doubt arises whether during upasana or meditation the meditator should think of himself as knower, doer and enjoyer or he should think of himself as possessor of the above eight gunas.  While the poorvapakshi says that jiva is tobe thought with the first set of characteristics the sutrakarar tells in the sutra “Vyathireka: Thadbhava bhavitvat Nathu Upalabdhivath”.

Vyathireka means different which again means that jiva is to be thought with a different set of characteristics from the one in which he is during the meditation.  So it is clear that he is to be thought with eight gunas only which blossom in Moksha.

22)  The next adhikaranam is Angavabaddhadhikarana.

This again relates to Udgeetha vidya and not directly connected with Brahma vidya.  So the details of this adhikarana could be skipped.

23)  The next adhikarana is Bhumajyayasthvadhikarana.

This refers to Vaisvanara vidya.  There are two types of upasanas in vaisvanara vidya.

(1)   Upasana of each organ of vaisvanara purusha which is called vyastha upasana.

(2)   Upasana of the entire vaisvanara purusha which is called Samasthopasana.

The doubt arises here whether vyastha upasanam is to be done or samasthop asanam only.  The purvapakshi opines that vyastho pasanam has to be done.  Sutrakara says that samastha pasanam has to be done which is much better than Vyastha upasanam.  In fact the fruits of vyastha upasanam are very dangerous to the souls of the upasakas and the fruit of moksha or eternal bliss can never be attained by them.

24)  The next adhikaranam is  called Sabdadbhedadhi karanam.

Here the doubt arises whether the 32 brahma vidyas listed earlier are one and the same or they are different.

The purvapakshi contends all the vidyas are one and the same because of the object of meditation who is Lord Sriman Narayana is one and the same.

The Sutrakara’s decision is all the vidyas are different because the attributes or kalyana gunas to be meditated vary from vidya to vidya.

25)  The next adhikarana is called Vikalpa dhikaranam.

The doubt arises here whether a person who aspires to attain Moksha should do upasana or meditation adopting all the 32 brahma vidyas or is it enough if he does upasana adopting any one of the vidyas.

The Sutrakarar delivers the judgement in the Sutra “Vikalpa: A Visishta phalath vath” that it is enough if the upasaka adopts any one vidya for meditation because the fruit of moksha or eternal bliss is one and the same in each brahma vidya.  There is no special attainment in case all the vidyas are adopted for upasana and on the other hand it is practically impossible to a person to do upasana adopting all the vidyas.

26)  The last adhikarana in this pada is called Yathasrayabhavadhikarana.

This adhikarana is practically a repeat of the Thannirdhana niyamadhikarana 17th in this pada in which it was said the performance of udgeetha vidya in a yaga is optional according to the maxim of godohana nyaya.  The repition became inevitable because of the fact the purvapakshi raised some more points in his favour to emphasize that Udgeetha vidya is to be performed compulsorily in every yaga.

The Sutrakara gives fitting replies to all the points and confirms the judgement delivered earlier.

The 3rd chapter is called Sadhana Adhyaya which in other words means chapter dealing with means for attaining Moksha.  It was established in the 3rd quarter of this chapter that means of attaining moksha is Bhakthi yoga which is intense meditation on Lord Sriman Narayana which is an eight staged exercise called Ashtanga yoga.  This Bhakthi yoga which is also called Brahma vidya which in upanishads is said to be of 32 different forms.  Out of 32 forms of Brahma vidya 31 brahma vidyas are directly related to Bhakthi yoga which is otherwise called Ashtanga yoga.  The 32nd Brahma vidya is called Nyasavidya which is otherwise called Prapatti or Saranagathi which has five ancillaries or angas.

Even among 31 Brahma vidyas there is one Brahma vidya which is called Panchagni vidya.

In Panchagni vidya the object of meditation is his own self who is to be meditated as having Brahman (Sriman Narayana) as his soul.  This is called Brahmatmaka Svatma upasanam.  This means that Paramatma is the soul or atma and jivatma is his body.  In the other 30 Brahma vidyas, the object of meditation is Lord SrimanNarayana having the meditator or inpidual soul as his body.  This is called Svatma Sariraka paramatma upasanam.  So it is clear from the above that there is a difference in the mode of meditation between the Panchagni vidya and the other 30 brahma vidyas.  There is no meditation in the Nyasavidya or prapatti in which the soul is surrendered at the feet of Lord Sriman Narayana and this prapatti comprises of three samarpanas which are Svarupa samarpanam, Bhara samarpanam , Phala samarpanam.  Offering the basic and intrinsic nature of his own self to paramatma is called Svarupa samarpanam.  The Bhara samarpanam is entrusting the responsibility of protecting his own soul by liberating him from the bondage of samsara at the feet of Lord Sriman Narayana.

Phala samarpanam is the offering of the fruit to Lord Sriman Narayana.  After attaining moksha the liberated soul or Mukthatma does eternal service to the pine couple in Sri Vaikunta pya Nagara.  The pine couple become pleased with this service and theybecome the fruit enjoyers of the inpidual soul attaining moksha.  Mukthatma also enjoys this eternal bliss by doing service.  The intrinsic and natural characteristics of the inpidual soul are (a) Knowing (b) Doing (c) enjoying (d) Self luminous (e) Knowing his own self without any aid  (f) being atomic in size (g) being eternal (h) inpisible (I) different from the body (j) different from the senses.

In the background of the above and picking up the thread from the previous Guna upasamhara pada the last pada of this chapter commences.  This pada is known as Anga pada that is dealing with ancillaries required for Bhakthi yoga.

In this pada there are 15 adhikaranas.  The first Adhikarana is called Purushartha Adhikarana which has 20 sutras.  Among 156 Adhikaranas in Sri Bhashya this adhikarana has largest number of sutras that is 20.  No other adhikarana in Sri Bhashya has this number of sutras.

Purushartha means supreme goal or Moksha.  The discussion in this adhikarana is whether karma is the means for attaining purushartha or Brahma vidya is the means for purushartha.

Sage Badarayana who is the author or composer of Brahma sutras commences this adhikarana.  With the Siddhantha sutra which reads as purushartha Atha: Sabdaditi Badarayana.

The meaning of this sutra is that purushartha or the supreme goal is achieved by Brahma vidya which can be either Bhakthi yoga or prapatti.

Here comes sage Jaimini who is the opponent or poorvapakshi to this adhikarana Jaimini is said to be disciple of sage Badarayana.  There is a view that Jaimini is an athiest and does not believe in the existence of god and other celestial gods.  This view is strongly refuted and then established that the sage Jaimini is a strong believer in God as his name has been quoted by Badarayana in several places of Brahma sutras where sage Jaimini supports the views of Badarayana on Brahman.

Here Jaimini in six sutras tells that Brahma vidya is ancillary/subordinate to karma and karma is not ancillary to vidya.  Here karma means daily rituals and yagas.

The reasons advanced by jaimini are

i)                    King Asvapathi and emperor Janaka were famous karmanishtas even though they were Brahmanishtas.  Brahmanishta is the one who practices Brahma vidya and karmanishta is the one who practices Karma yoga.

ii)                   In the Udgeetha vidya it has been said that a person who does yaga which is karma along with practicing of Udgeetha vidya attains better and more potential or powerful fruits. So vidya is ancillary to Karma.

iii)                 It is said that vidya and karma always go together and by logical reasoning vidya should be ancillary to karma.

iv)                 In the last passage of Chandogyopanishad it is said that a person who practices brahma vidya should do karma.  So Vidya appears to be ancillary to karma.

v)                  In Ishavasya upanishad it has been said that a person should live in this world for 100 years by doing karma only.  So the supreme goal cannot be attained by vidya.  So vidya is ancillary to karma.

Now the Sutrakara sage Badarayana begins to refute the above points and establish that karma is ancillary to vidya and the salvation is attained by brahma vidya only.  The points of refutation are as follows.

i)                    Paramatma is superior to jivatma in all aspects and unless jiva meditates on paramatma adopting any of the Brahma vidyas he will not be attain salvation.  Brahma vidya can be practiced only if karma yoga is done as per the procedure prescribed in Bhagavad githa.

ii)                  The Karma done by Brahma vith is multi purpose and karma need not be always ancillary to Brahma vidya.  It is said in some upanishads that sages like Kavasheyas say for what purpose we are learning Vedas and for what purpose we are doing karma.  This hints that karma is not an essential ancillary of Brahmavidya.

iii)                 Further it is said that doing karma without expecting its fruits is ancillary to Brahma vidya and thatkarma has to be done.  Karma done expecting its fruits is opposed to Brahma vidya whose fruit is Moksha (eternal bliuss).

Hence Brahma vidya cannot be ancillary to karma.

iv)                The Upanishadic statement that udgeetha vidya is ancillary to karma cannot be applied to Brahma vidya.  Udgeetha vidya is not a Brahma vidya.

v)                  The Upanishadic statement that Vidya and Karma always go to-gether does not specifically say that vidya is an anga to karma.  Anga means ancillary, auxillary or subordinate.  Brahma vidya is for its own fruit of moksha while karma is for its own fruit.  Jyothishtoma yaga is for attaining svarga loka.  Puthra kameshtiyaga is for be getting a son.  Kareerieeshthi is for getting rains.

In this adhikarana the sutrakarar says even asceties or saffron robed sanyasies who do not have any access to any karma like yagas, are also eligible to resort to Bhakthi yoga or practice Brahma vidya.

So the conclusion is that Brahma vidya can never be an anga to karma.

The second adhikarana in this pada is called “Stutimatra Adhikarana”.  This adhikarana and the next adhikarana are out of context and not directly connected with the theme of this pada.  The theme of this pada is to consider the essential auxiliaries to the Brahma vidya.

The link of this Adhikarana with the previous Adhikarana may be spelt as follows.

In the previous Adhikarana it was said that as per Chandogyopanishad Brahma samstha who is other wise called Brahmanishta would attain moksha.  Brahmanishta means one who practices Brahma vidya or Bhakthi yoga.  The above statement was in praise of Brahmanishta and this was done to recall the fact that persons who will be in four ashramas namely Brahmachari (Bachelor), Grihastha (married), Vanaprastha (One who resides in the forest after giving up house hold status) and saffron robed ascetic are eligible to to Bhakthi yoga or prapatti in its place.  Mentioning the ashramas was for praising Brahman.

Similarly in Udgeetha vidya it is said that pranava has to be praised to be essence among essences.  The doubt arises whether this is merely the praise of the pranava or whether pranava is to be meditated upon considering the above aspect that is essence among essences.  As the upanishadic scripture always says some new or innovative thing which is not established either by Pratyaksha or Anumana pramana the Sutrakara gives the judgement that pranava has to be meditated upon with the above aspect.  This Adhikaranam has two sutras.

The third Adhikarana is named Pariplavarthadhikarana,.  As mentioned earlier thins is also out of context.  Pariplavam means flattery or praise.

In Upanishads there is always a story invariably attached to a Brahma vidya.  In Prathardana vidya which was preached by Indra to Prathardana, there is a story that Prathardana, a human being goes to heaven to meet Indra there.  Indra as a reciprocal gesture of having received help from him asks Prathardana to seek a boon from him.  Similarly in Sadvidya a story of Svethakethu is narrated.  The question arises whether these stories attached to Brahma vidyas have merely the story value or whether they are integral part of the Brahma vidyas and are meant for praising those who practice Brahmavidyas.  In Ashvamedha sacrifice it has been said that every day the king who performes has to be flattered by reciting some vedic mantras.

The Sutrakara in this context clearly spells out that these stories are in praise of Brahma vidyas and they motivate persons to  resort to these Brahma vidyas to attain moksha.

The fourth adhikarana in this pada is called “Agnindhanadhikaranam”.  This has direct link with the first adhikarana.

In the first adhikaranam it was said that the asceties with saffron robes who belong to fourth ashrama are also eligible to do upasana or Bhakthi yoga for attaining moksha.

The doubt that arises here is when an ascetic or sanyasi is not eligible to do any karma associated with Agni or fire and when doing karma is a direct and continuous prerequisite for doing Bhakthi yoga how can a sanyasi become eligible to do Bhakthi yoga to attain Moksha.

Sutrakara says that when the upanishad clearly says that Sanyasies are eligible to do upasana or Bhakthi yoga in their cases that karma associated with Agni is not applicable to them and it is applicable only in the case of Grihasthas.  So Sanyasis can do Bhakthi yoga without doing karma associated with Agni.

Incidentally it should be noted in this context that sanyasies are not completely free from doing karma.  In our Vishishtadvaitha Sampradaya (Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja darsana) the sanyasies have the sacred thread (Yajgno pavitha), tuft (Sikha), Urdhvapundra, Pundra is a mark on the fore head.  If it is in the upward direction it is called urthvapundra (urdhva means upwards).  This urthva pundra should be in the form of vishnu pada (feet of Lord Sriman Narayana).  So Urdhva pundra comprises of two outer upward marks in white colour using Thiruman (holy earth) and in between there is an yellow or red mark upwards called Sri Choornam.  Sri Vaishnavite sanyasins have three sticks called Thridanda.  This is directly in contrast with the advaithi sanyasies.  They do not have sacred thread and tuft,

They wear Bhasma (ashes) and they have only one stick that is Ekadanda.  Sri Vaishnavite sanyasins do Sandhyavandanam regularly thrice a day and Ashtakshara japam.  They perform the worship of Lord Sriman Narayana who is in the archa form or Salagrama.

Advaithi sanyasins do not do Sandhyavandanam.  So Sanyasins can also practice Brahma vidya after doing karma prescribed for them.

The fifth Adhikarana is called Sarvapekshadhikarana.  When it was said in the previous adhikarana That karma associated with Agni is not required to be performed by sanyasies for doing Bhakthi yoga, the question arises whether the above is necessary at all for a grihastha (house holder) that is whether he should perform karma like Agnihothra and yagas etc.

The Brihadaranyaka upanishad clearly says that Brahmins (Brahmins include Kshatriyas and vysyas that is Trivarnikas) get a desire to know Brahman (Lord Sriman Narayana) and then meditate upon him when they recite Vedas, do sacrifices, make offerings to the deserved, doing religious austerities and fasting.  These things purify the minds of meditators which is necessary to attain concentration required for meditation.  So the above are means to acquire the knowledge of meditation.  So doing karmas in the form of sacrifices is essential to grihasthas for resorting to Bhakthi yoga.

So the Sutrakara based on the above upanishadic statement reiterates the above fact and gives a beautiful example for the above.  Though the horse is a means for travelling by a person riding on it still it requires some extra fittings or arrangements.  For applying a brake and make it gallop.  So also here Bhakthi yoga is a means for moksha and it requires extra ancillary or anga which is karma for acquiring Bhakthi yoga.

Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja clearly states in this context that the knowledge of the upanishadic statement Tatvamasi which is called vakyartha gnana cannot be the means for moksha and the knowledge of the meditation which is called Upasanatmaka gnana is done which is the means for attaining moksha.  Even prapatti is in the form of a knowledge.

The Sixth adhikarana in this pada is called Shamadamadhi Adhikarana. Shama means controlling external senses or indriyas like eyes, ears, nose, skin, tongue, genital organ, speech etc.  Dama means controlling of mind.  In some other contexts, Dama means control of external senses and Shama means control of mind.  The topic for discussion in this adhikarana is whether the controlling of senses is essential for practicing Bhakthi yoga, while the controlling of senses is easily possible by sanyasies because they do not have much karma to do apart from sandhya vandanas and the worship of the Lord, it is difficult in the case of Grihasthas because their senses are engaged in doing karma like sacrifices etc.

The Brihadaranyaka upanishad says “Therefore one who has acquired knowledge as above, who has controlled his mind, who has controlled his external senses, free from all desires (free from doing things which are prohibited), tolerent or patient, with a composed or peaceful mind, sees the paramatma or the inner soul (Antaryami) of his own self (jivatma).  This seeing is meditation.”

The Sutrakara’s contention in this adhikarana is that a person should be able to control his senses including mind at the time of doing upasana (meditation) though of course his senses are engaged during the performance of the karma.  So the conclusion is shama and dama are the angas (auxiliaries or ancillaries or ingredients) of Bhakthi yoga.

The seventh adhikarana in this pada is Sarvanna anumathi adhikaranam.

Here Anna means food.  This adhikarana imposes restrictions on the food to be taken by a Brahmanishta who practices Brahma vidya or Bhakthi yoga.

Chandogyopanishad says “If the food is pure and free from defects, then the satva guna increases.  If the satva guna increases then there will be Dhruvanu Smrithi.  This Dhruvanu smrithi is the Bhakthi yoga”.

In Bhagavad githa, Lord Krishna tells arjuna that the food a person eats is of three categories namely satvika, rajasa and thamasa.

The Sattvika food is as follows.  The food that promotes longevity, intelligence, vigourous health, happiness and cheerfulness and which is sweet, bland, sustaining, naturally agreeable, edibles.

In the sloka which Lord Krishna addresses Arjuna, there are the following technical terms.

Rasya:, Snigdha:, Sthira:, Hridya:

(a)    Milk, Sugar and other substances having a sweet flavour come under the category of Rasya:

(b)   Butter, Oils extracted from Satvic substances and other fatty products come under the category of Snigdha:

(c)    Foods which sustain the body for a long time and give strength are called sthirah:

(d)   Foods which are not made of foul or impure fall in to the category of “Hrudya:”

Edibles are of four kinds

(a)    Bhakshya – Those which are to be chewed before they are swallowed.

(b)   Bhojya – Those which are directly swallowed.

(c)    Lehya – Those which are Licked

(d)   Chosya – Those which are sucked.

(e)    Githacharya (Lord Krishna) says that he as Antaryami for the Jatharangani (bail juice) arranges the digestion of the food in four different ways.

The details of Rajasa food are as follows..

Foods which are bitter, acid, salty, over hot, pungent, dry and burning causing suffering, grief and sickness

The details of Tamasa food are as follows..

Foods which are half cooked, which have lost taste, putrid, stale, polluted and impure.

A Brahmanishta should take only satvika food and not either Rajasa or Tamasa.

Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja says in the Laghusiddhantha of Sri Bhashya that the food we take should be free from three defects which are jathi dushta, Ashraya dushta and nimiththadushta.

Jathidushta means certain varieties of grains, vegetables and fruits should not be eaten.

For example Ragi, Onion, potato, Maize, bottle gourd, Cabbage, drum stick, tomato, Meat of animals and birds.  These things should not be eaten.

Ashraya dushtam means food in possession or belonging to persons of inferior castes.

Nimitta dushtam means food having connection with hair, food eaten by others etc.

A complete list of items which are to be eaten and which should not be eaten as beautifully narrated by Sri Vedanta Desika in the famous deivatamil of Aharaniyamam is given below for the information of the readers.  As there is no time to translate this in to English the summary of the pasurams in this prabandha in Tamil is given below.  This acts as a very useful guide to all.

<  ————Tamil matter to be inserted here —————  >

In this Adhikarana the main point for discussion is whether a prana vidya nishta ( The person who meditates on Mukhya prana that is breath is called Prana vidyanishta) can eat anything and every thing or whether there is any restriction in the same that is whether any thing or everything can be eaten only in the case of critical situation.

The poorvapakshi or the opponent says that in the chandogyopanishad it is said that prana vidyanishtam can eat any thing as there is a blanket sanction for the same.

The critical situation is a person on account of extreme starvation or hunger by not getting proper and pure food comes to a state of facing the death.

The Sutrakara says when the sage Ushasthi a bramanishta did not get any food because of extreme famine condition in Kurudesha and came to a village with his wife in which people were riding on elephants.  As he was suffering from deep hunger the situation became critical.  He approached a person who was a mahout and begged to give him the cooked inferior variety of black gram which he was eating and spitting on the uneaten mass of the above as he had nothing else.  Ushasthi ate it to save his life.  But when the above person asked ushasthi to drink water given by him.  Ushasthi refused to take water because it is the remaining portion of water which that mahout had already drunk.  When that mahout asked ushasthi how he accepted the above, the ushasthi replied that if he had not eaten, he would have died.  The same critical situation arose next day also and he ate whet his wife had preserved uneaten portion of the previous day.  This story is narrated in Chandogyopanishad.  The Sutrakara concludes that when ushasthi a brahmanishta who is much superior to a prana vidyanishta ate the thing which he should not have eaten, at the time of critical situation, pranavidyanishta cannot eat anything and every thing.

So eating anything at the time of critical situation alone is permitted and in the normal times, there is absolute restriction in the food as explained above elaborately.

The eighth adhikarana in this pada is called Vihitatvadhikaranam.  In this adhikarana the doubt that arises is whether a plain ashrami that is one who has not resorted to bhakthi yoga should do sandhyavandana and other rituals including yagas when these have been said as subordinate, auxiliary or ancillary to Bhakthi yoga.  It is said If these are to be performed by a plain ashrami there is a defect called Nitya anitya samyoga virodha arises.

