Svarūpa-lakṣaṇa in Muṇḍakopaniṣad

Svarūpa-lakṣaṇa in Muṇḍakopaniṣad

Muṇḍ- akopaniṣad has a mantra quite similar to that in Kaṭhopaniṣad that presents the Svarūpa-lakṣaṇa of Brahman.

yat-tad-adreśyam-- agrāhyam-agotram-avarṇam-

ac- akṣuḥ-śrotraṃ tad-apāṇipādam |

nityaṃ vibhuṃ sarvagataṃ susūkṣmaṃ tad-avyayaṃ

yad-bhūtayoniṃ- pari-paśyanti dhirāḥ ||

-  Muṇḍaka - I.1.6.

Sanskrit Anvaya - yat adreśyam, (yat) agrāhyam, (yat) agotram, (yat) avarṇam, (yat) acakṣuḥ-śrotraṃ, (yat) apāṇipādam, (yat) nityaṃ, (yat) vibhuṃ, (yat) sarvagataṃ, (yat) susūkṣmaṃ, (yat) avyayaṃ, yad bhūtayoniṃ,  tad dhirāḥ pari-paśyanti ||

Tr. - (By the higher knowledge), that, which cannot be seen/perceived, cannot be grasped, which is without source, without features, without eyes and ears, which has neither hands nor feet, which is timelessness, multi-formed, all-pervasive, extremely subtle, undiminishing/undecaying, which is the source of all. The wise know that.

Bhāṣyakāra Śaṅkara explains the mantra with some logic (nyāya), quoting from the same Śruti as well as other Śruti (to show ekavākyatā of Sruti).

Yat - That which is:

1. adreśyam - grammatically ‘adrśyam’ - not visible/perceptible, i.e. beyond the range of all the organs of knowledge, since (logic) the power of perception as directed outward, has the five senses as its gates. (5 sense organs gone)

2. agrāhyam - beyond one’s grasp, i.e. beyond the range of the organs of action. one)

3. agotram - ‘Gotra’ (Bhāradvāja, Kāshyapa, Vāsiṣṭha) is synonymous with connection or root, ‘agotram’ means unconnected, for it has no root with which It can get connected (While everything else is/are connected to It).

4. avarṇam - ‘Varnah’ means features, those that can be described; they are qualities of a thing, such as grossness etc. or whiteness etc. That Imperishable which is devoid of ‘varnah’, is ‘avarnah’, without any feature.

5. acakṣuḥ-śrotraṃ - cakṣuḥ is eye/s, śrotraṃ is ear, are organs in all beings for perceiving forms and names; That in which these two do not exist is ‘acakṣuḥ-śrotraṃ’, without eye/s and ear/s.

Śaṅkara quotes from the same Śruti (Muṇḍakopaniṣad) - Now, from the ascription of the sentence in this text (Muṇḍaka), “He who is Omniscient in general, and all-knowing in detail (Muṇḍaka -I.1.9.), it may follow that, just like ordinary beings, the Imperishable also achieves its purpose with the help of such organs as eyes, ears etc.”

Śaṅkara quotes another Śruti (Śvetaśvatara Upaniṣad) - That supposition is refuted here by ‘without ear and eyes; for this accords with what is found elsewhere ‘He sees without eyes, and He hears without ears (Śv.Up.-III.19).

6. apāṇipādam – Not only acakṣuḥ-śrotraṃ, moreover, that Imperishable is apāṇipādam, without hands and feet, that is to say, devoid of the organs of action.

7. nityaṃ - Since it cannot thus be seized, nor does it diminish in size, therefore is nityam (eternal), indestructible.

8. vibhuṃ - It is vibhum, vividh-prataya-gamyam - multiformed, because of assuming diverse forms in all different creatures from Brahmā to a stump. (vi = vividham, bhū = bhavati).

9. sarvagataṃ - sarvatraṃ gacchati iti sarvagatam. It has no location, It is all-pervasive like space,

10. susūkṣmaṃ - extremely subtle, being devoid of such causes of grossness as sound etc. Sound etc. are verily the causes of progressive grossness of space, air etc. Being free from these It is extremely subtle.

11. avyayaṃ - It does not diminish (Given). Because it is aśabdam, therefore it is avayayam, cannot diminish (logic). Vyaya only if there is avayava - limbs, since It does not have limbs - parts, there is nothing to diminish. (logic). Further is avyayam, undiminishing, one that does not decrease, because of the very characteristics stated earlier. For, the partless thing cannot have any diminution by way of loss of Its parts, as in case of a body; nor can it sustain any loss by way of decrease of treasure as in the case of a king; nor even can be there any shrinkage through loss of qualities, since It is attributeless and all-pervasive.

12. bhūtayoniṃ - That is bhūtayoniṃ - sarvabhūtanaṃ yoniḥ  yasya saḥ, bhūtayoniṃ  - That imperishable is the source of all creation, just as the earth is (the source) of all moving and non-moving things;

Q. Who knows this ?

A. The Dhiraḥ - the wise, the discriminating one/s, paripaśyanti – know the ‘Vastu’. They see it everywhere, as the Self of all.

Comparison of the Svarūpa-lakṣaṇa in Kaṭha and Muṇḍaka

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Swāminī Ātmaprajñānanda Saraswatī is a Vedāntācāryā and Vyākaraṇācāryā. She teaches Vedānta and Pāṇini at Ārsha Vidyā Vikāś Kendra in Bhubaneswar. She is the author of three published books - Nomenclature of the Vedas , Ṛṣikās of the Ṛgveda and Om: The Sound Symbol.

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