The meaning of this is If the above karmas are for the sake of ashramam they have to be done for ever till death.  Then it becomes “Nityam” (for ever).  If they are done for the sake of the vidya aspiring the fruit of Moksha then it becomes anitya because if the inpidual does not aspire the fruit of moksha then he need not do this karma.  So the same karma becomes nitya for one category of persons and anitya for another category of persons.  So the same karma has two diametrically opposite aspects which are nitya and anitya and this is called Nitya Anitya samyoga which is a defect.  So the poorvapakshi says to over come this defect the above karmas need not be performed by kevala ashrami (plain ashrami who has not resorted to any brahmavidya or Bhakthi yoga).

The Sutrakara says in the first sutra of this adhikarana which reads as “Vihitatvachcha Ashrama Karmapi” which means whether a person resorts to Brahma vidya or not he has to perform the above karmas which are an integral part of his ashrama.  There are four stages in the Ashrama which are Brahmacharya (remaining Bachelor) observing strict celibacy, Grihastha (householder after getting married, vana prastha (residing in the forest).  Sanyasi or a scetic wearing saffron robes.  In every stage of the ashrama, scriptures prescribe compulsorily certain karmas which have to be performed.  These prescribed karmas of each ashramam are called Ashramakarma.  So the same set of karmas become integral part of Brahma vidya for a brahma vidyanishta.  So there is what is called “Viniyoga prithakthvam”.  Viniyogam means use or application.  Viniyoga prithakthvam means exclusively different which in other words mean the same set of karmas for the sake of Ashramam in the case of Ashrami and is for the sake of Brahma vidya in the case of Brahma vidya nishta.

But a person cannot become a brahma vidyanishta without being in an ashramam.

The Sutrakara further says that if an ashrami is also a brahma vidyanishta the same set of karmas will suffice for both and he need not repeat it again.  These nitya naimittika karmas will wash off sins and renders purity of mind which is very much essential for doing meditation.

The Ninth adhikaranam in this pada is called “Vidhuradhikaranam”.  Vidhura means widower.  That is one whose wife is dead.  Because he has lost his wife he cannot be called grihastha ashrami as he is not eligible to do yagas and other sacrifices.  In any case he has to do sandhya vandhana and other nithya naimittika karmas.  Besides sandhyavandanam to be done three times, the other nitya karmas are Snananga tharpanam, Devarshi Kandarshi Tarpanam, worship of the Lord Sriman Narayana (Thiruvaradhanam).

Naimittika karmas are annual ceremonies of mother and father, Amavasya tarpana, Sankramana tarpana, Mahalaya tarpana, Ekadasi upavasam, Dwadasi paranam, observance of Sri jayanthi, Sri Ramanavami, Sri Nrisimha jayanthi, observance of birthdays of Acharyas, Krittika deepotsava, Upakarma and Gayathri japa, Ashtaka and Anvashtaka Tarpanas.  Vidhuras (widowers) are not eligible to do Vaisvadeva and Panchamaha yajnaoupasano.  These are anashrami. Similarly one who has given up Brahmacharya ashrama, but could not take up Grihastha ashrama because he was not able to get a bride to marry is an anashrami.  Likewise Those who have left Grihastha Ashrama and could not take up Vanaprastha ashrama for various reasons are also anashramies.

In Kaliyuga those in Vanaprashta ashrama are very rare and infact nil. Those who decided to take up the sanyasa ashramam and left the house but could not take up sanyasa ashramam are also anashramies.

Now the question in this Adhikarana is whether the above mentioned categories of anashramies are eligible to do Bhakthi yoga.  The reason for this doubt is when the anashramies are not eligible to do karmas prescribed for any ashramam they cannot be considered fit for doing Bhakthi yoga.

The Sutrakara says in the sutra “Anthara cha Apithu that drushte:”, that anashramies are also eligible to practice brahma vidya and attain moksha.  Anthara means in between.  Those who are in between two ashramams are anashramies and they are also eligible for doing meditation.  But the doubt still remains when these anashramies are not eligible to do karmas how can they wash off the sins and attain purity of mind which is an essential prerequisite for doing upasanam.  Sutrakarar replies to the above point saying these anashamis can do Gayathri manthra japa, Ashtakshara manthra japa, etc and attain purify of mind which become a prelude for doing upasana.

Sutrakara makes an observation in this context that it is not prudent or fair to remain anasrami for a long time and it is better he tries utmost to become an ashrami as early as possible.

The Tenth adhikarana in this pada is called “Thath bhuthadhikaranam”.  There is another category of persons which is called “Ashrama brashta”.  A person is called “Ashrama brashta” if he has slipped or deviated from his ashramam.

There can be three sub categories of “Ashrama bhrashtas”.  The first category comprises of persons who have slipped from Brahmacharya ashramam.  That is a person vows to remain a brahmachari through out his life.  He is called Naishthika brahmachari.  If after some time he develops a desire to marry and enters in to a marriage he is an “ashrama brashta”.

A Grihastha vowing and going to forest as a Vana prastha.  If after some time he comes back to his home he becomes an “ashrama brashta”, similarly if a sanyasi with saffron robes comes back to Grihastha ashrama he is also an ‘ashrama brashta’.

Now the question in this adhikarana is whether the above three categories of ashrama brashtas are eligible to do Brahmopasana (Bhakthi yoga).  The poorvapakshi says that these ashrama brashtas are eligible to do upasana because they can make danas (offerings) and become eligible to do upasana.

The Sutrakara says in the first sutra of this adhikarana that ashrama brashtas are not eligible to do upasana because scriptures do not specify any atonement prayashitta for them to get purified.  They are called Atmahas which means to say they have spoiled their souls beyond redemption.

A doubt arises in this context whether they are eligible to do prapatti through an Acharya to attain Moksha.  This is a debatable point.  Some hold the view that when Prapatti can be done by one and all without any discrimination the ashrama brashtas are also eligible to do Prapatti.

The eleventh adhikarana in this pada is called “Swami Adhikaranam”.  This adhikaranam is out of context.  In the previous two adhikaranas it was discussed who are all eligible to do upasana and who are all not eligible to do upasana.  In this context the sutrakarar thought if fit to decide as to who should do udgeetha vidya upasana and who should not do udgeetha upasana.  Udgeetha upasana is the meditation on pranava and it is done as a subordinate to yaga for getting better and quicker fruits.

In a Yaga there is Yajamana or the promoter of yaga for getting the desired fruits.  He does yaga with the help of rithviks who are proficient in Vedas and in actually performing yagas.  Hotha, Adhvaryu, Udgatha, Prasthotha, Prathihartha, Brahma are the names of rithviks who are assigened to perform various specific jobs in the yaga.

The Yajamana pays money to rithviks as remuneration for the various jobs done by them.  This money is paid to them on a contract basis based on earlier understanding between the yajamana and the rithviks.  This udgeetha vidya has to be performed by udgatha.

Now the question in this adhikarana is as to who should do udgeetha upasana that is whether yajamana or rithvik particularly udgatha.

The sage Athreya who is the disciple of Sage Badarayana opines that Yajamana should do Udgeetha vidya upasana because he is going to be the enjoyer of the fruit of the yaga.  The reasoning for this is that in Brahma vidya upasanas like Dahara vidya etc the person who aspires for moksha phala should do the upasana as he is going to attain Moksha.  So also on the same anology yajamana who aspires for the fruit of the yaga should do Udgeetha vidya.

This contention of the sage Athreya is contained in the first sutra of this adhikarana which reads as “Swamyna: Phala sruthe: Ethi Athreya:”.

Swami means yajamana.  Sage Audulomi another disciple of the Sutrakara says he does not agree with the view point of Athreya and further says that Udgatha who is the rithvik has to do udgeetha upasana on behalf of the yajamana because he is paid for this specific purpose.  The argument that Brahmopasana is done by the person himself who aspires Moksha phala is not correct as no where in the scriptures it has been said that another person can do brahma vidya for the sake of the other.

The Sutrakara is in agreement with the view point expressed by Aududomi and it is the Siddhantha.

The twelth adhikarana in this pada is called “Sahakari Antharavidhi Adhikarana”  Sahakari means aid or angam.

In Brihadaranyaka upanishad it is said that a person who resorts to Brahmopasana should be an erudite scholar (Panditha) and should not expose or exhibit his deep scholarship and should conduct himself like an young boy and then should think on Lord Sriman Narayana that is  Thinking of his extraordinarity beautiful form which is otherwise called Divya Mangala vigraha.  This thinking on the Divya Mangala vigraha is called Mauna which means manana seelathvam:.  So this Mauna is yet another Anga for Bhakthi yoga.

The Thirteenth Adhikarana in this pada is called Anavishkaradhikarana.  In the fifth chapter of Brihadaranyaka upanishad it is said that the person who practices Brahma vidya should first obtain deep erudition in the scripture and conduct himself like an young boy.  This means that he should not expose, exhibit or display his deep scholarship and he should mingle freely with other people.  The doubt that arises here is whether a Brahmanishta who has to behave like an young boy can be playful without seriousness and eat anything which he comes across or confine himself in not exposing his greatness.

Though the purvapakshi contends that he can be playful and eat anything, the Sutrakara says that the Brahmavith should confine himself to not exposing his greatness and avoid ostentation scrupulously.

The fourteenth adhikarana in this pada is “Aihikadhikaranam”.  In this adhikarana and in the adhikarana next  to this timing of getting the fruit of the upasana is discussed.

An important point to be noted in this context is that Brahmopasana is of two types.  One for attaining Moksha and the other for getting wordly pleasures.  The latter is Aihika phala.

In Bhagavad geetha Lord Githacharya says that there are four categories of persons who meditate on him.  They are

(1) Those who are in deep distress caused by the losing their belongings and aspire to regain them back.

(2) Those who want to acquire new material benefits which they have not enjoyed before.

(3) Those who want to enjoy their own atma or soul.

(4) Those who want to attain Moksha.

Brahmopasana is prescribed for getting all the above desires fulfilled.  When this Brahmopasana is for the first three it is called upasana for Eihika phala.

Now the topic for discussion is as to when the person is going to get the fruit for his upasana to get Eihika pala.  There are three views in this regard.

(1)                    Soon after the completion of the upasana.

(2)                    In this janma or birth itself

(3)                    In the next birth

So the Poorvapakshi says that the person should get the fruit soon after the completion of upasana.  The Sutrakara says that Aihika phala will be attained by the person who does Brahmopasana for the above.  Soon after the completion of upasana provided no other strong karma that is papa karma of his blocks the same.  If there is a block the person gets the Aihika phala after the block is cleared.

The Sutrakara says that the existence of the block is an accepted one because in a yaga if the udgeetha vidya is done, it will remove the block and makes the person to get the fruit without delay.

The last adhikarana in this pada is called Mukthi phaladhikaranam.  The timing of a person getting moksha phala who does the Brahmopasana for moksha is discussed in this adhikarana.

In this adhikarana it is concluded that even getting Moksha phala may get delayed or blocked on account of strong “papa” committed by him.  The strong papa is “Brahmavid apachara” which means that the person who does upasana might be dis respectful to-wards Brahma vith and this Brahma vidapachara is so powerful and it can even cancel the moksha phala.  So persons who resort to Bhakthi yoga and prapatti for attaining moksha should scrupalously avoid Brahmavidapachara which has disastrous consequences.

The word in the sutra which is Tadavastha dhruthe: is repeated twice to indicate that this third chapter comes to an end.

So far three chapters have been covered out of the four chapters and the last chapter is being covered now.  The last chapter is called “Phala Adhyaya” which means the fruits that are going to be enjoyed by a person who is called mumukshu ( one who desires to get liberated from the bondage of samsara and attain Maksha and one who has done either Bhakthi yoga or Prapaththi.

As already said Bhakthi yoga is an Ashtanga yoga after doing karma yoga and Gnana yoga with seven ancillaries called Sadhana Sapthaka as detailed in the third quarter of third chapter.  It was also said that in this Kaliyuga nobody has resorted to Bhakthi yoga because of its rigor and utter in ability to involve one self in deep meditation.

Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja says in Sri Vaikuntha Gadya that to attain Moksha there is no means other than prapatti even after thousand crore kalpas.  But at the same time it sould not be construed Bhakthi yoga has not be done by any body in the previous yogas namely Dvapara Yuga, Thretha Yuga and Kritha yuga.  During these three yugas the environment was conducive for doing Bhakthi yoga.  The sages in Dandakaranya (Forest) in Thretha yuga attained Moksha by Bhakthi yoga only after taking birth as gopies in Dwapara yuga.  Similarly Dharma vyadha ( a hunter) and the lady sabari attained Moksha by Bhakthi yoga which they started during their previous births in which they would have born in any of the three castes namely Brahmana, Kshatriya or Vysya.

It sould be noted that all of us can attain moksha only by resorting the prapatti at the lotus feet of Lord Sriman Narayana who is in Archa form (Archa form means worshipable form that is in the form of deities in Sri Vaishnavite temples or Sala grama form and idol form in the houses) through an Acharya.

In this 4th chapter there are four padas which are named as Avritti pada, Utkrantha pada, Gathi pada and Phala pada.

In Avritti pada the manner of doing Bhakthi yoga is dealt with.  Avritti means repitition that is Bhakthi yoga has to be done repeatedly and it is not one time affair as in the case of prapatti.

Here one question arises When bhakthi yoga which is a means, upaya or sadhana for attaining moksha has to be dealt with in the 3rd chapter called as Sadhana Adhyaya why the Sutrakarar chose the first pada in this chapter to deal with that.  The reply is doing Bhakthi yoga means meditating the auspicious form otherwise called Divya Mangala Vigraha and auspicious attributes (Kalyana gunas) of Lord Sriman Narayana.  This in other words means enjoyment of Lord Sriman Narayana with his Swarupa (intrinsic nature) rupa (form that is Divya Mangala vigraha), Guna (auspicious attributes) Vibhuthi (ownership of lila vibhuthi the entire universe) and Nitya vibhuthi (Sri Vaikunta Divya loka) and Eishwarya (Controlling both the vibhuthies).  As this enjoyment in the mind itself is one of the fruits of meditation, the Sutrakarar thought it fit include the manner of doing Bhakthi yoga in this Averitti pada.

This Avritti pada has eleven adhikaranas.  The first adhikaranam is called Avritti adhikaranam.  In this adhikarana the topic for discussion is whether the meditation on paramatma is to be done one time only or whether it should be done repeatedly.  As a prelude to this discussion three upanishadic statements are quoted to establish the fact that meditation confers the fruit of Moksha on the meditator.

The opponent who is also called poorvapakshi says that meditation is an one time affair as there is no specific mention in any upanishadic statements that it should be done repeatedly.  He says that the fruits are two types.  The first is called visible fruit and the second is called invisible fruit.

Attainment of Svargaloka or Moksha is invisible fruit where as attainment of wordly pleasure is visible fruit.  The means for attainment of a visible fruit is to be repeatedly done where as it is not so in the case of invisible fruit otherwise called Adrishta phalam. So the poorvapakshi concludes his argument saying for the invisible fruit of moksha meditation has to be done one time only.  [The poorvapakshi cites the example of paddy hulling which is repeatedly done to remove the husk for getting rice.  This is a visible fruit or drishta pala.]

The Sutrakara Sage Badarayana says in the sutra “Avritti Asakrith upadeshath”.  The meaning of this sutra is that bhakthi yoga which is also called as Brahma vidya should be done repeatedly because of the preaching of upanishad to that effect.  This requires elaboration which is as follows.  Taittariya upanishad says “Brahmavith attains brahman in Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka”. Vith means knowing.  This knowing is with a sense of devotional love to-wards Lord Sriman Narayana.  This knowing of Brahman with a sense of devotional love is called vedana.  There are upanishadic passages which say that this vedana is synonimous with the words upasana or Dhayana.  The word Dhayanam is derived from the root “Dhye chinthayam” which means Dhyanam is thinking and this thinking is a continuous activity and not one time activity.  This continuous or repeated activity is Dhyanam or meditation.

In the Sutra Avrittih asakrith should be considered as Asakruth avritti.  Sakrith means one time.  Asakrith means continuous or repeatedly.  So Vedana is same as dhyana, the bhakthi yoga which is meditation on Sriman Narayana has to be done repeatedly.

The next adhikarana in this pada is called Atmatva upasanadhikaranam.  In this the topic for discussion is whether paramatma who is the object of meditation is to be meditated as entirely different from the jiva (Soul) who is the upasaka or whether the relationship that Paramatma is the soul and the jiva is his body is to be meditated.

The purvapakshi contends that Paramatma should be meditated as entirely different from the jiva who is the meditater or upasaka.  His reasoning is that paramatma is entirely different from jiva.  There are several Brahmasutras which say that paramatma is entirely different from jiva.

In reply to poorvapakshi’s contention, the Sutrakara says in the sutra “Atmethithu upagachchanthi grahayanthicha” meaning that the upasaka or meditator should always meditate paramatma as his soul because the upanishadic scriptures including Antharyami brahmanam in Brihadaranyaka upanishad say like that.  In antaryami brahmanam it has been clearly spelt that jiva is body and paramatma is the soul.

The third adhikaranam in this pada is called Pratheekadhikarana.  This and Adhikarana next to this are out of context.  But these two adhikaranas came in to being to clear some doubts which arose from out of previous adhikarana.

In the third quarter of third chapter a mention was made regarding pratheeka upasana.  Prateeka means an organ of a body or Avayava.  It is said mind should be meditated upon thinking it or assuming it as Brahman.  This is called pratheeka upasana.  In other words meditation of an object thinking it as brahman is called pratheeka upasana and it is also called as Drishtividhi (Viewing an object as Brahman).  This upasana is not a brahma vidya and moksha cannot be attained by this upasana.  The fruit of this upasana is only wordly that is a fruit which can be enjoyed in this world itself.  Even the meditation of Mukyaprana or breath is pratheeka upasana.  Now the doubt arises here is that when in brahma vidya the meditation has to be done on paramatma thinking him as soul and upasaka as jiva, is it necessary to consider the object of meditation as Atma in pratheeka upasana also.

The purvapakshi (opponent) contends that pratheeka upasana is also an upasana without any distinction and the same rule of treating the object of meditation as Atma or soul is also applicable here also.  This is refuted by Sutrakarar in his sutra “Na prateeke Na hi sa:” which means that in pratheeka upasanam the above rule is not applicable because the pratheeka cannot be the soul or atma to the meditator.  The Sutrakara however says that thinking of an object as brahman is always superior.  In day to-day life considering an inferior object as superior will always yield good results where as considering a superior object as interior will have undesirable effect.  The practical example for this is thinking a servant as master some times yields good result while thinking a master as servant produces disastrous results.

The next adhikarana is Adithyadimathy adhikarana.  Though this is also out of context as stated above the sutrakarar includes this adhikaranam to clear point which arises out of the conclusion of the preceeding adhikarana.  It was said an interior object should be considered as a superior object and meditated upon.

The Upanishadic text that comes up for discussion here is a statement in the 3rd subpision of first chapter in chandogyopanishad where it is said the one who shines must be meditated as udgeetha.  The one who shines is the sun udgeetha is pranava and udgeetha vidya is meditation on pranava in several ways which has been  elaboratedly dealt with in the first two chapters of Chandogyopanishad.  It is said if a yaga (Sacrifice) is done along with Udgeetha vidya it will produce quick and much better results for the yaga performed.

Now the question is as to between Adithya (Sun) and Udgeetha vidya which is superior.  The poorvapakshi contends just because and as Udgeetha vidya is superior to aditya because it is the means for attaining quicker and better fruits in a yaga and there is no fruit from adithya.  So Adithya should be meditated upon considering him as udgeetha.  This is refuted by Sutrakara in the sutra “Adityadimatha ya:cha Anga upapaththe:” which means Aditya alone is superior to udgeetha because by worshipping Aditya (Sun God) the fruits which we desire can be obtained for the yagas which are performed. So udgeetha has to be meditated considering it as adithya.

The fifth adhikarana is called Aseenadhikaranam.  In this adhikaranam the topic for discussion is in which posture the meditation has to be done.  The posture may be sitting, standing, walking or sleeping.  This adhikarana has direct link with and in continuation of the second adhikarana.

The poorvapakshi says that nothing specific has been told any where in the upanishad scriptures that meditation has to be done in a particular posture only.  The Sutrakara says in the sutra “Aseena: Sambhavath” which says that mental concentration is possible in sitting posture only and this mental concentration is very necessary for meditation.  In standing and walking postures which requires special effort on the part of the person attention gets perted.  In the sleeping posture if the meditator goes a sleep the meditation gets interrupted.

In the third sutra of this adhikarana the Sutrakara says for deep meditation body should not move or shake.  In the fourth or and fifth sutras of this adhikaranam cites some slokas in Sri Bhagavad Geetha and one saying in Svetasvatara upanishad which contain specifications for the place and seat of meditation.  According to them the place should be a levelled one without undulations.  It should be a very pure place not touched by undesirable people meditation has to be done on the purified wooden seat.  The wooden seat which is also called Koorma asana should be not very height and at the same time not very low.  Over the wooden seat dharba grass has to be spread over the above the skin of the deer has to be placed over which a cloth has to be placed.  The entire thing provides cushioning effect to the meditator.

The place of meditation should not be near a fire, water.  It should not be sandy and should not have pebbles (tiny pieces of stone).  There should not be any sound which would disturb the concentration.  The timing and place of meditation should be conducive to have mental concentration.

The Sixth adhikarana is called Aprayana Adhikaranam.  This adhikarana gives a reply to the question how long should the meditation last or till what day it should be done.

The poorvapakshi says even though the meditation has to be done repeatedly having a continuous flow of thought on the lotus feet of Lord Sriman Narayana without break it would suffice if it is done for a day.  In refutation of the centention of poorvapakshi the Sutrakara says in the sutra “Aprayanath thathrapihi drishtam” which means this bhakthi yoga which is in the form of meditation has to be done till the day of journey or departure of jiva from the mortal body.

So Aprayanath means till death.  Prayana means last journey.  It is said in Chandogyopanishad that this bhakthi yoga should be done throughout the life.  Here a subtle point is to be noted.  In Sri Bhashya it is said Bhakthi yoga has to be done till death.  In bhakthi yoga it cannot be pricesly said how many births the bhakthi yoganishta (a person who resorts the Bhakthi yoga for attaining moksha) takes after commencement of Bhakthi yoga before he attains Moksha.  The term till death in Sri Bhashya should refer to the death immediately after which the bhakthi yoganishta attains moksha.  In Upaya vibhaga adhikara of Srimad Rahasya traya sara, Sri Vedanta Desika clearly says that the word in Aprayana means till the day of journey to Sri Vaikunta Divya loka.

The Seventh Adhikarana in this pada is called Tadadhigamadhikarana.  From this adhikarana till the end of this pada, the fruits that are being enjoyed by the Bhakthi yoganishta in this world itself.  The moment of commencement of Bhakthi yoga is the mental realisation of Lord Sriman Narayana.  This is called Darsana samana akara.  This means the experience that one gets in mind equal to that one gets when he actually sees Lord Sriman Narayana by his naked eyes.

The topic for discussion in this adhikarana is as follows.  There are some Upanishadic statements dealing with the destruction of sins committed by Bhakthi yoganishta before he commences Bhakthi yoga and inadvertent sins committed by him after the commencement of Bhakthi yoga not touching him.

Sri Ramanuja in Sri Bhasya cites two statements in upanishads for the former and two statements for the latter.

The eighth adhikarana in this pada is called as Itharadhikarana.

In the previous adhikarana it was established  that for a person who commences Bhakthi yoga for attaining moksha that is eternal bliss as a first reward for a Bhakthi yoga, Lord Sriman Narayana wills that sins committed by the upasaka (meditator or who does bhakthi yoga) before the commencement of upasana shall vanish and the inadvertent sins committed by him shall not touch him.  That is Lord Sriman Narayana shall not give any punishment to upasaka for committing in advertent sins.

In this adhikarana the Sutrakara says on the same analogy punya (virtuous deeds) done by upasaka prior to commencement of Bhakthi yoga and after the commencement will also vanish because punya is also a hurdle to attain moksha.  If moksha is to be attained there should be neither punya nor papa.  The only difference between punya and papa is that punya will vanish after the upasaka leaves his mortal body at the conclusion of the upasana.  The reason for this is that punya is required for upasaka because on account of his punya only there will be rain and this rains is for cultivation of crop which will provide food to the upasaka to sustain his body during upasana.

The ninth adhikarana in this pada is called “Anarabdha karyadhikaranam”.  The topic for discussion is whether punya and papa done before the commencement of the upasana get vanished in its entirely or not.  There is room for doubt in this regard because the upanishadic passage says that papa gets vanished entirely.  Punya is also reckoned as papa because it is also a block for attaining moksha.  If both punya and papa get vanished completely the upasaka cannot remain in this world even for a moment.  So it is necessary to decide which portion of papa and punya get vanished and which portion he has to enjoy.

The punya and papa which an inpidual acquires in every janma or birth and they get accumulated or built up into a mountain is called sanchitha which has not yet commenced to give fruits which is called as phala.  The phala of punya is happiness where as the phala of papa is misery or suffering both mental and physical.  Sanchitha means stored or accumulated.  This is called Anarabdha karya.  If out of this sanchitha a portion of punya and papa begins to give phala, this portion is called as Arabdhakarya or prarabdha.  This is just similar to storing paddy of several years in a grannery which is similar to sanchitha from out of which a portion is taken out and hulled in to rice for day to day use.  This is similar to prarabdha.

The Sutrakara in this adhikarana clearly spells out that vanishing of papa which the Lord Sriman Narayana wills is applicable to only Anarabdha karya that is sanchitha papa and not an Arabdha karya (Prarabdha).  The reason cited by Sutrakara for the above is a passage in the sixth chapter of Chandogya upanishad in which it is said that an upasaka cannot attain moksha until he is liberated from the bondage of punya , papa. When in the Tadadhigamadhikarana it was clearly said as per an upanishadic passage in Chandogyopanishad that sins (punya and papa) committed by upasaka prior to the commencement of upasana (Bhakthi yoga) get destroyed like bales of cotton perish in a fire.  The above two statements appear to be mutually contradicting.  To remove this contradiction it should be said that vanishing of punya and papa at the time of commencement of upasana refers to Anarabdha karya and getting liberated from punya and papa just before the upasaka that is jiva (who has done upasana) leaves the body must refer to Arabdha karya only that is Prarabdha karma comprising both punya and papa.

The tenth adhikarana in this pada is called Agnihothra dyadhikaranam.  In this another point arising out of disposal of punya and papa karma of an upasaka is also discussed.

In the 8th adhikarana the punya karma done by upasaka after the commencement of Bhakthi yoga does not touch the upasaka that is it will not grant any fruit to the upasaka because punya also is a block for the upasaka to attain Moksha.  So when this punya karma being done after the commencement of Bhakthi yoga is not of any use to upasaka the doubt naturally arises as to why this punya karma should be done.  This punya karma is in the form of Nitya naimittika karma (nitya means which is done daily and naimittika is that done on special occassions like Ekadasi, Amavasya ceremonies of fathewr and mother etc.).  The Agni hotra is to be done daily as prescribed in the kalpa sutra for over coming the obstacle that arises every day for doing upasana.

The purvapakshi or opponent contended thaqt when the punya karma does not grant any fruit to the upasaka it need not be done at all.  So the Sutra “Agnihotradithu thath karyaya Eva thath darsanath” is in reply to the above.  This sutra that agnihotra etc are to be done daily to over come the obstacles that may arise daily for doing upasana. The term etc means varna adhrama dharma both nitya naimittika karma.

This Agnihothra is similar to upasana which has to be done daily (twice a day).  This Agnihothra is prerequisite for doing any yaga and other nitya naimittika karma.  So it is clear that Agnihotra have to be done daily to continue the upasana without interruption.

In this context a question arises, When punya karmas like Agnihothra etc give phala (fruits) in the form of causing un interrupted upasana (meditation or Bhakthi yoga), then which punya of upasaka gets transferred to the friends of upasaka.  This question becomes relevent in this context because of an upanishadic passage (Shatyana upanishath) in which it has been said that in the case of an upasaka (Upasaka is also called as vidwan) at the time of his death his punya gets transferred to his friends and his papa gets transferred to his foes (enemies).

In the second sutra of this adhikarana the Sutrakara himself clears the above doubt.  In this sutra it is said that in punya account of the upasaka there is a particular portion whose fruit has not been enjoyed by the upasaka because of the fact that portion of punya has failed to grant fruits to the upasaka on account of a block for the same.  This block is caused by the will of Lord Paramatma based on the severe sin committed by the upasaka.  This unenjoyed and blocked punya gets transfeered to the friend of the upasaka at the time of the death of the upasaka.

The last adhikarana in this pada is called “Itara kshapanadhi karanam”.  The topic that is discussed here is as to when the upasaka attains moksha.  That is whether upasaka attains the moksha in the same birth (janma) in which he has commenced upasana (meditation) or after taking several births (janmas) starting from the birth in which he commenced Bhakthi yoga or upasana.  There is a third doubt also in this context.  That is whether one would attain moksha at the end of the birth in which punya papa karma started giving fruits.

The upanishadic text that gives rise to the above doubts is a passage in the 6th chapter of Chandogyopanishad and 8th chapter of Chandogyopanishad.  In the 6th chapter it was said that the delay in the upasaka getting moksha is his not getting liberated from the clutches of the prarabda karma which comprises both punya and papa.  In other words the upasaka attains moksha the moment his prarabda karma comes to an end or gets exhausted ly enjoying the fruits of punya and papa.  It should be noted in this context that the fruit of punya is the enjoyment of happiness and the fruit of papa is suffering.  This suffering is of three types called Tapatraya.

The first is called Adhyatmika which pertains to the body and mind.  The suffering of the body is by diseases.  The suffering of mind is by way of mental depression, agony or tension.

The second is Adhibhauthika which is the physical and mental sufferings caused by his relatives, friends, enemies and surroundings.

The third one is called Adhidaivika which is the suffering of body and mind caused by the acts of providence that is the will of the paramatma who causes tolrrential rains, floods, severe drought, cyclonic storms, earth quakes, havocs of tidal waves and other natural disasters.

If the prarabdha of a person comes to an end or gets exhaused he or she cannot remain in this world even for a moment there after.

The second passage of the chandogyopanishad mentioned above refers to an upasaka saying that I will attain paramatma in Sri Vai kunta pya loka which is also called Brahmoloka after shedding the papa like a horse sheds its hairs in the body, like the moon which comes out of the clutches of Rahu during eclipse and after shedding this mortal body.

The poorvapakshi contends that the upasaka attains moksha at the end of the birth (Janma) in which he commenced upasana there by meaning that the passage in the 6th chapter of chandogyopanishad referred to above means the end of the birth in which he commenced upasana.

The Sutrakara refutes the above contention in the Sutra “Bhogena thu Itare Kshapayitva Atha Sampadyathe”.  The meaning of this sutra is that Upasaka attains moksha (Atha sampadyathe) after enjoying the fruits of (Bhogena) prarabdha (Etare which means Arabda that is in other words the portion of the accumulated punya papa karma which has started giving fruits) and then exhausting this Prarabdha (Kshapayitva).

According to this sutra the upasaka may exhaust his Prarabdha in one birth itself in which he started doing upasana (meditation or Bhakthi yoga) or he may have to exhuast prarabdha by enjoying the furits of punya and papa by taking several births.  There is no hard and fast rule regarding the number of births he has to take before exhausting Prarabdha and then attaining moksha.

The conclusions arrived in the previous five adhikaranas can be summarised as below.

Manner of disposal of punya paka karma in the case of an upasaka or Bhakthi nishta.

First Classification: The punya papa karma is classified in to the following four categories.

(a)    Punya and papa karma the fruits of which are already enjoyed.

(b)   Punya and papa karma the fruits of which are being enjoyed.

(c)    Punya and papa karma whose fruits are going to be enjoyed.

(d)   Punya and papa karma whose fruits cannot be enjoyed because of a block.  At the time of the death of the upasaka the punya in this category gets transferred to friends and papa to foes.

Second Classification: Punya and papa done before the commencement of upasana is called poorvagha.  This poorvagha is again classified as (1) Datta phalam- fruits alrady granted and enjoyed.  (2) Adatta phalam – Punya and papa which have not yet commenced to give fruits.

Adatta phalam is further classified as (1) That which has vanished by doing appropriate prayachchittam or atonement.

(2) That which is not vanished.  This is called Avinashta phalam.  This avinashta phalam is again classified as  (1) Prarabhda phalam – that which has commenced to give fruits.  (2) Apraarabdha phalam – That which has not yet commenced to give fruits.

When the upasaka commences upasana (Bhakthi yoga) this gets vanished which in other words gets freezed.  The real meaning of this is that Lord Sriman Narayana wills that the punya and papa in this category shall not give fruits to the upasaka.

The prarabdha phala is again classified as

(1)   Vidyanukulam – That which is favourable to the upasana and promotes it.

(2)   Ananukulam – That which is not favourable to the upasana.

This Ananukulam is further classified as (1) Buddhipurvam – done knowingly. (2) Abuddhi purvam – done not knowingly.

This papa portion of this particular category that is done in advertently does not touch the upasaka which means that he need not enjoy the fruits of papa done unknowingly.  The punya done knowing or unknowingly after the commencement of upasana which is favoruable to upasaka yield fruits to him by way of causing the rainfall, required for cultivation of crops.

As mentioned earlier the first quarter which dealt with the manner in which the Bhakthi yoga also called upasana, Dyana or meditation has to be done for attaining moksha is called Avritti pada.

In the last of the eleven adhikaranas of this pada it was said the upasaka who is also called meditator successfully completes upasana in one birth or taking several births during which period he enjoys the fruits of the prarabda karma which comes to an end.  The moment the prarabda karma comes to an end, the upasana also gets concluded and the upasaka the meditator becomes ready to leave the mortal body and reach Sri Vaikuntha pya loka through the route called Archiradi marga.

Even in the case of the prapanna when the abhyupagatha prarabda comes to an end he also becomes ready to leave the mortal body and reach Sri Vaikuntha pya loka through the Archradi marga.

Jivatma departing from the body is called utkranti and this utkranti is preceeded by a packing process.  This packing process is dealt with in detail in this second pada which is called utkranthi pada.

The question may arise as to whether it is necessary to deal with the packing process in detail which takes place within the body as nothing is visible from outside.  The reply is that a particular passage of Chandogyopanishad specifically mentions this and as Brahmasutras are meant for the correct interpretation of upanishadic passages, the Sutrakara sage Badarayana decided to compose sutras for the proper sequence of packing.

This pada is very important for Visishtadvaitha as the Sutrakara himself condemns in clear terms the jivan muktha vada (vada means Strategic statement) of Advaitins.

This pada has eleven adhikaranas.  The first adhikarana is called Vagadhikaranam.  The upanishadic passage that comes up for discussion is from Sadvidya (6th chapter) in chandogyopanishad.  The meaning of this passage is that when jiva gets ready for the exit (departure) from the body then his speech sense organ gets in conjunction with mind.  Then mind comes in conjunction with mukhya prana or breath and then mukya prana comes in conjunction with Jiva and then indriyas, mind, mukya prana, jiva, Join thejas and these will come in conjunction with paramatma who is the antaryami dwelling in the heart with jiva.  Here conjunction means connection or union.  Here in the upanishadic text quoted above there is the word sampaththi.  This word means conjunction.

The doubt that arises here is whether the speech itself gets in conjunction with the mind or whether the speech organ.  The opponent contends that the speech alone gets in conjunction with mind because speech is controlled by the mind.  The poorvapakshi that is the opponent opines that conjunction means merger and this merger should take place with the thing which is the cause for the thing that gets merged.  In the karana and karya theory that is cause and effect theory karya gets disappeared or dissolved in the karana that is the effect merges in the cause.  Here the mind is not the cause of the speech organ and there fore the poorvapakshi contends that the speech organ does not merge with the mind and hence speech alone merges with the mind.

This is refuted by the sutrakarar in the sutra “Vak Manasi darsanath sabdachcha”.  The meaning of this sutra is that the word “Vak” in the sutra refers vagintriya that is speech organ that is vagindriya.  In the upanishadic passage which is in support of the above there is the word “Sampadyathe” and hence this word has to be added in the sutra to get the full meaning.  So the full meaning is that speech organ gets in conjunction with the mind because of two reasons mentioned in the sutra itself.

The first reason is darsanath and the second reason is sabdachcha.  The meaning of these two reasons is that even if the speech organ gets in conjunction with the mind and the person who is going to leave the mortal body becomes speech less, some mental activity in that person is visible.  Sabdachcha means the upanishadic passage which has been mentioned above in which it was said that the speech organ comes in contact with the mind.

The second sutra in this adhikarana says that like the speech organ the other indriyas (senses) also come and join the mind with the result all the ten indriyas are in conjunction with the mind.  The gnana indriyas (senses giving knowledge or perception) are eyes, ears, nose skin and tongue.  The karma indriyas (action oriented) are hands, legs, speech organ, genital organ and excretory organ.

The Second  adhikaranam in this pada is Manodhikaranam.

In this adhikaranam it is said that after all the indriyas go and join mind, mind along with all the indriyas join the mukya prana (breath).  The Sutra is “Tanmana prana uttarath”. Which means that mind with all indriyas get in conjunction with prana because of the reason “Uttarath” which means that next to the upanishadic passage “Vaakmanasi sampadyathi” is the text Mana: prane.  So uttarath means next.

There is an additional doubt which is cleared in this Adhikaranam.  The doubt is that in the upanishadic text “Annamayam hi saumya mana” it appears that the cause for the mind is food.  Water is cause for the food from the text “Tha Annam Asrujantha”.  Further the text “Apomaya prana” appears to say that water is the cause for prana.  So from these texts it is but natural to say that mind gets merged with water as water is the ultimate cause for the mind and it was said earlier any thing gets merged or dissolved in its cause.  So the mind along with senses get merged with water.  This doubt rather becomes the contention of the opponent.  This doubt is cleared or the contention of the opponent is refuted by the fact that texts “Annamayam hi sowmya mana: and Apomaya prana” do not say Food is the cause of mind and water is the cause of the prana but they say that food promotes satisfactory functioning of mind and water promotes satisfactory functioning of mukya prana or breath.  So indriyas and mind join the mukya prana before the exit of the jiva from the body stands.

The third adhikarana in this pada is called Adhyakshadhi karana.  The next step in the packing process is that the indriyas, mind and mukya prana get in conjunction with the jiva.  The room for doubt in this regard is in chandogyopanishad it is said “Prana: Thejasi, Theja: Parasyam Devathayam”.  In this passage the jiva has been left out that is there is no mention of jiva.  So the opponent contends that prana (Mukya prana) along with indriyas and mind directly get in conjunction with thejas or in other words the five bhuthas (elements).

In refutation of the above contention of poorvapakshi the sutrakarar says in the sutra, “Sodhyakshe thadupagama dibhya:” that the mukya pranacomes in union with jiva who is the adhyaksha or leader of the indriyas.  Upagama means contact.  There is an upanishadic passage which declares that all indriyas come in conjunction with jiva.  The word “Adi” which means etc. indicates in this context that mukya prana exits from the body along with the jiva according to two other upanishadic statements.  So the conjunction of Indriyas, mind and mukya prana with thejas is through jiva.  This is just similar to the statement that the river yamuna joins sea.  But actually yamuna joins ganges river which joins sea.

The fourth adhikarana is called Bhuthodhikarana.  In this adhikarana the doubt whether Mukya prana joins the bhutha thejas alone or all the bhuthas which are ether (Sky), air, fire, water and earth is cleared.  The poorvapakshi contends that mukya prana joins thejas alone and not all the other bhuthas because the 6th chapter in chandogyopanishad mentions “Prana: Thejasi” which means mukya prana joins Thejas (Fire) alone and not other bhuthas.  The Sutrakarar says in the sutra which states “Bhuteshu Tachchruthe:”.  The meaning of this sutra is that all the Indriyas, mind, mukya prana and jiva join all the bhuthas because there is a specific upanishadic passage in brihadaranyaka upanishath which states the above.  In this passage it is said that jiva moves within the body in contact with all the bhuthas.

The opponent again raises another point that is jiva can come in to contact with every bhutha one after the other and it is not necessary that he should come in contact with all the bhuthas combined together simultaneously.  The sutrakarar clears this point in the second sutra which reads as “Naikasmin Darsha Yathohi”.

The meaning of this sutra is as follows.  Each bhutha by itself cannot do any work.  It should get mixed up with the other four bhuthas for being able to do any work.  This is called pancheekarana  In Pancheekarana what happens is that in every bhutha there is 50% of that bhutha and the remaining 50% comprises of the other four bhuthas each of which contributes 12.5%.  This is the principle of pancheekarana.  This is also called as Trivrith karana in chandogyopanishath as it mentions only three bhuthas that is fire, water and earth in which each of these elements (bhuthas) will have 50% of its own and the remaining 50% comprises of other two bhuthas at 25% each.  So every substance in this universe is a mixture of all the bhuthas as mentioned above.  So in the upanishadic text “Prana: Thejasi” the term thejas refers to the mixture of all the five bhuthas in the proportion mentioned above (50% of Fire, 12.5% of ether (Sky), 12.5% of air, 12.5% of water and 12.5% of earth).

Therefore Indriyas, mind, mukya prana and jiva in one packing come in conjunction with all the five bhuthas.

The fifth adhikarana in this pada is called Asruthyupa kramadhikarana.  The main object of this Adhikarana is to denounce the argument of Jivan mukthi (liberation while alive in this world).  This jivan mukthivada is propounded by Advaitins.  There are two categories of persons.

The first category is called Upasaka, Vidwan or meditator who has done upasana or saranagathi for attaining moksha (liberation) in Sri Vaikunta Divya loka.  The Second category is called avidwan who does not aspire Moksha and hence has not done upasana or saranagathi.

The question that arises here is whether the packing process explained above before jiva exits from the mortal body is same for vidwan and avidwan or whether it is different.

The poorvapakshi says the above packing process is only for avidwan (not upasaka) and vidwan attains moksha here itself which in other words is jivan mukthi.

This argument of poorvapakshi is refuted by the sutrakarar in the first sutra of this adhikarana which reads as “Samanacha Asruthyu pakramath Amritatvam cha anuposhya”.

The meaning of this sutra is as follows.  Samana is one and the same.  That is the packing process of indriyas joining the mind and the mind joining mukya prana, mukya prana jivatma and then the bhutha sukshmas (Sukshma means atomic size) and finally joining paramatma is one and the same for vidwans and avidwans.

Infact this Adhikaranam should have come after the next adhikarana in which only it is going to be said the jiva along with the other things will go and join paramatma who as the antaryami is there in the heart of the body of the vidwan (upasaka) and similarly in the case of avidwan.  Because the Sutrakara was in a hurry to refute the Jivan mukthi veda he dealt with this adhikarana earlier.

Asruthyu pakramath means till the commencement of route to Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka.  This route is called Archiradi marga.  Jiva comes to this route through his entry into the nadi which is called Moordhanyanadi Sushumna nadi or brahma nadi.  Nadi means pulse or any tubular organ within the body.  In the heart there are 101 nadies.  That 101st nadi which runs from nabhi (Navel) to the head is called moordhanya nadi as mentioned above.  This nadi leads to the Artchiradi marga.  So the vidwan who is on the way to Sri Vaikuntha pya loka should first enter into the moordhanya nadi through which he exits from the mortal body and then comes to the starting point of Archiradi marga.  So the overall meaning of the word “Asruthyu pakramati” is till the entry of vidwan (Jiva) in to the moordhanyanadi.

The Avidwan whose destination is heaven or hell departs from the body through any of the 100 nadies mentioned above.

So the sum and substance of the above is that the sequence of events that take place within the body (packing process) is one and the same to the vidwan and avidwan till the entry in to nadies.

There are three more words in the sutra which require elaboration.  The words are Amrutatvam cha Anuposhya.  To explain the meaning for these words another passage in katopanishath has to be examined.  The passage is

“Yada sarve pramuchyanthe kaama:

Yesya hrudi Sritha:| Atha marthya:

Amritho bhavathi Athra brahma Samashnuthe||”.

The meaning of this passage is when an upasaka (vidwan) sheds his desires from his heart then he becomes like a muktha (liberated soul) here itself and not muktha actually.  So the real meaning of Amrutatvam is that for the upasaka the inadvertent sins committed by him after the commencement of Bhakthi yoga will not touch and the sins committed by him before the commencement of Bhakthi yoga get destroyed.  This is one of the fruits of the upasana.

Anupashya means that he attains the above amrutatvam before his body gets burnt which in other words means before he dies.  There are some other important points which the Sutrakarar tells in this adhikarana.  They are

(a)    The bondage of samsara continues till he attains paramatma in Sri Vaikuntha pya loka though the prarabda karma of the vidwan or upasaka comes to an end at the time of his exit from the mortal body.

This is just like a person getting elected to the office of the president of India being called as president elect and not as president till he is sworn in. So the concept of Jivan muktha is totally incorrect.

(b)   The vidwan after his exit from the mortal body takes a sookshma sarira (a body not visible by others and very minute in size and it can be even said as atomic in size) for his journey up to viraja river which demarcates between Sri Vaikunta pya loka and the universe called Prakrithi mandala.  Even though the vidwan who is a jiva with his atomic size can travel through the archiradi marga (route to Sri Vaikunta pya loka) without sookshma sarira, he requires the same for his dialogue with moon on the way.  This dialogue is mentioned in Koushitaki upanishath.

(c)       The upanishadic passage “Yada sarve pramuchyanthe” which was mentioned above does not refer to “Amruthathvam” after death but it referes to while vidwan is alive.

(d)      Sutrakara gives a reason for the vidwan leaving the mortal body with sookshma sarira.  When the jiva is still in the body the entire body will be warm.  When the jiva leaves the body only a particular part of the body will be warm and the remaining part will be chill.  So this is a clear indication of the existence of sookshma sarira.

The sixth adhikaranam in this pada is called Parasampaththi adhikaranam.

The topic for discussion is whether the packing comprising indriyas, mind, mukya prana, jiva and bhutha sookshmas come in conjunction with the supreme being who is in the form of antaryamin (inner soul) within the body or whether they go to different lokas or worlds according to their deeds in the form of yagas or according to their meditation on objects other than Sriman Narayana (Supreme being).  For example a person who has done jyothishtoma yaga goes to swarga loka to enjoy the pleasures there.  Similarly if a person meditates on Nama, Vak etc as mentioned in Bhuma vidya he will go to lokas prescribed for such meditations.  The point is even those lokas are under the control of the paramatma and if a person according to his deeds and meditation as mentioned above goes to those lokas,  there also jiva and bhootha sookshmas as mentioned above will be in conjunction of paramatma.

So the poorvapakshi of this adhikaranam contends that the upanishadic passage “Theja: parasyam Devathayam” refers to jiva and bhootha sukshmas along with other things like indriyas, mind, and mukya prana.

This contention of the poorvapakshi is refutred by the sutrakarar in the sutra “Thani pare thatha hi Aha”.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.  Thani means indriyas, mind, mukya prana, jiva and bhootha sukshmas.  Pare means paramatma.  That is the above come in conjunction with paramatma as per the upanishadic text “Theja: Parasyam Devathayam” which specifically mentions the bhootha sookshmas coming in contact with antaryami paramatma along with jiva and others.

It is said that this conjunction or union of jiva with paramatma is for his taking rest for a while after his strenuous experience of sufferings and pleasures according to his papa and punya respectively during his tenure of stay in this mortal body which is the last one because after this he attains moksha.  Even for an avidwan (not upasaka) his union with paramatma is for his taking rest after strenuous experience of sufferings and happiness in this birth and after this he goes to heaven if he has done good deeds or he goes to hell if he has committed heinous sins.

The seventh Adhikaranam in this pada is called Avibhagadhikaranam.

The topic that is discussed in this Adhikaranam is whether jiva and other things coming in conjunction with paramatma is their merger in paramatma or just union.  In this case of the union, the jivatma and paramatma are two distinct entities and are in separable.  In the case of merger the jivatma and other things will merge within paramatma because paramatma is the cause for all of them.  The poorvapakshi contends that it is the merger of all the things in paramatma like the merger of effect in the cause.

The Sutrakara refutes this contention in the sutra “Avibhago vachanath”  Avibhaga means union of indriyas, mind, mukya prana, jiva and bhutha sookshmas with paramatma that is these things come in contact with paramatma such that they become inseparable, without losing their respective identities.

vachanath means the upanishadic passage which is “Theja: parasyam Devathayam” gives the reason for the above decision of sutrakarar.

The above upanishadic passage starts by saying vangmanasi sampadyathe. The word “Sampaththi” in the word sampadyathe means union.  This word gets repeated in the next portion of the passage which is “Mana:prane” and which clearly gets elaborated as “Mana: prane sampadyathe” and again “Prana: Thejasi” gets elaborated as “Prana: Thejasi sampadyathe”.  So in the next portion that is “Theja parasyam devathayam” gets automatically elaborated as Theja:parasyam devathayam sampadyathe.  So the word “Sampaththi” clearly means the inseparable union of the different distinct entities.

The eighth adhikaranam in this pada is called “Thadokodhikaranam”.

Till and inclusive of the union of the so far said entities with paramatma is common to both vidwans and avidwans.  From this adhikaranam on wards the difference between them commences.

As already said there are 101 nadies (pulses or tubular organs) inside the heart of a human being.  The 101st nadi is called Sushumna nadi, Moordhanya nadi or brahma nadi.  The vidwan (jiva) comes out of his mortal body through this nadi and comes to the starting point of Archiradi marga which leads to Sri vaikunta pya loka.

The topic for discussion in this adhikaranam is whether there is any stipulation or condition that the vidwan enters in to brahma nadi and avidwans enter in to other nadies or not.  The poorvapakshi says that there is no such condition because it is very difficult for the jiva to locate the particular brahma nadi among the 101 nadies at that moment of exit from the body because nadies are many and very minute and as such there is no condition like the above.  He further says that in the upanishadic passage “Shatham chaika hrudayasya nadya: Thasam moordhanam abhi nissruthaika, Thaya urdhvamayan Amrutatvamethi vishvanganya Uthkramane bhavanthi”.

The vidwan entering moordhanya nadi (brahma nadi) is purely accidental.

This view point of poorvapakshi has not been accepted by the sutrakarar in the sutra “Thadokograjvalanam thath prakashitha dwara: vidya samarthyath thath seshagathi anusmrithi yogachcha hardanu grihitha Shatadhikaya”.  Among the 545 brahma sutras the above sutra is the longest.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.

Vidyasamarthyath – Power acquired on account of deep meditation on paramatma.

Thath Shesha gathi (Anusmrithi yogachcha) – after getting pleased with the meditation in which the archiradi marga through which vidwan goes to Sri Vaikuntha pya loka was also meditated upon as subordinate to the main meditation done every day.

Hardena – harda is paramatma who dwells in the heart of the meditator and by him.

Anugrihitha:- The vidwan (jiva) is graced.

Oka: Agre – in the upward direction of the heart in which the jiva dwells.

Jvalanam Prakasitha dwara: Shathadhi kaya – Lighting that is paramatma illuminates the route to the 101st nadi that is moordanya nadi to enable jiva to enter into this nadi without diffculty.

The sum and substance of this long sutra is that paramatma who is the antaryami in the vidwan’s body becomes very much pleased with upasana or meditation in which the archiradi marga was also meditated upon as subordinate to main meditation graces the vidwan (upasaka or meditator) and illuminates the path to 101st nadi from the top of the heart and helps the jiva to enter into the same without any difficulty. This is appilicable to a prapanna also who has done prapatti instead of bhakthi yoga.

So this sutra clears the confusion created by the poorvapakshi and asserts that vidwan departs from the body only through the 101st nadi.

The ninth adhikarana in this pada is called Rashmi adhikaranam.

The Vidwan (jiva) who comes out of the mortal body through 101st nadi is said to go in Archiradi marga and come to Aditya mandala (Solar system) following the sun rays according to an upanishadic passage (Chandogyopanishath) which reads as “Atha yatra Ethasmath sarirath uthkramathi atha Ethaireva rashmibhi: oordhvam a kramathe”.

The poorvapakshi wonders when there are no sun rays in the night how can a vidwan who has departed from the body go along with the sun rays and so he says that there is no hard and fast rule that he should go along the sun rays till he reaches Adithya mandalam.

This view is not accepted by the Sutrakarar who is sage Badarayana in the sutra “Rashmi anusari” meaning that the departed soul of the vidwan goes along the sun rays as per the upanishadic text mentioned above.  Regarding the view expressed by poorvapakshi that there are no sun rays during the night, the Sutra karar says though not explicity in the sutra that there are sun rays during night.  On account of these sun rays only during extreme summer we experience sweltering or sweating due to heat.  During winter the effect of these sun rays is blocked just like the sun not becoming visible during cloudy or inclument weather.  So it becomes clear that vidwan (jiva) goes along with sun rays only because the above mentioned passage of chandogyopanishath.

The tenth adhikaranam in this pada is called “Nishadhikaranam”.  It was mentioned above that is in the previous Adhikaranam that if a vidwan dies in the night he will go along with sun rays only.  Inspite of this the poorvapakshi raises another point and hence this separate adhikaranam.

It is said that the best time for death is day time, bright fortnight (Sukla paksha) Uttarayanam (six months during which the sun travels from south to north) and if a person dies in the time mentioned above he will go to heaven and if the time of the death is night, dark fortnight (krishna paksham) and Dakshinayanam (six months in which the sun travels from north to south) the person goes to hell.  So the poorvapakshi contends that if a vidwan dies in the night he will not attain moksha.

This view point is rejected by the Sutrakarar in the Sutra, “Nishinethi chethna sambandasya yavath dehabhavitvath Darsayathicha”.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.

Nishi – If the death of the vidwan occurs in the night and further if it is said

Nethi cheth – he cannot attain salvation

Na – It is not so that is the vidwan will attain moksha.

Yavath dehabhavitvat – The prarabda karma is there till the body is there which means the end of the prarabda karma and the fall of the body always coincide.  As this is the last birth of the vidwan who has done upasana or even saranagathi, the end of this janma or birth coincides with the end of the prarabda karma.

In this context Sri Swami Bhashyakarar (Sage Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja) explains that in the case of upasaka the punya papa karma other than prarabda accumulated up to the time of commencement of upasana (Bhakthi yoga meaning meditation) which may force the upasaka to go to hell or heaven got destroyed as per the will of the paramatma.  The inadvertent “punya-papa” committed after the commencement of upasana will have no effect on the upasaka as they do not touch him.  During upasana the Prarabdha karma alone remains and no body except paramatma knows when it comes to an end.  Even if it  comes to an end during the night the vidwan does not go to hell as the sins committed by him which make him to go to hell get destroyed as mentioned above.

For a Prappanna who has done saranagathi or prapatti through an acharya all the punya papa karma other than abhyupagatha prarabdha gets destroyed at the time of doing saranagathi that is at the time of uttering dvaya mantra by the Acharya during the course of doing prapatti for an inpidual.

Abhyupagatha which remains for experience of suffering and happiness in this birth or janma.  No body except paramatma knows when this Abhyupagatha prarabdha comes to an end and the mortal body falls with the death of the prapanna who is also a vidwan.

Darshayathicha – The above fact has been clearly indicated in the statement of Chandogyopanishath which says “Thasya thavadevachiram yavathna vimukshye atha sampathsye”.  The meaning of this is that delay in attaining moksha is due to the non ending of prarabdha karma and as soon as it ends the vidwan goes to moksha (eternal bliss).

So the vidwan attains moksha even if he dies in the night.

The last adhikaranam in this pada (11th) is called “Dakshina yandhikaranam”.  Even though the above maxim of attaining moksha if the death of a vidwan occurs in the night holds good for a vidwan who dies in Dakshnayana still there is an additional doubt created by a passage in the last anuvaka of taittariya upanishath which is cleared in this adhikaranam.  That passage is “Athaya : Dakshina pramiyathe pithrunam eva mahimanam gatva chandra masa: Sayujyam gachchathi”.  The meaning of this passage is the vidwan who dies in Dakshnayana goes to pithru loka and then attains moon.  It is also said in another passage the person who attains moon will be born again in this world and he will not go to moksha.  The poorvapakshi contends that because of the above only Bhishma grandfather of Kauravas and Pandavas who had the power to decide the timing of his death waited till the commencement of uttarayana for his death.

The above argument is rejected by the sutrakarar in the sutra “Athasha Ayanepi Dakshine”.  The meaning of this sutra is very simple which is as follows.

For the same reason as explained in the previous adhikaranam, the vidwan will attain moksha even if he dies in Dakshinayana.  Taking re birth in this world is applicable to those who have not done any upasana or saranagathi.  The above passage of Taittariya upanishath clearly spells out as “Thasmath Brahmano mahimanam Apnothi”.  This means that vidwan who dies in Dakshnayana who goes to moon ultimately attains brahman (moksha).  His attaining moon is only for a short while and that is only for taking rest.  Bhishma who waited for uttarayana did not go to moksha.  He was a “Vasu” in deva loka (heaven) from where he took birth here on account of a curse.  As soon as he died he went back to his original position that is vasu in deva loka.  He waited for uttarayana just to indicate that Uttarayana is a good time for death.

Again another doubt arises on account of a statement in the 8th chapter of Bhagavad Githa in which Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that if a vidwan dies in day time, Suklapaksha and Uttarayana he goes to Moksha and if one dies in night, Krishna paksha and Dakshinayana he comes here again to take another birth.

This doubt is cleared by the sutrakarar in the sutra “Yogina: Prathi smaryathe smarthecha Ethe”.

The meaning of this sutra is that Lord Krishna did not indicate the timing of the death but mentioned to Arjuna the existence of two routes one called Dhoomadi marga or Pithru yana marga leading to heaven and the other Archiradimarga or Devayana marga leading to Sri Vaikuntha pya loka.

So the person going to heaven through dhoomadi marga comes back here to take another birth after enjoying the pleasures in the svarga loka.

The vidwan who goes to Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka through Archiradi marga will not come back here and he will do eternal service to the pine couple and enjoys eternal bliss there.

As already mentioned this last chapter is called Phala Adhyaya which deals with the fruits being enjoyed by the upasaka both during upasana (intensive meditation or Bhakthi yoga) and after reaching the Vaikuntha Divya loka.

The upasaka (meditator) and prapanna (one who has done saranagathi at the lotus feet of Lord Sriman Narayana after doing Purushakara prapaththi at the Lotus feet of Goddess Mahalakshmi through an Acharya) reach Sri Vaikunta Divya Lokam through Archiradi marga also known as Archiradi gathi.  This Archiradi gathi is also known as Devayana marga.  The details of Archiradi gathi are dealt with in this pada and hence this pada is called Gathi pada.  This pada has five adhikaranas.  Gathi means journey.  It also means route.  Lord Sriman Narayana has ordained twelve celestial gods called Athivahikas to conduct the liberated soul (muktha Atma) upto the bank of viraja river which demarcates the prakrithi mandala ( lila vibhuthi in which we are living) and the nitya vibhuthi which is Sri Vaikunta pya loka.

The twelve celestial gods are,

1.      The God of Fire called as Archis or Jvalana.

2.      The God of day (not night) called as Aha: or Divasa

3.      The God of Bright fortnight called as Apoorya mana paksha which is also called Sukla paksha ending with pournami (full moon) or Jyotsna paksha.

4.      The God of the six months in which the Sun traverses from South to north called as Uttarayana or Shaddangethi masas.

5.      The God of the year (12 months) called as Samvatsara or merely vatsara.

6.      The God of the wind (air) called as Vayu or pavana.

7.      The Sun god called as Surya, Aditya or Tapana.

8.      The moon god called as chandramasa, merely chandra or praleyamsu

Each of the above gods has his own territory and the liberated soul is conducted from one territory to the other by the respective god after a ceremonial reception to him, his resting and enjoyment of their hospitality in each territory.

9.      The God of lightning and he is also called Vidyuth purusha or amanava purusha who leads the mukthatma upto prakrithi mandala side of the bank of viraja river.

10.  The varuna god of water

11.  Lord Indra who is the King of Devas.

12.  Lord Prajapathi who is the four headed Brahman

The Gods Varuna, Indra and prajapathi merely accompany the amanava purusha till the end of their respective territories who escorts the muktha atma up to viraja river as mentioned above.

Besides these twelve Athivahikas, Lord Sriman Narayana also conducts the muktha Atma to Sri Vaikumtam.  In the list of Athivahikas the God of the fire is the first and because of this only the route is called Archiradi gathi.

In the Universe there are infinite number of brahmandas and each brahmanda has fourteen lokas headed by a four headed Brahman.  Each brahmanda has its own archiradi gathi leading to Sri Vaikuntha Divya Loka.

In the Paramapada sopana Sri Swami Desikan tells that there are two views regarding twelve athivahika purushas who are celestial gods. The first view is that they are afflicted by punya and papa karma and hence they are karma vashyas.  The second view is that these belong to Sri Vaikunta Divya loka and are a part of Nityasuries group like Anantha, Garuda, Vishvaksena.

There is also a view that Amanava purusha is different from god of lightning (vidyath purusha) and this Amanava purusha belongs to Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka and he is being sent by Lord Sriman Narayana to bring Muktha Atma near him.

It should be noted that every thing in Sri Vaikunta Divya Loka or Nitya vibhuthi is called aprakrutha because it is made up of hundred percent satva guna material and hence it is called Suddha satva.

Everything in this universe or prakrithi mandala is prakrutha because it is made up of the mixture of satvika guna, rajasa guna and thamasa guna.  Now the adhikaranams in this pada are dealt with.

The first adhikarana in this pada is called as Archiradi adhikaranam.  Several upanishadic texts come up for discussion in this adhikaranam.  The upanishads which mention the Archiradi gathi are Chandogya, Koushitaki and Brihadaranyaka upanishad.

In Chandogya upanishad this archiradi gathi has been narrated at the end of the upakosala vidya in the 14th sub pision of the fourth chapter and again at the end of the panchagni vidya in the fifth chapter.  Again there is mention of the archiradi gathi in the sixth sub pision of the eighth chapter.  In the first chapter of koushitaki upanishad the archiradi gathi has been told.  In two places of Brihadaranyaka upanishad the mention of Archiradi gathi has been made.

In the sequence and pattern of the archiradi gathi stated in the above cited upanishads there are some variation from upanishad to upanishad.  The doubt that arises here is whether the sequence and pattern of the archiradi gathi is one and the same or whether it varies.  The opponent (poorvapakshi) contends that archiradi gathi mentioned in the various upanishads have different sequence and pattern and hence it is not necessary for the liberated soul to choose only one route and he can choose any route according to his option.

The variations in the sequence and pattern are briefly explained below.

The archiradi gathi mentioned at the end of the upakosala vidya and panchagnividya is identical.  In the eighth chapter of Chandogya it is said that the liberated soul goes upwards following the solar rays as told in the rashmi adhikaranam in the preceeding pada.

In the koushitaki upanishad it is said the archiradi gathi has the following sequence and pattern.

The liberated soul comes to Devayana marga after his exit from the mortal body through brahma nadi (Sushumna nadi or Moordanya nadi) and then enters to Agni lokam and then vayu lokam.  From vayu lokam he comes to varuna lokam and then Aditya lokam.  From Aditya lokam he comes to Indra lokam and then to Prajapathu lokam.  From prajapathi lokam he finally enters in to Brahmalokam which is the Sri Vaikunta pya lokam.

The second subpision of Brihadaranyaka upanishad deals with panchagni vidya at the end of which the archiradi gathi is narrated as follows.

God of fire, God of day, God of bright fortnight, God of Uttarayana, Devalokam (here devalokam means vayu that is the God of wind because it is said the wind that blows are the residences of Devas), Sun god, God of lightning Manasa purusha.  This manasa purusha conducts the muktha atma to Brahman who is Lord Sriman Narayana.  This manasa purusha is one created by brahman and he is the amanava purusha.  In the seventh chapter of the same brihadaranyaka upanishad, the archiradi with a change in pattern from the previous one is stated.

According to this the upasaka who has become a liberated soul goes away from this world and then he goes to the God of the wind.  Then this god of wind makes a small opening like the hole of the wheel chariot and the muktha atma comes out of this opening and ascends to reach the sun god.  The sun makes an opening similar to that of the hole in Adambara which is a musical instrument.  Through that hole he comes out and ascends to reach moon (Chandramas).  The moon makes an opening similar to that of a hole in a drum (Dundubi).  He comes out of this opening and ascends to reach Sri Vaikuntha pya lokam.  It is said in this context that Sri Vaikuntha pya lokam is not cold or not too hot.  In the upanishad it is said Ahimam (not snow).  There is no sorrow.  In the Vaikuntha pya loka the muktha atma lives for eternal years that is parmanently and he will not come back to this world.

When the variations in the sequence and pattern are as mentioned above the poorvapakshi contends that the liberated soul may choose any marga on his own and reach Sri Vaikuntham.

Refuting this contention of the poorvapakshi the Sutrakara who is the sage Badarayana tells in the sutra “Archiradina thath prathithe:”.  The meaning of this sutra is that Archiradi marga is the only one marga which is very famous in upanishads and the mukthatma goes to Sri Vaikunta pya loka through this route only irrespective of the variations in the sequence and pattern as elaborated above, adopting the maxim of Gunopasamhara pada vide the third pada in the third chapter.

The meaning of the Guna upasamhara pada is that when one brahma vidya mentioned in more than one upanishad is eatablished as one and the same then the gunas or attributes of Lord Sriman Narayana mentioned in one upanishad should be added to those mentioned in the other and then meditated.  So also here when it has been established that Archiradi gathi is one and the same, the athivahikas left out in one must be considered along with the others mentioned in the other.  Upasamhara means adding.

If this is done the sequence and pattern of the Archiradi gathi comprising twelve athivahikas will be as already mentioned in the beginning of this pada.

The second adhikarana is called as “Vayvadhikaranam”.  In this adhikaranam the sequence is decided because of the variations mentioned in chandogya and brihadaranyaka upanishads.

In Chandogyopanishad the sun god has been mentioned after the God of the year.  In brihadaranyaka the Devaloka which is vayu has been placed in between God of the yearand the Sun God.

The poorvapakshi opines that there is no hard and fast rule to fix a particular order or sequence of Athivahikas in the Archiradi gathi because each of the above mentioned upanishads follows its own order and the upasaka who has adopted the brahma vidya mentioned in a particular upanishad chooses the Archiradi marga mentioned in that upanishad.

Further he says that Devaloka and Vayu are different.  The sutrakarar rejects the above contention of the poorvapakshi in the sutra “Vayum Abdath Avisheshavishe shabyam”.  The meaning of this sutra is that vayu the god of the wind has to be placed above the God of the year and below the Sun god because of two reasons.

The first reason is Avishesha which means general.  That is in other words the Deva loka in Brihadaranyaka upanishad means the loka of the Devas.  Devas are those who live in heaven (svarga loka).  So this deva loka generally means vayu.  The second reason vishesha which means particular.  There is a specific mention of vayu in the place of the Deva loka.  So it is clear that Deva loka means vayu.

Further the God of the year should be above God of the uttarayana.  Obviously because the year which is the longer period of time should come after uttarayana which is a shorter period of time.  In Brihadaranyaka upanishad the deva loka comes after the god of uttarayana.  Now there are two orders one as per the upanishad which is called “Patakrama” the other is the logical order called “Arthakrama” which is according to reasoning.  So a maxim comes here according to which the logical order (artha krama) is more powerful than pata krama.  Hence vayu comes in between the God of the year and the Sun.  Patakrama means the sequence or order of the words in the statement of upanishad.

The third adhikarana in this pada is called Varuna adhikaranam.  The upanishadic text that comes up for discussion is a passage in Kaushitaki upanishad according to which the liberated soul comes to Devayana route (marga) and enters to Agni loka.  From Agni loka loka he goes to vayu loka and then from vayu loka he goes to varuna loka from where he goes to sun god and then to Indra loka and then prajapathi loka.  From prajapathi loka he goes to Sri Vaikunta which is called Brahma loka.

In the previous adhikarana it was established that Deva loka is vayu and he comes in between god of the year and sun god.  When the above koushitaki upanishad mentions the athivahikas  varuna, Indra and prajapathi the question arises where to place these three in the order or sequence of the archiradi gathi.

The poorvapakshi says when the god of lightning comes at the end and he is called vidyuth purusha.  This vidyuth purusha is also amanava purusha who conducts the mukta atma to brahman (Lord Sriman Narayana).  So in this order there is no gap for placing varuna and also Indra and Prajapathi.  But the upanishadic statement should not be ignored as otherwise it becomes meaningless.  In Vedas including upanishads do not have even a single syllable which is meaning less and hence it should not be ignored or rejected.

The poorvapakshi further contends that because koushitaki says varuna loka next to vayu loka it is only proper (appropriate) to place varuna Indra and prajapathi next to vayu breaking the order already established.

This view of the poorvapakshi has been refuted by the sutrakarar in the sutra “Thatitha: Adhi varuna: Sambandath”.  This means that varuna should be placed above the vidyuth purusha (God of lightning) because there is close connection between varuna god of rain and lightning which occurs on account of water bearing cloud.  Thatith means lightning.  When varuna is placed above “vidyuth purusha” naturally Indra and Prajapathi are also with varuna and above him.

The fourth Adhikarana in this pada is called as Athivahikadhikaranam.  The topic for discussion in this adhikaranam is whether the twelve entities mentioned in the Archiradi marga are places or stations in that route.  That is the indicators of the route or places of enjoyment or they are Athivahikas who conduct the muktha atma to Sri Vaikuntham.  It is common that if a person asks for the route to a particular place then the person will be told the route in which he has to go and permanent land marks in the route.  The other view is that they may be places of enjoyment. The main objection in the above entities being the indicators of route are the day (Ahas), bright fort night (Sukla paksha), uttarayana (Six months) and the year are the units of time and they cannot be obviously the indicators of the route.  They can be places of enjoyment because it is said these days, nights, fortnights, twin months (Ruthava), years are also lokas or worlds.  That is why Kaushitaki upanishad says Agniloka, vayu loka etc.

So the poorvapakshi refers to the twelve entities as lokas which are places of enjoyment.

This view point is not accepted by the Sytrakarar who says in the sutra “Athivahikaa: Thallingath”.  The meaning of this sutra is that these 12 entities are Athivahikas because of the reason “Thallingath”.  This word means that the liberated souls are conducted to Sri Vaikuntha pya loka and athivahikas are ordained by Lord Sriman Narayana to receive the liberated souls and conduct them upto viraja river.  With regard to the Vidyuth purusha the upanishad says “Sa Enan brahma gamayathi” that is the Vidyuth purusha conducts the liberated soul up to the Brahman.  This word “Conducts” very well applies to other Eleven athivahikas also.

The last and fifth adhikaranam in this pada is called as Karyadhikaranam which contains some importaint points.  Till now it was established the group of Athivahikas conducts the vidwan (liberated soul) who is either upasaka (who has done bhakthi yoga) and prapanna (who has done prapatti at the feet of Lord Sriman Narayana through an acharya to moksha which is Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka.  This adhikarana also establishes the fact that muktha atma goes to Sri Vaikuntha only.  Now a doubt arises 1. Whether the group of athivahikas conduct the vidwan to the loka of chathur muka whi is also called Hiranya garba. (2) Whether the vidwan is conducted to Sri Vaikuntha pya loka (3) Whether they conduct him near pratyagatma (jiva) who has meditated upon him to whom the Paramatma is the atma or soul.  The third category is known as Panchagni Vidyanishtas who meditate on their souls (jivas) considering Paramatma as their atma.

The first sutra “Karyam Badari Asya gathi uppaththe:” is poorvapaksha sutra containing the view point of the poorvapakshi who in this adhikaranam is sage Badari who is one of the disciples of the Sage Badarayana (also called as Vedavyasa).  When Badarayana composed the sutras of this adhikaranam sages Badari and Jaimini were on his side.  Badarayana out of courtesy elicits the views of others before expressing his own views in the form of siddantha sutras.

Here the word karyam means Hiranyagarbah (Four headed Brahma) because he was created by Lord Sriman Narayana in his navel.  The karanam is the creator and karyam is one who is created.

The view point of Badari is when para brahman or merely brahman is every where and is ever attainable or reachable where is the need for the athivahikas to take the liberated soul to Sri Vaikuntam.  On the other hand the athivahikas conduct the vidwan to Hiranya garba loka which is also called Satya loka. Sage badari cites another point in support of his view.  He says that in the upanishadic passage “Purusha Amanva: Ethya Brahma lokan Gamayathi”, the plural lokan refers to Hiranyagarba lokas because there are infinite number of andas and in each anda there is one satya loka which is Hiranya garba loka.  Further in the saying of upanishad “Prajapathe: Sabham Veshma prapadye”, meaning that the liberated soul enters in to the residence of prajapathi who is Hiranya garba only.

Then we are putting a question to Badari.  The question is when the upanishad clearly states that vidwan is taken to Brahman only how can the brahman who is the Lord Sriman Narayana be called as Hiranya garba.  For this point Badari replies that because of the proximity of Hiranya garba loka to Sri Vaikunta pya loka, Brahman can be called as Hiranya garba.  Again Badari mentions another vital point in support of his contention.  He says that all those who meditate on Hiranya garba who is called as karyam or created reach Hiranya garba loka (Satya loka) and remain there till the tenure of office of the four headed brahman (Hiranya garba) comes to an end.

It should be noted in this context that tenure of office of four-headed Brahma is 2×1017 years which is called “Dvipararda” (two parardas).  One pararda is 1×1017 years.  The longevity of Brahma (tenure of office) as per his calender is 100 years which is 2×1017 years as per our calender.  The present brahma in our Anda has crossed 50 years of his age as per his calender that is one pararda and he is in the second pararda.  Precisely telling he is in his 51st year first month, 26th day morning.  So one second of chathur muka brahma is equivalent to our 63419583 years (6 crores, 34 lakhs 19 thousand 583 years).

At the end of his term there will be deluge here and it may be noted that duration of deluge is also 2×1017 years.  That is why in every day’s sankalpa we tell “Adya brahmana: dvithiya pararde Svetha varaha kalpe etc”.

So the meditators of Hiranya garba who have gathered in his loka go to Sri Vaikuntam along with Hiranya garba.

In support of sage Badari’s view there is one sloka in Kurma purana which says that at the time of deluge all those who have gathered in Satya loka go to Sri Vaikunta pya loka along with Hiranya garba.

So in onclusion the Badari’s argument is that the group of Athivahikas conduct the vidwan (liberated soul) to Hiranya garba loka and not Sri Vaikuntam.

Now sage Jaimini who is also the disciple of Badarayana risesup to present his view in this regard in refutation of Badari’s view.

Badari presented his view by five sutras the summary of which was mentioned in the preceeding paragraphs.  Jaimini’s view is contained in three sutras.

The first Sutra is “Param Jaimini: mukyatvat”.  The meaning is that the word Brahma means Lord Sriman Narayana only and it does not refer to Hiranya garba because the real interpretation of the word Brahma is the supreme being.  Even though Lord Sriman Narayana is omni present that is he is every where the real meaning of moksha or salvation is that the liberated soul should (a) depart from this mortal body (b) assume a sookshma sarira (minute body not visible to anybody) which is required for conversing with moon (c) reach this side of viraja river through archiradi marga (d) Shed the sookshma sarira (e) Cross the viraja river by his own will (e) reach the opposite bank of the viraja (f) go near the pine couple in Sri Vaikunta pya nagara and do eternal service to them.

So the Brahma loka means Brahman himself is the loka that is in other words the entire Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka is called Brahma loka.  The plural world “Brahma lokan” mentioned before has no relevence in this context according to a maxim in mimamsa sastra.

Jaimini further says the upanishadic passage in the 8th chapter of chandogya upanishad clearly mentions that the inpidual soul (called as samprasada) who is the vidwan (liberated soul) departs from the mortal body and attains Sriman Narayana who is called as Paramjyothi in this context and hence there is no question of liberated soul going to Hiranya garba loka.

In addition to the above jaimini says that the upanishadic statement “Prajapathe: sabham veshma prapadye” quoted by Badari in his argument never refers to Hiranya garba loka because the upanishadic texts subsequent to the above refer to Sri Vaikunta pya loka only.

The further two sutras of jaimini containing his above view points are “Darsana chcha and Nacha karye pratyabhisandhi:”.

After hearing the arguments of both Badari and Jaimini the Sutrakara, sage Badarayana gives his own judgement in two sutras rejecting the views of both Badari and Jaimini.

The Badari’s view is totally rejected and Jaimini’s view is partly rejected.

The first sutra of Badarayana is “Aprathi kalambanan nayatheethi Badarayana: Ubhyathacha doshath Thath kratusha”.  The meaning of the above sutra is as follows.  The meditators of Lord Sriman Narayana are pided in to following two categories.

(1)   Prathikalambanas

(2)   Aprathikalambanas

Prathika means organ or avayava.  It also refers to any inanimate object.  The prathika can be meditated upon considering it as brahman (paramatma).  This is called as drishtividhi (drishti means view) or brahma drishti upasanam.

The pratika may also be meditated without viewing it as brahman.  This is called Kevala upasanam.  Those who meditate on prathika with brahmadrishti or without brahmadrishti are called pratikalambanas.  For these pratikalambanas there is no moksha phalam and they would not go to Sri Vaikunta Divya loka.  Hence Athivahikas do not conduct them to Sri Vaikunta pya loka along the archiradi route.

In the seventh chapter of Chandogyopanishad Sage Sanathkumara tells Sage Narada the pratika objects which are fifteen in number.  They are Nama (name), Vak (Speech), Mana (mind), Sankalpa (determination), Chittam (Concentration of mind on a particular object), Dhyanam (meditation), Vignanam (Knowledge of an object perceived by senses, inference or acquired by referring to scriptures).  Balam (muscle power) that is when a person sees his guru or Acharya he suddenly gets up and prostrates at his feet)., Annam (Food), Aapa: (water), Theja: (Fire or hot Sun), Akasa: (Sky), Smara: (memory or remembrance), Aasha (Desire), Prana: (Breath).

If persons meditate on the above fifteen objects with brahmadrishti or without the same, they get endowed with worldly fruits and hence the above meditation is not brahma upasana and they will not attain moksha.  The persons of the above category are called as prathikalambanas.

Those who meditate for attaining moksha are called as Apratikalambanas who are pided in to two categories.  The first category comprises those who directly meditates on Brahman (Lord Sriman Narayana) in which the upasaka (meditator) is the body of paramatma or Brahman.  They are called “Svatma Sariraka Paramatma upasaka:” adopting any of 30 types of brahma vidyas detailed in the third quarter of third chapter.  The 31st brahmavidya is Nyasa vidya which is prapatti or saranagathi.  These Nyasa vidya nishtas come under this category.  These attain moksha through archiradi marga conducted by the group of athivahikas as per the upanishadic text “Esha Samprasada: asmath sarirath utthaya Parmjyothi: Upasampadya svena rupena abhinish padyathe”.

If according to Badari the above category of upasakas does not go to moksha the above upanishadic text becomes meaning less.

The second category comprises those who meditate on their inpidual souls for whom the brahman is the supreme soul.  These are called as “Brahmatma ka svatma upasaka:” or “Panchagni vidya nishtas”.

These panchagni vidya nishtas also attain moksha as per the upanishadic text “Thath ya Eththam vidu: Ye cheme Aranye Sraddha Thapa Ithyupasathe the Archisham abhisambavanthi”.

The meaning of the above is

Thedya Eththam vidu:- Those who meditate on their inpidual souls not associated with their mortal bodies and having Lord Sriman Narayana as their supreme soul are Panchagni vidya nishtas and Yecheme Aranye Sradda Thapa Ethi Upasathe – Those who are “Svatma Sariraka paramatma upasana nishta:”,

Both the above Archisham abhisambavanth – Come to Archiradi marga to go to moksha (Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka).

If according to Jaimini these Panchagni Vidya nishtas do not go to moksha then the above upanishadic text becomes meaning less.

The last word in the Badarayana’s sutra is “Thathkrathusha”. Which means the form of Paramatma and himself which an upasaka meditates he will see both of them in the same form in Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka.

So it is clear the aprathikalambanas go to moksha through archiradi marga and will not come back.

Before we take up the last pada of last chapter, let us learn the following important points about the 3rd pada in the Adhikarana Saravali of Sri Vedanta desika:.

1)      In the Chinthamani commentary on the 496th sloka of Adhikarana saravali, Sri Kumara Varadarcharya the illustrious son of Sri Vedanta Desika makes the following observation.  Though the performance of the obsequies and the other connected ceremonies in respect of the souls of vidwans (Vidwans include those who have done Bhakthi yoga for attainment of Moksha and those who have done prapatti or saranagathi for attainment of moksha) departing from the body and going to moksha is not necessary still the performance of obsequies and other connected ceremonies in respect of the above is very essential by the sons of vidwans.  (If there are no sons the other dependents or survivors of vidwans) because it is a part of their sacred duty. If they do not perform the obsequies it would be a serious lapse on their part and they become karma bhrashtas (deviation from doing the prescribed karmas) and incur sins.  Further the performance of the above is for the welfare of the sons and other survivors.

2)      Bhishma who had the privilege of dying on his own accord or volition waited till the commencement of uttarayana for dying.  Bhishma who was one of the eight vasus in devaloka was born in this world on account of a curse.  So after death he went back to his original position of vasu and he did not go to moksha straight away.  Sri Vedanta desika says he went to moksha after doing Madhu vidya upasana (madhu vidya is one among the 32 brahma vidyas vide slokas 498 and 502 in Adhikarana saravali).

3)      The soul of Sisupala who was slain by Lord Sri Krishna entered in to the body of Lord Sri Krishna soon after his death.  He did not go through the Archiradi marga.  Sisupala and Danta vaktra were Ravana and Kumbakarna in their previous birth and they were killed by Lord Sri Rama.  Again Ravana and Kumbakarna were Hiranya kasipu and Hiranyaksha in their previous birth in which Hiranyaksha was killed by Lord Sri Varaha and Hiranya kasipu was killed by Lord Sri Nrisimha.  In these three consecutive births they became haters of Lord Sriman Narayana on account of a curse hurled upon them by sages Sanaka, Sanandana when they were security men at the gate of a vishnu loka also called as Karya vaikunta and they were called as Jaya and Vijaya.  They got the curse because they did not allow the above sages in side the gate where they came to have the darshan of the Lord Sriman Narayana.  So at the end of the three consecutive births they attained moksha automatically.

4)      Lord Sri Rama took all the inhabitants of Ayodhya to Santhanika loka at the time of his going to Sri Vaikuntam.  All of them had a dip in Sarayu river along with Lord Sri Rama and his brothers and then went to Santhanika loka which is not Sri Vaikunta Divya loka in the real sense.  This Santhanika loka is within jurisdiction of Chathur muka (Four headed Brahman).  From Santhanika loka they might have gone Sri Vaikunta Divya loka after some time.  The inhabitants of Ayodhya means both animate and in animate objects that is jivas of those objects.  Lord Sri Rama took them to the above said loka in response to the prapatti done by Sri Bharatha at the feet of Lord Sri Rama.  So the inhabitants of Ayodhya going through Archiradi gathi never arose.

5)      In the case of Pundarika who was a virtuous person Lord Sriman Narayana himself came to him in person and took him to Sri Vaikunta Divya loka.

6)      In Pancharathra Samhithas it is said that there are several Vibhava lokas and Vyuha lokas within Brahmanda.

The persons who live there and do upasana (Bhakthi yoga) will go to moksha (Vaikunta loka) directly.  It is not necessary that they should go through Archiradi marga.  Vyuha lokas are called Svethadweepas which are islands in the ocean of milk.

7)      Sri Vedanta Desika mentions another point regarding Archiradi gathi in parama pada Sopanam.  In dwaraka city there was a brahmin when Lord Krishna was there.  The brahmin got 10 children who disappeared suddenly after touching the ground soon after the birth.  When the ninth child also disappeared the brahmin came to meet Lord Krishna and made a representation of his above miserable plight.  At that time there was Arjuna who heard the above and told the brahmin that he would save the 10 th child and if he fails to save he would do Agni pravesa (entry in to fire).  At the time of birth of 10th child he improvised a cage with his arrows around the mother so that the child may not escape soon after its birth.  But the child disappeared soon after its birth and touching the ground.  As Arjuna could not save the child he decided to do Agni pravesa.  Lord Krishna after coming to know of this went to Sri Vaikuntha pya loka in his chariot.  In the Vaikuntha pya loka all the ten children were there.  In order to see Lord Krishna in his human incarnation form Lord Sriman Narayana in Sri Vaikuntham willed for the above children to come there.  Lord Krishna brought back the children and handed them over to the brahmin.  Now the question is how children could come back from Sri Vaikuntham as no body who has gone to Sri Vaikuntam can come back.  Sri Vedanta desika answers the above question by saying that the children could come back because they did not reach Sri Vaikunta pya loka through Archiradi marga or route.  So the point is a person (jiva) who has gone to Moksha through the Archiradi gathi will not come back.

8)      Chathurmukha Brahma and Indra who have done upasana will go to Moksha after their respective tenures of office by joining the archiradi marga from their respective places.

Before the adhikaranas of this pada are taken up it is felt necessary to give a description of the entire setup of Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka and Divya nagara.

The resource materials for the above are Kaushitaki upanishad, Moksha dharma parva contained in Santhi parva of Sri Mahabharatha, Pancharathra samhithas, Sri Lakshmi Hayagreeva Sahasranama stotram and based on the above the Stotrarathnam of Sri Alavandar, Sri Vaikunta Gadyam of Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja, Srimad Rahasyatraya sara and Sri Paramapada sopanam of Sri Vedanta desika.

The description of Sri Vaikuntham as per Kaushitaki upanishad is as follows.

Before dealing with the description of Parama pada (Sri Vaikuntha) the upanishad says that those who leave the mortal bodies come to moon.  There are two categories of Jivas who come to moom.  The first category comprises of those jivas who have not done either Bhakthi yoga or Saranagathi at the feet of the Lord Sriman Narayana.  These jivas go to Swarga loka and not to Moksha that is Sri Vaikunta Divya loka.  These jivas are called as Avidwans or Ishtadhikaries.

The second category of jivas who have done Bhakthi yoga or prapatti (Saranagathi) goes to Moksha.  These jivas are called as Vidwans and they go to Moksha through Archiradi marga after conversing with moon.  These are also called as Mokshadhikaris.  In this context it is reminded that all jivas come under three categories.

(a)                Anishtadhikaris – who do only sinful acts – They do not reach moon and they go to hell (naraka)

(b)               Ishtadhikaris who do a virtuous deeds including yagas – They reach moon and then go to heaven (Swarga) through dhoomadi marga also called as Pitruyana.

(c)                Mokshadhikaris as explained above who have done bhakthi or prapatti go to Moksha through archiradi marga after conversing with moon.

The conversation with moon is as follows.  The jiva says Iam kala causing month, bimonth also called as Ruthu, Year and Yuga etc.  I am also the things or substances which get created during every ruthu.  I am also chathur muka.  You are also myself, Here I means Lord Paramatma himself who is the atma or soul to the jiva who says as “I” in this context.  The moon gets convinced with this reply of jiva who is here the mokshadhikari allows him to go to Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka through the archiradi marga. On entry in to Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka there is a lake called “Ava”.  In Chandogyo upanishad it is said there are three lakes which are called “Ava, Nya and Airammadeeyam”.  Not far away from the above lakes there are security guards holding lathis (Sticks) to drive away those who are not vidwans or Brahmavith.  Brahmavith is the person who has done Bhakthi yoga ir prapatti.  These security guards are called “Muhurtha”.  Lathies are called as yashties.  Thern there is the river called “Viraja” or “Vijara”.  It is called so because it is against old age (jara) and also desire (Raja).

This Viraja river demarcates the prakrithi mandala and Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka.  Prakrithi mandala is Brahmanda in which we are living.  For prakrithi mandala the opposite bank of Viraja river is Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka.

Though the upanishad says Viraja river after the lakes referred to above it should mean that lakes are after viraja nadi.  This is confirmed in Sri Lakshmi Hayagriva Divya Sahasranama stotra and in Srimad Rahasyasara also.

After shedding sookshma sarira on this bank of viraja river it is said that the liberated soul (mukthatma) crosses the viraja river and enters in to the Vaikunta Divya loka on his own will or volition.  But there is another view in this regard that is the liberated soul takes a dip in viraja river.  In paramapada sopana Sri Vedanta desika has mentioned both the above views.

Sri Pillai Lokacharyar in his rahasya called “Archiradi” tells that the mukthatma sheds the sookshma sarira after touching the water in viraja river.

After entering in to the territory of Sri Vaikunta pya loka the mukthatma gets aprakritha sarira (body) which is having cent percent satva guna (Sudda satva).

Then the liberated soul is taken to Somasavana which is a sacred fig tree which can be said as an inanimate incarnation of Lord Sriman Narayana.  Then the liberated soul is decorated with brahma alankara by five hundred nymphs of Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka out of which 100 nymphs hold garlands in their hands for garlanding the mukthatma, the second hundred nymphs hold a black paste called anjana to be applied to the eyes of the mukthatma, the third 100 nymphs holding powder in their hands to be applied on the body of Mukthatma, the fourth 100 nymphs holding Dhoties in their hands for offering the same to Mukthatma and the fifth 100 nymphs holding jewels to decorate him.

So all the 500 nymphs get engaged in doing Brahma alankara to the mukthatma.  Then he is greeted by every body there and a big ceremonial reception to him is arranged there.  Then the mukthatma is brought near a tree known as “Tilya”.  In the commentary on Kaushitaki upanishad by Sri Ranga ramanuja swamy it is said that the Sacred fig tree (Ashwathatha tree) called Somavasana is itself the Thilya vriksha or tree as per the statement in Chandogyopanishad.  But Sri Vedanta Desika in Paramapada Sopana says Tilya Vriksha (Vriksha means tree) is different from Somasavana Ashvaththa Vriksha.

Then mukthatma comes to Salajya samsthana.  This Salajya samsthana comprises of walls also called prakaras.  This is just similar to prakaras in Srirangam which is called bhuloka vaikunta because it is a replica of Sri Vaikuntham.  The word salajya is split in to sala and jya.  Sala is prakara and Jya is the fighting equipment.

Because the fighting equipment is kept in prakara it is called Salajya.  This fighting equipment is required to drive away enemies who may come near Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka.

After crossing the above said salajya the mukthatma enters Sri Vaikuntha Divya nagara called Aparajitha.  It is called Aparajitha because it is in accessible to abrahma viths that is those who have not done bhakthi yoga or prapatti. It also means it cannot be conquered by anybody.

He then enters in to Brahmagandha, Brahmarasa and Brahmathejas.  This means that the sweet smell (Smell of parijatha flower) in the pya mangala vigraha (body) of Lord Sriman Narayana there, the nectar like taste and light in the same gets radiated through out the pya nagara (City of Vaikuntha).  It is said that the quantum of light (efflugence) in the pya mangala vigraha is equal to that of 10000 suns rising simultaneously.  So the entire pya nagara is charged with fragrance, nectar and light.  So the mukthatma who enters the pya nagara with an aprakritha body having bramalankara will have the above fragrance, taste and light.

The Mukthatma then enters in to the main gate of pya nagara which is guarded by two security guards whose names are Indra and prajapathi.  Then he is taken in a big procession through the wide streets of Sri Vaikunta Divya nagara and every body there greets him.  Thereafter he comes near the golden vimana which is a tower like structure.  Then enter the glories of Lord Sriman Narayana.  This glory is called Brahma yashas.  The actual meaning of this appears to be that the glory of the Lord is spread throughout the pya nagara and every body there praises the glory of the Lord and mukthatma also begins to sing the glory of the Lord.  Those who praise the Lord are called Vipanyava.According to Koushitaki upanishad yashas means grace of the Lord.

Then the Mukthatma reaches the Anandamaya Mantapam.  This is called as “Vibhu Pramitam” in Kaushitaki Upanishad.  This mantapam is a very big one covering a very large area.  This is similar to 1000 pillared mantapam in Srirangam.  The gate keepers who are dwara palakas are eight in number and there are eight attendents.  These attendents are called as Parshadas.  These dwara palakas and parshadas extend a very gracious look on mukthatma on his entry to Anandamaya mantapa.  The names of the dwara palakas and parshadas are given separately.

Sri Vishvaksena the Commander in Chief of Sri Vaikuntham directs the managers of Anandamaya mantapam to announce the arrival of mukthatma who is the new entrant there and there after he salutes Sri Garuthman there.  Then he will be in the midst of Nityasuries.  Nitya suries belong to a particular category of jivas who are never afflicted by the bondage of samsara.

Then he will see pine persons, the paraphernalia like umbrellas etc, pine weapons, pine jewels etc becoming personified and standing there.  After he sees them he gets a strong and unshakeable desire to do all kinds of eternal service to the pine couple there and then he comes near the pine paryanka (throne) near which he sees all the poorvacharyas who feel satisfied that the efforts made by Lord Sriman Narayana through them to bring him from this world to Sri Vaikuntha became successful.

Kaushitaki Upanishad gives the name of this paryanka or Simhasana as “Ami thouja”.  There are four legs for this simhasana.  The above upanishad says the two legs in the front are called as Bhutha and Bhavibhyath (past and future).  The two legs in the rear are named as as Shri and Ira.  Pancharathra samhitha gives the names of these four legs as Dharma peeta, Gnana peeta, Vairagya peeta and Aishwarya peeta.

In this simhasana Lord Sriman Narayana with his consort Mahalakshmi are seated.  The legs and other parts of the Simhasana are Personified and mukthatma sees these personified pine entities.

On the pine Simhasana there is a pine lotus flower emitting light equivalent to that of thousand crores rising suns.  On the eight sides there are eight petals of the lotus flower.  Eight pine damsels wave chowries (Chamaras) standing by the side of petals.  On the eastern side of the same Lotus called Karnikai there is the damsel named Anugraha waving the chamara.  The names of Eight damsels waving chamaras are given separately.

At the centre of the above lotus the set up is as follows.

Even hundred thousand golden hills will occupy an atom space in the very large and very high lotus called Karnika.  On this there is Divyayogaparyanka comprising the slough (called Nirmoka) of the thousand hooded serpent called Adisesha.  Hood is called Phana.  The above Adisesha can be considered as the expansion (Stretching) of the folding of several thousands of oceans of milk.  (In every brahmanda there is one ocean of milk.  Because there are several thousands of brahmandas there are several thousands of oceans of milk).  The above again means that in each ocean of milk there is one Adisesha paryanka.  So the Divya yoga paryanka in the Sri Vaikunta pya nagara is several thousand Adisesha paryankas put to-gether.  This amounts to saying the base area of Divya yoga paryanka or that of Adisesha prayanaka is infinite or immeasurable.

This adisesha who is also one of the nityasuries assumes several forms to do several types of kainkaryas to the pine couple there as per a pasuram in Mudal Thiruvandadi and as per a sloka in Stotra ratnam.  Again it is said the area of Adisesha paryanka is so large that even the Lord Sriman Narayana who is called Thrividha parichcheda rahitha who is seated on the Divya yoga paryanka occupies a very short space.  This set up cannot be even imagined by us and we will be seeing the same after attaining moksha.

The word “Trividha parichcheda rahitha” means as follows.

Parichcheda means limit.  Parichcheda rahita means, without limit or in other words unlimited.  Trividha means three kinds which are space, time and vastu.

So Lord Sriman Narayana and his consort mahalakshmi are unlimited with regard to Space, time and vastu.  Vastu means being or object. Both Sriman Narayana and Mahalakshmi are antaryamies (inner souls) in every being or object both in Sri Vaikuntha Divya Loka and lila vibhuthi comprising of infinite number of Brahmanda.  Each brahmanda consists of fourteen worlds including bhuloka in which we are living.

Now Mukthatma comes to Adisesha parayanka who is called Anantha or Thiru Anandalwan. Adisesha has thousand hoods and each hood has a gem or ratnam.  By the light emitted by each gem.  Adisesha is illuminating the entire Vaikuntha Divya nagara which is Pundarika or Paramapada or even Ayodhya.  This Adisesha Paryanka is called Anantha bhogin.

This Mukthatma becomes the target of two thousand eyes of Adisesha (two eyes in each hood and there are 1000 hoods).

Now the Mukthatma comes near the pine couple who are seated on the pya yoga paryanka also called as Anantha bhoga paryanka.  Lord Sriman Narayana is the Head of all those in Sri Vaikuntha pya loka.  He is always of 25 years of age which can be said as Akumara yuva.  He possesses infinite efflugence equal to that of hundred thousand suns. Sriman Narayana is seated with Mahalakshmi possessing all the excellence equal to that of Sriman Narayana and She is united with the Lord in all aspects.  She is the embodiment of infinite grace and seated on the right side of the Lord.

Similarly there are Bhudevi and Neela devi who are also giving pleasure to the Lord and doing service to them.

Now the Mukthatma is standing in front of the pine couple bhudevi and neela devi.

Lord Sriman Narayana is giving him infinite bliss and enjoyment.  The knowledge of Mukthatma becomes infinite which is called Dharma Bhutha Jnana Vikasa.  He fully enjoys the beauty of the Divya Mangala Vigraha of the Lord (pine and auspicious body of Lord) and every organ in the same.  He also enjoys the ornaments adorning the various parts of the Divya Mangala Vigraha.

The Mukthatma actually sees with his own eyes the infinite number of kalyana gunas (auspicious attributes) of Lord Sriman Narayana and Mahalakshmi.

Then the Mukthatma comes near the stand on which Lord Sriman Narayana lays his Lotus feet.  Then the Lord lays his lotus feet on the head of mukthatma and makes him to become eligible for doing eternal service (kainkaryam) to him which was deeply aspired by him.

Then he climbs and steps on the Divya yoga paryanka.  Then the pine couple out of their deep affection on him make him to Sit on their laps and make him to speak of the excellent prosperous fortune he enjoyed by coming to Sri Vaikuntham.  Lord asks him who are you.  Then the mukthatma replies and acknowledges the greatest help done to him by the pine couple by not allowing him to be a nitya samsari (remaining in the bondage of samsara forever) and bringing him to Sri Vaikuntha and become one among the Nitya suris.

The Mukthatma further says he was drowned in the ocean of samsara from time immemorial.  Then he was made to get immersed in the nectar sea of the  pyatma swarupa of Lord Sriman Narayana and became inseparable from him. In other words he became the body and Lord became the soul there by making the soul and body inseparable.  By realising the intrinsic nature (Divyatma swarupa) of the Lord he realised his own intrinsic nature.  By will of the Lord he was able to get himself engaged in activities (Pravritti and Nivritti).  He enjoyed the affection showered on him by Lord.  He further says that in the sea of his moksha ananda which he is enjoying now the pleasure of Ishvarya (materialistic attainments in this world and of his attainments in Svarga loka) and the pleasure of enjoyment of his own self (Kaivalya) is just like a drop.

After saying the above the Mukthatma requests the pine couple that he should not be made to go back to this world from where he came over there.

The Divine Couple get very much pleased with the above submission of mukthatma.  Just like mother and father become pleased with the utterances of their child.  Then Lord Sriman Narayana turns to Mahalakshmi and both of them grace the mukthatma with one and the same look.

Then the eight attributes of Apahatha papma (having no blemish), Vijara (without being afflicted by old age), Vimruthyu (without being afflicted by death), Visoka (being without sorrow), Vijigitsa (being without hunger), Apipasa (being without thirst), Satya kama (becoming capable of attaining what all he wants) and satya sankalpa (becoming capable of doing what he wants to do subject to the will of the Lord there) blossom there.  This is called Gunashtaka Avirbhava.  He also becomes sarvajna (omniscient) which is in otherwords the dharma bhutha gunavikasa.

He then develops intense love to-wards the Divine Couple called Parabhakthi by his continuous enjoyment of pine couple and this parabhakthi leads to para gnana which is the deep knowledge he acquires which leads to parama bhakthi which becomes unabated, un ending and eternal enjoyment of moksha Ananda which is also called Brahmanda and this is the infinite bliss or pleasure he derives by doing continuous service to the pine couple there.  Thus he puts in to action his intrinsic and inherent nature of Sheshatva (Subordination) and dasatva (Obedient and devoted servant) to-wards the pine couple as depicted in the third syllable “Ma” of the pranava.

Then the Mukthatma assumes several bodies or forms by his own free will subject to the will of Lord or Paramatma there to do all kinds of kainkaryam to the pine couple simultaneously.

So his eternal bliss there is doing kainkarya to the pine couple every where (Sarvadesa), at all times (Sarvakala), and in all phases (Sarvasthauchitha) and all kinds of kainkarya (Sarvavidha kainkarya).

Adhara Sakthi krama:

The entire setup of Sri Vaikunta pya loka in a nut shell is given below as contained in Adhara sakthi krama mentioned by Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja in the nitya grantha.

1)      Adhara sakthi (Supporting power)

2)      Moola prakriti (Primordia matter)

3)      Akila jagad adhara koorma rupi

Narayana (It is said that Sriman Narayana in the form of tortoise supports the entire universe.  This support appears to be common to both lila vibhuthi that is the universe comprising of infinite number of brahmandas and also Nitya vibhuthies comprising vaikunta pya loka .

4)      Anantha Nagaraja – It is said that Adisesha supports the entire universe.

5)      Bhoomi (Bhuloka) The above are to be imagined as one above the other.

6)      Sri Vaikuntha Divya Loka equivalent to a continent

7)      Sri Vaikuntha Divya Jana pada – Equivalent to a country.

8)      Sri Vaikuntha Divya nagara – Equivalent to a city.

9)      Sri Vaikuntha Divya vimana

10)  Ananda maya mantaparatna

11)  Anantha Nagaraja (Adisesha) within the mantapa

12)  Dharma peeta pada name of the leg of Divya simhasana in south east (Agneya)

13)  Gnana peeta pada name of the leg in the south west (niru ruthi)

14)  Vairagya peeta pada – Name of the leg in the north west (Vayavya).

15)  Eiswarya peeta pada – name of the leg in north east (Esanya).

16)  Adharma – This appears to be the name of the thickness of Divya simhasana on the eastern side.

17)  Ajnana – Name on southern side

18)  Avairagya – Name on the western side

19)  Anaishwarya – Name on the northern side

20)  Anantha  who is keen on doing all types of service to the Lord.

21)  Lotus flower on the top of the above.  (Note: – There appears to be a slight variation in Parama pada sopana it was said that Adisesha is over padma.  In this order it appears to be over Adisesha).

22)  Vimalachamara hasta – Name of the chamara waver on the eastern petal of lotus.

23)  Utkarshinai chamara hasta – name of the chamara waver on south east petal.

24)  Jnana chamarahastha – On the southern side petal.

25)  Kriya chamara hastha – on the southern west petal

26)  Yoga chamara hastha – On the western petal

27)  Prahva chamara hastha – on the north west petal

28)  Satya chamara hastha – On the northern petal.

29)  Esana chamara hastha – On the north east petal.

30)  Anugraha chamara hastha – On the eastern side of karnika the bottom of lotus.

31)  Jagat prakrithi yoga peeta – This appears to be the cause of the all brahmandas including oceans of milk.

32)  Divya yoga peeta paryanka – A sofa

33)  Sahasra pana manditha Anantha nagaraja – From this it appears that the 1000 hooded Adisesha is in the above yoga peeta.

34)  Pada peeta Anantha nagaraj – A pedestal on which the Lord places his feet.  This is one of the forms of Adisesha.

35)  Anantha, Garuda, Vishvaksena – Nitya suries seated on padmasanas.

36)  Asmath Gurava: – All our purvacharyas who have attained Moksha.  They are seated on the north west side of Yoga peeta.

37)  Lord Sriman Narayana  Seated on the Yoga peeta paryanka

38)  Mahalakshmi seated on the right side of the Lord.

39)  Bhumi – Bhudevi on the left side of the Lord.

40)  Neela – Neela devi on the left side of the Lord.

41)  Kirita makutadhi pathi – The crown which the lord wears on his head.

42)  Kirita mala apeedakatma – Lord wears crown and garlands always.  They may cause some pain or trouble to the lord.  There is one pine person called appedakatma who does not cause that pain.

43)  Dakshina kundala makara – Right ear ring of the lord in a form of crocodile.

44)  Vama kundala makara – Left ear ring of the Lord.

45)  Vyjayanthi vanamala – The garland or vana mala which the lord wears is called Vyjayanthi.

46)  Thulasi – The Lord also wears Thulasi garland.

47)  Sri Vatsa Srinivasa – A bunch of white hairs on the chest of the Lord where mahalakshmi is seated.

48)  Sri Kaustuba sarva Ratnadhi pathi – Kaustuba is a gem or Ratna on the chest of the Lord.  It is the most important and precious gem.

49)  Kanchi Gunojvala pithambara – Yellow coloured pure silk cloth worn by the Lord below waist with waist belt which is of gold.

50)  Sudarsana Hethiraja – The weapon disc which the lord holds in his right.

51)  Nandaka kshadgadhipathi – The weapon sword which is called Nandaka held by the Lord.

52)  Padma – This lotus is also considered as one of the weapons.

53)  Pancha janya sankadhi pathi – Panchajanya is the conch which the Lord holds in his left hand.

54)  Koumodaki gadadhipathi – The weapon mace called koumodaki which the lord holds.

55)  Sarngaya chapadhi pathi – The weapon bow called sarnga.

56)  Bhagavath Padara vinda samvahini – The lady attendants who massage or shampoo the feet of the Lord.

57)  Anantha Nagaraja – Again Adisesha is in another form on the back side of the Lord.

58)  Bhagavath Parijanas – The other attendants rendering service to the Lord.

59)  Bhagavath paduka – The holy sandals of the Lord.

60)  Bhagavath Parichchadas – The other paraphernadia like umbrella etc.

61)  Vainateya – Garutman seated in the front.

62)  Bhagavat Vishvaksena – The Commander in chief seated on the north east side of the Lord and facing south.

63)  Gajanana – Assistant of Vishvaksena.

64)  Jayatsena  – Assistant of Vishvaksena.

65)  Harivakthra – Assistant of Vishvaksena.

66)  Kala prakrithi samgna – Assistant of Vishvaksena.

67)  Chanda and Prachand – Gate keepers on the Eastern side.

68)  Bhadra and Subhadra – Gate keepers on the southern side.

69)  Jaya vijaya – Gate keepers on the western side.

70)  Dhatra and Vidhatra – Gate keepers on the northern side.

All the above keepers are called dwara palakas having four hands holding sanka, chakra and gada.

71)  Kumuda Ganadhi pathi Savahana parivara praharana – Parishada on the eastern side.

72)  Kumudaksha Ganadhipathi – Savahana parivara praharana – on the south east side.

73)  Pundarikaksha ganadhipathi – Savahana parivara praharana – on the southern side.

74)  Vamana ganadhi pathi – Savahana parivara praharana – on the south west side.

75)  Sankukarna ganadhipathi – Savahana parivara praharana – on the west side.

76)  Sarpanethra ganadhipathi – Savahana parihara praharana – on the north west side.

77)  Sumukha ganadhipathi – Savahana parihara praharanam – on the north side.

78)  Suprathishtaya gandhipathi – Savahana parivara praharana – on the north east side.

The above eight are called Parishadas and appear to be Lord’s campanions or members of the assembly.  They are with vahanas (Vehicular set up) and with parivara (having their own people).  Praharana means weapons.  That is all the above parishads are armed with weapoons and this arrangement appears to be a security arrangement.

Sri Ramanuja says in the Nithya Grantha that all the above 78 pine persons and objects in the vaikunta pya loka,  and pya nagara are to be prostrated and worshipped during the course of daily worship (Tiruvaradhana) of Lord Sriman narayana performed in the houses.  Sri Ramanuja’s Sri Vaikuntha Gadhya is more or less an elaboration of the above.

At the commencement of the description of Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka Sri Ramanuja says the location of parama vyoma which is another name for Sri Vaikuntha Divya loka is as follows.

There is Brahmanda comprising of 14 lokas or worlds.  Over brahmanda there is a cover which is ten times as large (great) as brahmanda itself.  There are seven such covers each cover 10 times as large as the previous one and one above the other. Over the above is Viraja River and the other bank of the viraja river is Sri Vaikuntha Divya Loka the description of which was already given before.

This setup of Sri Vaikuntha which is not accessible by the four headed brahma and others even by mind or by words. The nature of nitya suries and mukthas who are already there cannot be even imagined by Brahma, Rudra, Sanaka, Sanandana etc.  Even Sri Alavandar gives a beautiful and brief description of Sri Vaikuntha pya loka in statra ratna.

In the light of the above description of Sri Vaikuntha pya loka, we shall proceed to deal with six adhikaranas in the last pada.

The first adhikarana is named as Sampathyavirbhavadhi karanam.  The upanishadic passage that comes up for discussion is in the 8th chapter of Chandogyopanishad.

This passage says that the jiva who has done upasana or prapatti after leaving the mortal body attains Lord Sriman Narayana in Vaikuntha pya loka and his intrinsic nature which was dormant before gets blossomed.

His intrinsic nature is the eight attributes which are apahata papma, vijara:, Vimrutyu’ Visoka, Avijighatsa:, Apipasa, Satya kama:, Satya sankalpa.  (Note: the meaning of the above Eight attributes has already been mentioned before).

In addition to the above there will be dharma bhutha gnana vikasa which is in other words means sarva gnatva (omniscient).  It amounts to saying that his bliss becomes infinite and eternal.

The opponent (Poorvapakshi) contends if for a mukthatma something new is not attained and only those aspects which were already there and dormant on account of punya papa karma blossom, then the moksha sastra (Scriptures dealing with the means of attaining moksha) becomes meaning less or purpose less and the nature of jiva (AtmaSvarupa) becomes goal less.  Goal is purushartha which is a person wants to attain

He further says that in the state of sound sleep when the activities of body and senses become dormant the atma (jiva) attaining goal (purushartha) is not seen.  It cannot be said that mere ending of sorrow becomes purushartha.  He further argues that mere blossoming of the intrinsic nature of jiva cannot be called moksha.  In moksha it is said that mukthatma attains Brahma Ananda which is eternal and infinite.  So Poorvapakshi concludes by saying that some thing new is attained in moksha.

The Sutrakara refutes the above argument of the poorvapakshi in the first sutra of this Adhikarana which is reads as “Sampadya Avirbhava: Svena sabdath”.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.  The pratyagatma (jiva) who goes to moksha through archiradi gathi and attains Lord Sriman Narayana will have the blossoming of his own intrinsic nature (Svasvarupa Avirbhava) and not any new form (aspect), because of the upanishadic statement “Esha Samprasada: Asmath Sarirath Samuththaya Paramjyothi: Upasampadya Svena rupena Abhinishpadyathe.”

The words underlined above tell that no new form or aspect is generated and only the existing nature which was dormant all these times get blossomed.  If the argument that a new aspect is generated there the word “Svena” in the upanishadic passage becomes meaningless.  Even if no new aspect is there he gets only his inherent or intrinsic nature which was dormant.

For the argument of poorvapakshi that the intrinsic nature was always there and this word “Upasampadya” meaning attaining becomes meaningless the Sutrakara replies in the second sutra which reads “Muktha: Pratignanath”.  The meaning of this sutra is that mukthatma gets liberated from the body which he possessed on account of punya papa karma.  Even though the intrinsic nature was there for ever it was dormant on account karma rupa Avidya that is punya papa karma.  When this karma has ended the dormance has gone leading to the automatic shining of the inherent or intrinsic svarupa (nature).  The word “Prathi gnanath” in the sutra particularly refers to conversation between Indra and Prajapathi (Four-headed Brahman in the 8th chapter of Chandogyopanishad.

Indra goes to Prajapathi for acquiring spiritual knowledge.  The Prajapathi repeatedly emphasises the fact to Indra by saying bhuya: (repeatedly) Vyakyasyami ( I elaborate).

The elaboration is “This Prathyagatma (jiva) is liberated from three phases which are phase of awakening, phase of finding dreams and phase of sound sleep (phase of Coma stage) is also included though not explicitly said). And also liberation from this body afficted by punya and papa karma causing love and hatred to-wards objects and personalities in this world.  After this liberation it was said that pratya gatma attains Paramatma in Moksha leading to Svarupa Avirbha (blossoming of his intrinsic nature).

In the third sutra of this adhikarana the Sutrakara says as “Atmaprakaranath” which means specifically that this atma (Pratya gatma or jiva) is the possessor of the eight attributes (Gunas) as already mentioned.  These eight gunas are called Gunashtaka.  This is also clear in the teaching of Prajapathi to Indra.

These eight gunas were dormant while the jiva was in the bondage of samsara and they shine as soon as jiva attains Paramatma in moksha.  So these eight gunas are not new additions and they were always there.  This point is reinforced by Bhagavan Saunaka who states as follows.

(a)                The lustre in a gem or Ratna is always there and is its inherent nature.  That lustre or shining will not be there when it is covered by a layer of dirt or dust.  When it is cleaned and dirt removed its shining becomes automatic.  Similarly in the case of Atma the dirt is Punya papa karma which affects the shining of Eight gunas.  When this karma goes to Moksha these gunas shine automatically.

(b)               When a well is dug the layers of earth that prevent the water from seeing the sun light are  removed.  But water below the ground is not created new and it is always there.  So also in the case of jiva,  The layers of earth are similar to Karma.

(c)                Similar to the above two illustrations, after the ending of heya gunas of Atma (Punya papa karma) the eight gunas shine automatically and they are not newly created.

The Second Adhikaranam in this pada is called “Avibhagena drushtatavadhi karanam”.  The question that arises is whether mukthatma enjoys the paramatma (also called param jyothi who is Lord Sriman Narayana) as a separate entity or as an inseparable entity.

The poorvapakshi says that he enjoys paramatma as a different or separate entity quoting certain upanishadic texts which appear to be in favour of his contention.  The upanishadic texts in support of his stand are

(a)                Taittiriya Upanishad says that Mukthatma after attaining Brahman (Sriman Narayana) enjoys him along with auspicious attributes.

(b)               Mundaka upanishad also says when the mukthatma attains moksha and sees wonderful shining form of Lord there who is the cause of the universe becomes equal to him.

(c)                In Bhagavadgitha Lord himself says that for mukthatma after attaining him in Sri Vaikuntha the eight gunas blossom which are also in the Lord.

In all the above statements there is no specific mention that mukthatma enjoys the Lord as an inseparable entity.  So the poorvapakshi says that mukthatma enjoys the Lord as a separate entity.

This is refuted by the Sutrakara in the sutra “Avibhagena drishtatvath”.

The meaning of this sutra is that mukthatma enjoys the paramatma as an inseparable entity.  In separable in the sense that Paramatma is soul and jivatma is his body.  Body and soul are inseparable.  Mukthatma actually sees the Paramatma as his soul and he as his body.  Mukthatma before coming to moksha that is when he is still in samsara knows that he is the body of paramatma according to upanishadic statements.  But after reaching moksha he actually sees this. That is the body and soul relation ship between himself and paramatma.  The upanishadic statements which proclaim the above are

(a)                Tatvamasi meaning that “Thvam” who is Svethakethu to whom his father tells the above has “Thath” who is paramatma as his soul.

(b)               Ayam atma brahma which means that this brahman who is paramatma is the atma that is soul to every thing.

(c)                Aithadatmyam Edam Sarvam – For every sentient being (jiva) and for every non sentient being in lila vibhuthi as well as Nitya vibhuthi paramatma is the soul.

(d)               Sarvam khalu Edam brahma – Every sentient being and non sentient being is brahma which means brahmatmakam that is having brahman as soul or atma.

In the above statements there is no specific mention of soul and body relationship between paramatma and jivatma.  But they are called Samanidhikaranya statements.  Theay are also called as Abedha sruthies.  The meaning of Samanadhikarana is as follows.

When two words are mentioned to-gether and they are in the case (Called Vibhakthi in Sanskrit) then one word is adjective and the other word is noun that is adjective qualifies the noun.  In the soul and body theory soul is the noun and body is the adjective.  Then those two words are called Samanadhikaranya words.  So the in above upanishadic statements the soul and body relationship is implied.

There are some other upanishadic texts which explicitly mentions soul and body theiry.  They are

(a)

Ya: Atmanithishtan Atmana: Anthara:

Yam Atma naveda yasya atma sareeram

Ya: Atmanam anthara: Yamayathi Sathe Atma

Antharyami Amrutha:

The meaning is that who (referring to Paramatma) resides with Atma (jivatma) and who is different from Atma whom the jivatma does not know and to whom jivatma is the body is the antaryami (inner soul) to you.

(b)   Antha: Pravishta: Shasta Jananam Sarvatma – Sriman Narayana who is the paramatma has entered in to every thing as antaryami and he controls activities of jivatma.  He is the atma or soul to all.

In addition to the above there is the brahma sutra which is reads as “Avasthithe: Ethi Kasha kritsna” of the Vakyana vayadhikaranam which means paramatma is the antaryami of jivatma.  So from all the above it is confirmed that mukthatma enjoys paramatma inseparably.

The third Adhikaranam in this pada is called “Brahma adhikaranam”.

The topic for discussion in this adhikaranam has direct link with the first adhikaranam in this pada.  In the first adhikaranam it was said that there is the blossoming of eight gunas to the mukthatma on attaining the paramatma which is called Gunashtaka Avirbhava.

The question is whether this Gunashtaka Avirbhava is the only salient feature of moksha or whether the dharmabhutha gnana becomes infinite or whether both if they are not mutually contradicting.

When the Sutrakara sage Badarayana was discussing this point two of his disciples were near him who are Jaimini and Oudulomi.  The Sutrakara elicited the view points of both the above before giving his own view which is the final judgement.

When he asked Jaimini to tell his view point he told his view which the Sutrakara put it in the form of sutra.  The Sutra is “Brahmena jaimini upanyasadibya:”.  The meaning of this sutra is that for mukthatma the gunashtaka avirbhava is the only salient feature because it is said in dahara vidya when prajapathi imparts spiritual knowledge to Indra that when Jivatma attains paramatma there is Gunashtaka Avirbhava and in continuation of the satya sankalpa he does the kainkarya to the pine couple there.

The view point expressed by the oudulomi was also called coined as a sutra which reads as “Chiti tanmathrena thadaktmatvat Ethi oudulomi:”.

The meaning of this sutra is that for mukthatma his dharma bhutha gnana gets expanded and becomes infinite.  In support of his contention he cites a passage of brihadaranyaka upanishad in which it has been said as follows.

“Sa yatha saindhava ghana ananthara: Abaahya:

Kritsnahrasa gnana Eva: Evamvea Are

Ayam Atma Anantara: Abahya: Kritsna:

Prajnanaghana Eva, Vijnana Ghana Eva.”

The meaning of the above is that just like in the heap of a salt there is same taste inside, outside and on all sides so also in the case of jivatma he is gnana gunaka that is he is having dharma bhutha gnana inside, outside and on all sides.  So this passage indicates the infinite nature of dharma bhutha gnana.  Because it is said “Vijnana ghana Eva” oudulomi says that no feature is there in Mukthatma other than the infinite nature of Dharma bhutha jnana.

In this context it is to be noted that jivatma has two gnanas (knowledge).  The first is called Dhami Gnana which is “I”.  This means that jivatma realises his ownself without any other aid.  The Dharmijnana of paramatma is same as Dharmijnana of jivatma.  In this aspect alone both paramatma and jivatma are equal.

The dharma bhuthga gnana is the knowledge through which jivatma is able to perceive objects while in samsara he perceives objects through his senses only and this is called sensualperception (Karana janya gnana) through his gnanendriyas which are eyes, ears, noses, tongue and skin.  This quantum of Dharma bhutha gnana of jivatma in samsara varies from inpidual to inpidual depending on his punya papa karma.  For yogies this dharma bhutha gnana is much wider called yogajanya gnana or Trai kalika gnana (Traikala means past, present and future).

For paramatma and nitya suris this dharma bhutha gnana is always infinite.  For jivatma it becomes infinite only in moksha as stated by oudulomi.

After hearing the views of jaimini and oudulomi, the sutrakarar gives his judgement in the third sutra of this adhikaranam which reads as “Evamapi upanyasath purvabhavath Avirodham Badarayana:”.

The meaning of this sutra is that there is no contradiction between the views expressed by jaimini and oudulomi and therefore a mukthatma can have both eight gunas called brahma gunas which are blossomed after the climbing of pya paryanka by mukthatma where the pine couple are seated and at the same time his dharma bhutha gnana (knowledge of perception) becomes infinite.  So dharma bhutha gnana in moksha for a mukthatma need not necessarily be karana janya gnana (sensual perception) and he will able to know things even without senses.  The emphasis “Vignana gnanaeva” (Dharmabhutha gnana alone becomes infinite and not eight gunas) means only that jivatma is not jada.  Jada means without consciousness.  In Sri Bhasya Sri Bhashyakarar tells that in moksha the dharmi gnana of mukthatma also gets widened. This interpretation does not however contradict the fact of dharma bhutha gnana becoming infinite.

The fourth adhikaranam in this pada is called “Sankalpadhikaranam”.  Regarding mukthatma the chandogyopanishad says as follows.

1)      “Sa: Uttama Purusha:- Sathatra paryethi Jakshath kreedan Ramamana Sthreebhirva Yanairva nopanjanam smaran Edam Sareeram”.

The meaning of the above is as follows.  The mukthatma becomes a superior person (Uttama purusha).  He enjoys the paramatma from all sides, He goes round pine couple that is he does pradakshinam.  Jakshath means eating or laughing.  Jaksha (Bhaksha hasanayo:) is the root.  Here the meaning eating is not apt that is not appropriate.  Instead of laughing we can say as smiling.  Because the brahmananda he enjoys as a manifestation of this we can say he smiles.  Kreedan means playing or dancing.  These are also the manifestations of the above ananda.  The word Ramamana: means taking delight or rejoicing.  The other words in the above cannot have literal meaning.  The sum and substance of the above passage is that mukthatma does all kinds of service to the pine couple always and at all times for ever.  Except this passage in upanishads there is no other passage which tells about the kainkaryam being done by mukthatma.

2)

“Sa: Yadi Pitri loka kamo bhavathi

Sankalpaa deva pithara: Sumuththshtanthi

Thena pitru lokena sampanno bhavathi

Sa: Yadi Mathru loka kamo bhavathi

Sankalpa deva mathara: Samuththishtenthi” etc.

If the Mukthatma desires and wills to see his fathers, mothers and other relatives of his previous births then they will appear before him.  Another meaning is just as Lord Sriman Narayana chose Dasaratha, Vasudeva and others to be his fathers during Rama avathara, Krishna avathara so also mukthatmas may also take incarnations or avatharas in this world with the approval of Lord Sriman Narayana there.  Then they will choose mothers and fathers out of their Sankalpa or will.

In this adhikaranam the topic for discussion is whether the appearance of fathers and mothers etc. of the previous births of a mukthatma is out of his own will or whether it requires special physical efforts.  The poorvapakshi says just as we see in this world a king willing to do a particular thing puts in physical efforts so also a mukthatma.

The Sutrakarar refutes the above contention of poorvapakshi in the sutra “Sankalpa deva Thath Sruthe:”

The meaning of this sutra is that mukthatma does every thing by his own will that is sankalpa because the upanishad itself says so in the passage “Sankalpa deva pithara: Samuth thishtanthi” and there is no upanishadic text saying that physical efforts are also required in addition to sankalpa to get a thing done.

There is another sutra in this Adhikaranam which reads as “Atha: Eva cha Ananyadhipathi:.”  The meaning of this sutra is when mukthatma does every thing by his own will he is no longer subject to vidhinishedha.  Vidhi means ordering a person to do a particular thing.  Nishedha means ordering a person not to do a particular thing.  If mukthatma is subject to vidhi nishedha then his will not be able to act and the will goes in vain.  Will is satya sankalpa.  If his satya sankalpa fails to act then he will not be a mukthatma.  So ananyadhi pathi means satya sankalpa.  The satya sankalpa of a mukthatma is subject to the will of paramatma as he does not have absolute freedom. In this context the chandogyopanishath says that a muktatma becomes Svarat. Svarat means the muktatma becomes free from punya, papa karma.

The Fifth Adhikaranam in this pada is called “Abhava adhikaranam”.  The topic for discussion whether a mukthatma possesses a body or not or he can be with a body or without a body.  For doing various kainkaryams simultaneously several bodies are required.  Sutrakarar before deciding this issue he elicits the views of two of his disciples.

The first is Badari who says the body is not there for a mukthatma because the body is meant for enjoyment of pleasure and sorrow that is for experiencing the fruits of punya papa karma.  In moksha there is no punya papa karma.

Hence Badari says there is no body for mukthatma.

The sutra containing Badari’s view is “Abhavam Badari: Ahahi Evam”.  Abhavam means no body.  The second view is that of jaimini who says that mukthatma assumes any number of bodies to do kainkaryam to the pine couple in several forms simultaneously.

This is according to upanishadic text of chandogya which says “Sa: Ekadha bhavathi, Thridha Bhavathi, Panchadha bhavathi, Sapthada bhavathi etc. which means muktatma may assume one body, three bodies, five bodies etc to do service of several kinds to the Lord Sriman Narayana and mahalakshmi there.  The meaning of the above sruthi (upanishadic text) should be like this only as the jiva cannot be cut in to pieces.

The sutra containing jaimini’s view point is “Bhavam jaimini: Vikalpa Amanath”.  Bhavam means body is there or bodies are there for mukthatma because the above sruthi says like that.

After hearing the views of the above the Sutrakara says in his judgement as “Dvadashaha vath ubhaya vidham Badarayana: Atha:”.

The meaning of this sutra is that Badarayana says that mukthatma could be with body and also without a body citing a maxim of satrayaga.  There is a yaga known as satra yaga which is performed for twelve days and hence it is also called Dvadashaha.  This yaga may be performed by several people or one inpidual.  If it is performed by several people for the welfare of humanity it is called Satram.  If it is performed by a single inpidual for getting progeny it is called Aheenam.  Just as the same yagam gets two names owing to difference in sankalpa for the welfare of humanity or sankalpa of getting progeny) similarly a mukthatma wills (does sankalpa) to possess (assume) body or bodies for doing kainkaryam or wills to remain without body for enjoying auspicious attributes (kalyana gunas) of the pine couple.  It should be noted that for enjoying the kalyana gunas of the Lord and his consort the body is not required.  If the mukthatma decides to do kainkaryam he will assume the body or bodies depending upon doing one particular kainkaryam or doing several kainkaryams simultaneously repsectively.

The next sutra is “Thanvabhave Sandhyavath upapaththe:”.  This means if on a particular day the mukthatma decides to enjoy kalyana gunas without a body and if paramatma requires his services then paramatma by his will recalls him by creating body or bodies to him.  This is similar to paramatma creating objects to be enjoyed by a jiva in his dreams.  Then mukthatma enjoys all the pleasures there created by the Lord Sriman Narayana.

The next sutra is “Bhave jagradvath”.  When the mukthatma creates his body or bodies for doing kainkaryam he enjoys moksha ananda or brahmananda just like a person in this world enjoys every thing in his awakened state.  As already said before just like paramatma creates Dasaratha, Vasudeva to become his fathers during avataras, so also mukthatma creates fathers and mothers for taking avataras which is within the sankalpa of paramatma.

The next sutra is “Pradeepavath Avesha: thathehi darshayathi”.  This sutra is to clear the doubt how can a jiva which is of atomic size assume several bodies in moksha and do kainkaryam.  This doubt is cleared by the Sutrakara who states that just as a light burning at one corner of a place illuminates the entire area similarly jiva (Mukthatma) by virtue of his infinite dharma bhutha gnana can assume several bodies and do kainkaryam.  This is similar to jiva who is in the heart controls the functioning of the entire body through his dharma bhutha gnana.  So also he controls the functions of several bodies assumed by him through his dharma bhutha gnana.

Next another question arises.  An upanishadic passage states that jiva after attaining paramatma does not have any consciousness at all.  If it is so how can muktatma become sarvajna (Omniscient that is Dharma bhutha gnana become infinite) in moksha after attaining paramatma.  The sutrakarar in the sutra “Svapyaya Sampathyo: Anyatharapeksham avishkritham hi” states that the above mentioned upanishadic passage does not refer to mukthatma but it refers to state of jiva in sound sleep or state of his leaving this mortal body at the time of his death.  It has to be noted in this context that during the time of sound sleep jiva will be with paramatma only and at the time of death paramatma conducts jiva through brahma nadi and in these two occasions jiva will be without any knowledge or conscious lessness.

The last adhikaranam in this pada and also the last adhikaranam in Sri Bhasya is called “Jagad Vyapara varjadhikarnam”.

In this Adhikaranam the Sutrakara completely rules out the possibility of nitya suries and Mukthatmas having any role in the creation of the universe.  It is the exclusive characteristic of Lord Sriman Narayana (His consort also has a role in the creation) who is called Paramatma or Parabrahman or merely Brahma.  Taittariya upanishad clearly defines Brahman as the creator, protector and destroyer of universe.  This definition or the exclusive characteristic is not applicable to anybody else.  The act of creation, protection and destruction is called Jagad vyapara.

Sri Vedanta Desika in the paripurna brahmanu bhavadhi kara of Srimad Rahasyatrayasara identifies fourteen characteristics which are exclusive to Lord Sriman Narayana.  Sriman Narayana also includes Mahalakshmi.  The fourteen characteristics are listed below which are not applicable to Nitya suries, mukthatmas and jivas in bondage of samsara.

1)      Jagath karanathva – Cause of the universe

2)      Moksha pradatva – Conferer of Moksha

3)      Sarva dharathva – Supporter of both lila vibhuthi and nitya vibhuthi.

4)      Sarva niyantratva – Controller of every thing.

5)      Sarva sheshitva –Master of everybody

6)      Sarva Sareeritva – Having all sentient and non sentient beings as his bodies and he is the soul to all of them.

7)      Sarva Sabdavachyatva – All words (Sabdas) are his names only.

8)      Sarva Veda Vedyatva – He is known through all Vedas or all Vedas refer to him only.

9)      Sarva loka saranyatva – He is the protector of all lokas or he is the refuge for all lokas.

10)  Sarva mumukshu upasyatva – He is meditated upon by all those who want to attain moksha.

11)  Sarva Pala pradathritvam – Granter of all fruits including Dharma, Artha, Kama and moksha.

12)  Sarva Vyapthatva – Pervading or encompassing every thing.

13)  Gnana, Ananda Svarupatva – His intrinsic nature is infinite knowledge and infinite bliss.

14)  Lakshmi Sahayatva – Consort of Mahalakshmi.

There are some additional characteristics which are bhoomi Neela Nayakatva, Adisesha paryankatva, Garuda dvajatva, Pundarika kshatva,

The poorvapakshi of this adhikaranam says that mukthatma becomes equal with paramatma in all respects according to Mundaka Upanishad which says “Niranjana: Paramam Samya mupaith” (Muktatma having no connection with this world attains equality with paramatma in all respects) and who has also become satya sankalpa will have a role in jagat vyaparam.  This contention of poorvapakshi is refuted by the Sutrakarar in the sutra “Jagath vyapara varjam prakaranath Asannihitat vachcha”.

The meaning of this Sutra is as follows.

For a Muktatma there is no jagath vyaparam.  Jagath vyapara means controlling the intrinsic nature (Svarupa) continued existence (Stithi) and activities (Pravritti) of all sentient and non sentient beings.  This in other words are creation of universe, protection and destruction.

Thathvarjam means mukthatma who has become free from all punya and papa karmas which covered him and caused samsara, enjoys paramatma in Sri Vaikuntha which is mukta ishwaryam to him without a role in Jagath vyaparam.

The reason for his not having a role in jagath vyapara is prakaranath which means context of upanishadic passages dealing with para brahman as the cause of the universe.  The passages are

(a)

Yathova Emani bhuthani Jayanthe, Yena

Jathani Jeevanthi, Yat prayanthi abhi

Samvi shanthi, Thath vijignasagva thath Brahma.

The entity which creates universe, protects destroys and gives moksha is Brahman and it is to be known.  This is the exclusive definition of Brahman which never applies to mukthatma.

(b)

Satheva Soumya Edam agre aseeth

Ekameva, advithiyam, Thadaikshata bahusyam.

Praja Yeyethi Thath Thejo asrujath

Before creation there was only Sriman Narayana with consort mahalakshmi who was called sath.  Both Sriman Narayana and mahalakshmi who were to-gether was a single entity alone and there was no second entity.  This entity willed and created bhuthas.

(c)    Brahmava Edam Agre aseeth – Before creation there was brahman who is Sriman Narayana.

(d)   Atmava Edam agree aseeth – Atma is Sriman Narayana who was there before creation.

(e)    Eko havai Narayana aseeth – Before creation there was Narayana alone (Narayana includes mahalakshmi).

The above passages speak of Sriman Narayana as the sole cause of the universe.  His controlling the universe is said in the upanishadic passage commencing as “Ya: Atmani Thishtan” etc,. (Note: The meaning of this has been explained before).

Asannihithatvachcha – In all the above upanishadic passages there is no mention of mukthatma.

The Second sutra in this adhikaranam reads as “Pratyaksha upadeshath Na Ethi Cheth Na Adhikarika mandalastha Ukthe:”.

The poorvapakshi still says that there are two upanishadic passages which mean to say that muktatma has a role in Jagath vyapara.  This is countered in the above Sutra.

His contention is the upanishadic passage

(a)    Sa: Svarat bhavathi Thasya Sarveshu lokeshu Kamachare bhavathi.

(Mukthatma gains absolute freedom and he can travel any where on his own volition).

(b)   Eman lokanni kamarupyanu sancharan

Mukthatma freely travels across all lokas refer to the role of mukthatma in jagath vyapa because of his complete control over lokas mentioned above.

In the Sutra above the words Pratyaksha upadeshathna Ethicheth mean the direct reference to mukthatma in Jagath Vyapara in above passages and it cannot be said that mukthatma has no role.

This is refuted in the word “Na Adhikarika mandalastha ukthe:”.

The above means that the contention of poorvapakshi is not correct because in the adhikarika mandala (lokas of Hiranya garbha the four headed brahman who are holdings posts directed by Paramatma and hence called Adhikarika) the muktatma enjoys all the pleasures in those lokas which he sees them as within the control or jurisdiction of Lord Sriman Narayana.  This control is called vibhuthi of paramatma.  (Note: according to us svarat means not bound by punya papa karma).

The third sutra in this adhikarana is “Vikaravarthicha thathahi sthithim Aha”.  The reason for the above sutra is that the poorvapakshi says if mukthatma enjoys pleasures in Hiranya garbha lokas etc that pleasure must be only limited like jivas in samsara.  This contention of poorvapakshi is refuted in the above sutra.

Vikara avarthi means without birth and death.  So paramatma himself is vikaravarthi.  He is devoid of all vikaras (transformations) and blemishless.  He is repository of all kalyana gunas.  He is savibhuthi that is all the lokas in the universe which are subject to vikara of creation and destruction are under his full control.  The Mukthatma has no control over the above lokas but only enjoys the pleasures there because he sees them as within vibhuthi of paramatma.  This is clear from the upanishadic passages which are

(a)        Yada hi Eva Esha Ethasmin

Adrushye, Ananthmye, Anirukthe

Anilayane Abhayam prathishtam Vindathe.

Adrishye – The pyatma svarupa of paramatma cannot be perceived by our naked eyes.  By this he is not a non sentient object.

Anathmye – Paramatma in his pyatma svarupa is without a body pr form.

Anirukthe – The pyatma svarupa has no caste, creed or colour and hence he cannot be called as Deva, manushya, Thiryak (animal) or sthavara (non sentient object).  By this he is not a mukthatma.

Anilayane – He is without support that is he supports every thing and supports himself also.  By this he is not a nitya suri.

Prathishtam – Paramatma with the above characteristics is fit to be meditated upon constantly.

When a meditator meditates on paramatma explained above, he will attain him and he will be without the fear of samsara again.

(c)    Rasamhi Eva Ayam labdhva Anandi bhavathi.

–         Rasam means paramatma himself.  Mukthatma attains paramatma and becomes with eternal bliss called anandi.

(d)   Thasmin lokaa: sritha: Sarve – In paramatma all lokas are there.

The above passages clearly rule out the possibility of mukthatma having a role in jagath vyapara.

The fourth sutra in this adhikaranam is “Darshayathasha Evam Pratyaksha Anumane”.

In this sutra the Sutrakarar after ruling out the possibility of mukthatma having a role in jagath vyapara clearly and exclusively establishes (proves beyond doubt) that paramatma alone has complete and decisive role to play in jagath vyapara by quoting several upanishadic passages and slokas in Bhagavad geetha.

The word Darshayatha in the sutra means establishes or shows.

Pratyaksha means upanishadic passages or texts of sruthi.

Anumane means slokas from smrithi which in this case is Sri Bhagavad geetha.

The sruthi texts are

(a)    Bhisha smat vata: Pavathe, Bhisho dethi surya: Bisha smath Agni sha Indrasha- Mrithyu: dhavathi panchama:” – on account of the fear to-wards paramatma, god of wind blows, sun god shines, even moon, agni and yama do their respective duties allotted to them.

(b)   Ethasyava Aksharasya Prashasane gargi Surya chandramasa vidhru thou thishtatha:- The sun and moon are in their respective positions because they are within in the command of Akshara who is Lord Sriman Narayana

(c)    Esha sarveshwara: Esha bhutadhi pathi: Esha bhutha pala: Eshasethu: Vidharana: Esham lokanam Asam bhedaya. (He is supreme being that is controller of every thing the Lord, protector of all beings, he is the bridge between samsara and moksha, he is the supporter of all lokas so that one does not get mixed up with the other).

Smrithis (Slokas of Bhagavad Geetha).

a)      Mayadhakshena prakrithi: Suyathe Sacharacharam.

(Geetha charya says “because of my will and because  I being the antaryami of prakrith and depending on the punya paka karma of jivas this world is created.

b)

Vishtabhyaham Idam kritsnam

Ekamshena Stitho jagath.

Geethacharya says an atom part of my greatness is supporting and encompasses the entire universe.

Eventhough the Gunashtaka of Mukthatma is his intrinsic nature (Svabhavika guna) that is also subject to Paramatma’s will.  Jiva being eternal without being subject to birth and death is also subject to Paramatma’s permanent will.

The fifth sutra in this adhikarana is “Bhoga matra samya lilngachcha”.

In this sutra the Sutrakara says that in respect of paramatma and mukthatma the equality is only in the aspect of enjoyment and not in jagat vyapara which is the exclusive function of paramatma.

The Mukthatma enjoys the true and intrinsic nature of Paramatma.  This point is clear from upanishadic text”Sa: Ashnuthe sarvan kaman Saha brahmana Vipaschitha”.  This means that upasaka or prapanna who attains paramatma in Sri Vaikuntham enjoys the Lord and also his auspicious attributes.

So the sruthi text which says parama samyam (equality) between Mukthatma and Paramatma should be interpreted in such a manner that Mukthatma will have nothing to do with jagath vyapara.

The last sutra in this adhikaranam which is the 545th brahma sutra and which is also the last brahma sutra reads as

“Anavritti: Sabdath Anavritti Sabdath”.

The sutra has been repeated twice to indicate the conclusion of the sariraka mimamsa sastra or brahma mimamsa sastra.  There is a convention in mimamsa sastra that if a word in a sutra is repeated twice then it signals the end of a chapter.  If the sutra itself is repeated then it is the end of the sastra.

The Sutrakara coined this sutra to clear a doubt.

The doubt is as follows:-

If the muktha aishwaryam that is attainment of infinite and eternal bliss in Sri Vaikunta by a mukthatma is subject to the will of parama purusha (Lord Sriman Narayana) there is a likelihood or possibility of parama purusha asking mukthatma to go back to the place from where he came over there.  This means in other words taking a birth again in samsara and suffer.  This coming back to samsara is known as Avritti or punaravritti.

This doubt is cleared in this sutra.  The meaning of this sutra is as follows.  Anavritti – Not coming back because

Sabdath – The penultimate passage in the 8th chapter of chandogyopanishad says so that is the mukthatma will never come back to samsara.  Sri Bagavad Ramanuja’s commentary to this sutra is as follows:-

Just like the fact the Lord Sriman Narayana is blemishless (Nikhila heya pratyanika) repository of auspicious attributes (Kalyanaikathana), cause of the universe (Jagath Janmadi karanam) he is different from all sentient and non sentient beings (Samstha vasthu vilakshana) having unlimited compassion towards those who have taken refuge under him (Ashritha vatsalya Ekajaladhi) embodiment of mercy (Parama karunika), having none either equal to him nor superior to him (nirastha sama bhyadhika sambhavana) known as para brahman and parama purusha is eatablished in upanishads (para brahma bhidhana: parama purusha, Astheethi sabdath Avagamyathe).

Similarly the fact that Lord Sriman Narayana after getting pleased with the persons who have worshipped the lord with meditation after doing daily the virtuous duties called Varna shrama dharma.

(Evam aha: aha: anushtiyamana varnashrama dharmanu grihitha thadu pasanarupa thath samaradhana preetha) and freeing them from the unlimited clutches of punya and papa karma accumulated from time immemorial or without beginning and make them to attain infinite and eternal bliss of enjoyment of his (Lord’s) intrinsic nature in Sri Vaikuntham will not allow them to come back to samsara is also established in upanishadic passages.

(Upasanena anadikala pravritta Anantha dushkrutha karma sanchaya rupa Avidyam vinivartya sva yathatmya anubhava rupa anavadhika athishaya anandam prapayya punarna vartha yathi Ithi sabdath avagamyathe).

The meaning of upanishadic passage is that a meditator or prapanna remaining in this world till his death will attain the brahma loka (Vaikuntha) and will not come back and will not come back (Sabdasha sakhalu Evam Varthayan Yavada yusham brahma lokam abhi sampadyathe nacha punarvartha nacha  punara vartha the Ethyadika).  (Note: The repitition of word will not come back twice indicates the conclusion of Brahma vidya or Upanishad itself.)

The lord Geetharcharya says on the same lines, The mahatmas who have done upasana or prapatti will not come back to this samsara which is of immense suffering after attaining me which is the supreme attainment.

The jivas in lokas right from the Chathurmukha Brahma loka are subject to repeated births and deaths.  Oh! Arjuna they will no longer take birth here again after they attain me in Sri Vaikunta.

(Bhagavatha Svayameva uktham – Mamupethya punarjanma dukhalayam Ashashvatam, napnuvanthi mahatmana: samsiddhim paramam gatha:

Aabrahmabhuvanath lokaah punaravarthina: Arjuna – mamupethya thu kountheya Punarjanama navidyathe Ethi).

Further the mukthatma who got liberated from punya papa karma and who became to possess infinite knowledge which is dharma bhutha gnana and whose nature became ever devoted and dedicated in the enjoyment of para brahman Lord Sriman Narayana and which is his only abiding desire, will never have any desire other than infinite enjoyment of paramatma and when his putting any effort for fulfilment of any other desire will not happen the doubt of his taking a rebirth in this samsara never arises.

(Nacha vuchchinna karma bandhasya a samkuchitha gnanasya parabrahmane bhava svabavaikasya thadeka priyasya Anavadhikathi sayanandam brahmanu bhavatha: Anya apeksha tha dartha a sambhavath punar avritti sanka).

At the same time Sriman Narayana who is parama purusha who has the unshakeable will after getting the mukthatma who is a very dear gnani to him will never think of sending him back to samsara.

(Note: Here very dear Jnani means the person who thinks always paramatma as his supporter, nourisher and an object of deep enjoyment).

(Nacha parama purusha satya sankalpa: Athyartha priyam jnaninam labdhva kadachith avartha yishyathi).

Lord Geethacharya tells a Jnani I am very dear and the jnani also is very dear to me.  Those who do bhakthi to-wards me are very generous.  But I consider Gnani as my supporter.  Because Jnani cannot exist without me he considers me as the supreme object of attainment.  Jnani attains me after several virtuous births and thinks every thing as vasudeva.

(Priyohi Jnaninah Athyartham, aham mama sacha priya:

Udaraa: Sarva Evaith Ganithu  atmaiva mematham

Asthitha: Sahi yuktama mameva anuththamam gathim

Bahunam janmanam anthe Gnanavan mam prapadyathe

Vasudeva: Sarvam Ethi samahatma Sudarlabha: Ethi).

The repitition of sutra indicates the conclusion of this sariraka mimamsa sastra and every thing in this sastra is appropriate or proper.

So the most sacred text Sri Bhasya concludes with the above.

As already said, Sri Bhasya comprises of four chapters which are called Samanvaya Adhyaya, Avirodha Adhyaya, Sadhana Adhyaya and Phala adhyaya.

These four chapters indicate four kalyana gunas of Sriman Narayana which are as below.

Karanatvam – Cause of the universe.

Abadhyatvam – Nothing inappropriate or objectionable in his being cause of the universe.

Upayatvam – means of attainment

Upeyathva – object of attainment.

The Kalyana gunas indicated in sixteen padas were also mentioned before.

There are 156 adhikaranas and Kalyana gunas of Lord Sriman Narayana contained in these adhikaranas are mentioned in Adhikarana Saravali of Sri Vedanta Desika.

Sarvesham Samastha San mangalani bhavanthu.

Sarvam Sri Krishnarpanam Asthu

Srimathe Ragunatharya Maha desikaya nama:

Srimathe Madurantakam Veera Raghavarya Maha desikaya nama:

Srimathe Renga Ramanuja Maha desikaya nama:

Srimathe Thooppul Nigamantha maha desikaya nama:

Srimathe Bhagavath Ramanujaya nama:

Sri Ranga Divya dampathibyam nama: