Vācārambhanam Reconsidered

7/28/2019 Vcrambhanam Reconsidered

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V . ~ C . 4 R A M B H A N A M R E C O N S I D E R E Dby

J. A . B . V A N B U I T E N E NUniversity of Chicago

I n h i s r e c e n t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h i s j o u r n a l 1 P r o f e s s o r K u i p e r h a s c l ar if ie dt h e l i n g u is t ic i s su e s i n v o l v e d i n t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e c r u c i a l v d c d r a m -b h a .n a m o f C h U p . 6 .1 a n d 6 .4 . T h e d i s t i n g u i s h e d s c h o l a r d i sc u s s esl u c i d l y t h e d e r i v a t i o n o f d r a m b h a . n a f r o m a r o o t r a m b h , i t s c o n n e c t i o nw i t h d - r a b h , d - l a b h , a - l a m b , a n d h e d e c i d e s h i m s e l f i n f a v o r o f a r e f er e n c eo f o u r t e r m t o R V . 1 0 .8 1 .2 w h i c h I h a d p r o p o s e d i n a n e a r li e r p a p e r . ~R e v i e w i n g m y s u g g e s t io n s h e r e m a i n s u n c e r t a i n a b o u t m y p r ec i se a n a l ys iso f v d c d r a m b h a . n a m . ~ A s a r e su l t b o t h o f K u i p e r ' s f re s h in q u i r y a n d o f ap e r s o n a l c o r r e s p o n d e n c e w i t h P r o f e s s o r E d g e r t o n w h o d e c l a r e d h i m s e l fu n c o n v i n c e d b y m y g e n e r a l i n te r p r e ta t i o n s a s gi v e n i n m y b r i e f a n d h e r ea n d t h e re a m b i g u o u s ~ p a p e r , I h a v e s t u d i e d t h e p h r a se a n e w . T h e c o n -c l u s i o n s t o w h i c h I w a s l e d w e r e u n e x p e c t e d b u t , I b e l i e v e , r e w a r d i n g .I t m a y b e o p p o r t u n e , n o w t h a t t h e m a t t e r is f r es h in t he r e a d e r 's m e m o r y ,t o s u b m i t t h e m t o h is j u d g m e n t .

K u i p e r a t t h e o u t s e t r e j e c t s s u m m a r i l y t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t v d c d r a m b h a -.ham i s a n y t h i n g b u t a c o m p o u n d s w i t h a s f ir st m e m b e r a n d - s t em v d c db u i l t o n v d c f . T h i s is c e r t a i n l y d e fe n s ib l e , t h o u g h o n e s h o u l d l i k e t o s e em o r e a d s t ru c t i v e m a t e r i a l fo r t h e a s s u m p t i o n o f v d c d o r a s i m i l a r a - s t e mt h a t is p r e f e r r e d t o v d c e tc . i n c o m p o s i t o . Y e t , s in c e v d c d d r a m b h a . n a m i sa l so d e f e n si b le I w o u l d b e i n c li n e d t o p o s t p o n e t h e a s s u m p t i o n o f a ne x c e p t i o n a l v d c d f . u n t i l a p e r f e c t u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e e n t ir e p h r a s e h a ds h o w n t h a t t h e m o r e o b v i o u s in s t ru m e n t a l o f v d c f . r e a l l y m a k e s n o s e ns e .x "Vacarambha.nam", I I J , I (1957), 155 iT.2 "Vacarambha.nam", Indian Linguistics, 16 (Festschrift Chatterji, 1955), 157 ft.8 I t never occur red to me tha t vacar ~ w a s a c o m p o u n d a n d I t o o k vaca as ins t rumentalto the ac t ion o f arambha.na; bu t s ince I a llowed other conn otat ion s of arambha.na to beimplied in the phra se the precise relationship ha d to rem ain vague.Both Edger ton and Kuiper mis read on 158-59 : "Usua l ly i t [vacarambha.nam] istaken adjectivally with namadheyam: ' th e effect is (just) a na m e deriving fro m speech. 'One ob jec t ion i s tha t the w ord-order r a the r r eads : ' t he nam e i s the e f fec t '. " I cou ld andshould have s ta ted more c lear ly my meaning that n . must be the grammatical subject .5 Th is conven t ion seems to s ta rt f rom ~af ika ra w ho no do ub t cons ide red vac- fo r vag-a chandasa peculiari ty ; no t so Ra m anu ja who takes vaca as an instrumental and para -phrases vyavahdre.na.


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2 9 6 J. A. B. VAN BUITENENT h i s b r in g s u s b a c k t o t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e w h o l e p h r a se .

B e s id e o u r e x p r es s io n t h e p h r a s e c o n t a i n s t w o m o r e p r o b l e m s : t h ep r e c i s e f u n c t i o n o f n d m a d h e y a m , a n d t h e p o s i t iv e l y e x t r a o r d i n a r y u s e o fs a t y a m i n m . r t ti k e ty e v a s a t y a m . H o w e v e r o n e p r ef e rs t o r e a d t h e p h r a s e ,i t is e q u a l l y c le a r t h a t i t c o n s i s ts o f t w o a b b r e v i a t e d s e n t e n c es a n d t h a tv i k d r a i s t h e l o g i c a l s u b j e c t o f t h e f i rs t, e Y e t n d m a d h e y a m s e e m s t o b e t h eg r a m m a t i c a l s u bj ec t . A n d n o u s a g e o f s a t y a r n i n t h e o l d e r u p a n i . s a d sq u i t e p r e p a r e s u s f o r a s a t y a m t h a t d e s cr ib e s a n y c a u s e o f a n y v i k ~ r a ; a n d ,a l t h o u g h u n c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e e x p l a n a t i o n o f v i k d r a e t c . i n t h e f i r s ts e n te n c e w h i c h s e e m s t o r e m a i n u n c o n n e c t e d w i t h h i s ev o l u t io n a c c o u n t , ~t h e a u t h o r is a t p a i n s t o i d e n t i f y th e s a t y a m i n a l l s e v e n o c c u r r e n c e s o f t h ep h r a s e .

L e t u s c o n s i d e r a l l s e ve n . T h e f ir st th r e e a r e in C h U p . 6 .1 , i n t r o d u c t o r yt o t h e i n s t r u c t i o n p r o p e r w h i c h p o s i t s a n o r i g i n a l s a t e v o l v i n g t h r e e r a p a s ,r e a n i m a t i n g t h es e r a p a s b y e n t er i n g i n t o t h e m , s a n d t h e r e u p o n e m b a r k i n gu p o n a p r o c e s s o f v i k d r a , ~ o r t h e c re a t i o n o f n a m e s a n d f o r m s . A f t e r th ist h e p r i n c i p a l i n s t r u c t i o n i s s e t f o r t h i n 6. 4. I n 6 .1 U d d ~ l a k a h a d q u e s t i o n -e d S v e t a k e t u : " D i d y o u a s k t o h e a r th e dde~a i n w h a t m a n n e r t h e w h o l e isk n o w n t h r o u g h o n e ? " A n d i n 6 .4 t h e a n c ie n t s ar e s a id t o e x c l a im : " N o wn o o n e c a n q u o t e u s a n y t h i n g t h a t w e c a n n o t c l a s si fy a c c o r d i n g t o t h e set h r e e r ~ p a s : i f w e k n o w s o m e t h i n g r e d, w e k n o w i t f o r t h e r o h i t a r ~ p ao f t e jas e t c . "

W h a t o c c a s i o n s t hi s e x c l a m a t i o n w h i c h p l a i n l y m a r k s t h e c o n c l u s io n o ft h e in s t r u c t i o n U d d ~ l a k a h a d p r o m i s e d i n 6 .1 ? T h e p r e c e d i n g l in e s r e a d :y a d a g n e r o h i t a . m r ~ p a m , t e j a s a s t a d r ~ p a m / y a c c h u k l a . m t a d a p d r n / y a tk.r.s.nam, t ad a nn asy a / a pd g~ d agner a gn i t vam / v~c~rambha .na .m v i kdr ondm adh eyam , t rLn i r fi pdn , t i sa t y am . C u r i o u s l y a l l t r a n s l a t o r s f e l t s o s u r ea b o u t t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e d i sp u t e d p h r a s e t h a t t h e y i n te r p r e te d t h e p re -c e d i n g a p d g a d a g n e r a g n i t v a m i n a s e n s e w h i c h d e r i v e s f r o m t h e i r ( i . e .g a f i k a ra ' s) i n t e r p r e ta t i o n o f t h e p h r a se b u t is o b v i o u s l y w r o n g : " T h a te Old enb erg's solution, t o take all nominatives as predicates t o an un der sto od subject,is no t sa t isfactory; i t am ounts to taking vikara as the subject without allowing the textto express exactly this directly. F or th e subject can on ly be m.rtpi.nd, m/m.rnmayam, as"a ny clay plo du ct" contradis tinguished from the cause "cla y" (m.rttiketyeva satyam ),so that the proposi t ion runs: "[any clay product , ] being a vikara, is vac. nam."7 Since the phrase is usually interpreted fro m 6.1 which is expressediy o ut of context,a t tempts have ra re ly been made to connec t vikara with sat's process of vikara in 6.3.2;this conne ct ion mu st surely exis t (see below), tho ug h vac's role is no t fur the r enlargedu p o n .8 Fo r a discussion o f th is impo rtant phase o f the doctr ine see m y discussions inRamanuja's Vedarthasa.mgraha Poo na 1956), Introd uct ion ch. I ; "Studies in Sh mkhya,I: Ahaq~.k~ra", . IAOS, 1956 , and " I I : Sa t tva" , J A O S , 1957.9 vyakaravag i, vyakarot .


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v a c a ra m b h a n , a m RECONSIDERED 2 97w h i c h m a k e s f ir e w h a t i t is - t h e ' p h e n o m e n a l e n t i t y ' f i r e - d i s a p p e a r s f r o mf ir e , ( f o r ) th e e f f e c t is b u t a v e r b a l h a n d l e , a m e r e n a m e : w h a t i s r e a l a r et h e t h r e e r f t p a s . " T h e r e u p o n t h e a n ci e n ts e x c l a im t h a t n o w t h e y c a nc l a ss i fy a l l t h i n g s . L e t u s d i s t a n t i a t e o u r s e l v e s f o r a m o m e n t f r o m a n a d -m i t t e d l y p r e j u d i c e d e x e g es is d a t i n g f r o m a la t e r m i l i e n n i u m a n d a g r e e t h a tt h i s m a k e s n o s e n s e .

W h a t t h e t e x t r e a l l y s a y s i s t h i s : " T h e r e d i n fi re i s t h e r e d o f t e j a s , th ew h i t e t h a t o f d p a s , t h e b l a c k t h a t o f a n n a m . I s su e s ( f r o m t h e s e t h r e e rgtpas)t h a t w h i c h m a k e s f i r e f i r e . " a p d g 6 t a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e s e n t e n c ec o n v e y s th e i m m e d i a t e c o n n e c t i o n o f t h e a c t i o n w i t h w h a t p r e c e d e s.a g n e r a g n i t v a m c a n n o t b e s e p a r a t e d f r o m t h e w e l l - k n o w n b r ~ h m a . n au s a g e : R u d r a ' s R u d r a t v a m c o n si st s i n t h is t h a t . . . ( r u d r a s y a r u d r a tv a r n ) .W h a t m a k es a g n i a g n i ? T h e t h r e e r f t p a s . T h e re is p o s i t i v e l y n o j u s t i f i c a -t i o n f o r d e n y i n g th e " r e a l i t y " o f a g n i ; t h e f a c t t h a t t h e s e t h r e e rf~pas a r ed e s c r i b e d a s s a t y a m d o e s n o t m e a n t h a t t h e i r e f fe c ts a r e " u n r e a l " . loa p d g d t i s n o t " d i s a p p e a r s " , b u t " i s s u e s , g o e s f o r t h , a r i s e s " ; w h a t t h et h r e e rf~pas " l e t o f f " ( a p a - s r j ) , " g o e s o f f " ( a p a - g a ) . W i t h o u t p r o n o u n c in go n t h e i r o n t o l o g i c a l r ea l it y th e a u t h o r w a n t s t o e m p h a s i z e t h a t s u c h h i g h -r a n k i n g p r i n c i p l e s a s f i r e , s u n , m o o n , l i g h t n i n g - s o m e t i m e s t h e m s e l v e sc o n s i d e r e d t h e s u p r e m e - a r e in f a c t p r o d u c e d b y th e s u p r e m e , i. e. th et h r e e r f t p a s . H a v i n g c o m p l e t e l y m a d e t h is p o i n t h e a d d s t h e d i sp u t e dp h r a s e . T h e si g n if i ca n c e o f s a t y a m i n i t h a d a l r e a d y b e e n i l l u s t r a t e d b yt h r e e d i f f e r e n t e x a m p l e s ( 6 . 1 ): t h e t h r e e r f t p a s a r e t h e " c a u s e " o f s u c hef fec t s a s a g n i e t c. j u s t a s c l a y , c o p p e r , i r o n a r e t h e c a u s e s o f c l a y e tc .p r o d u c t s . J u s t a s a l l c l a y p r o d u c t s a r e r e c o g n i z e d t h r o u g h c l a y a s b e i n go f c la y , s o a l l r e d e n t it ie s a r e r e c o g n i z e d t h r o u g h r e d n e s s a s b e i n g o f t h er e d r f t p a t e j a s . A s c l a y , s o e a c h o f th e t h r e e r f t p a s a n d a l l r f t p a s m i x e d .~ v e t a k e t u h a s b e e n p r e s e n t e d w i t h a v i a b le s c h e m e o f w o r l d c l a s s if i c a ti o na n d t h e a n c i e n t s d e c l a r e t h e m s e l v e s s a t i s f i e d w i t h i t .

W h e n w e n o w c o n s i d e r t h e p h r a s e w e r e m a r k 1 . t h a t i t s u m m a r i z e s ap o i n t a l r e a d y c o m p l e t e l y m a d e a n d f u l ly i l lu s t ra t e d ; 2 . t h a t c o n s e q u e n t l yi t c o u l d b e m i s s e d e n t i r e l y w i t h o u t l e a v i n g a g a p i n t h e e x p o s i t i o n ; y e t i t ist h r e e t i m e s a d d u c e d i l l u s t r at i v e l y a n d f o u r t im e s a p p l i e d i n t h e d o c t r i n ep r o p e r ; 3 . t h a t t h e f i r s t p a r t r e m a i n s u n c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e a u t h o r ' sa c c o u n t a n d g o e s u n e x p l a i n e d , b u t s a t y a m i s 7 time s exp l ic i t ly iden t i f i ed .A l l t h is m a k e s f o r o n e c o n c l u s i o n w h i c h w e c a n a l s o r e a c h i n a d i f f e r e n tm a n n e r .

U d d ~ l a k a w o n d e r s i f h i s s o n h a s a s k e d f o r a c e r t a i n d d e g a s u c h t h a t a l lx0 Be repeated what should have been clear from the treatment o f satyam in the earlyupani.sads, tha t satyam never means "re al" as opposed to "unreal, illusory."


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29 8 J . A. B. VAN BUITENENi s k n o w n t h r o u g h o n e . H e h a s n o t a n d n o w a s k s h is f a th e r . T h e l a t t e rt h e r e u p o n g iv e s a w o r l d l y e x a m p l e o f h o w o n e t h i n g o f a k i n d m a k e s f o rk n o w l e d g e o f a l l t h i n g s o f t h a t k i n d . T h i s i s o b v i o u s l y n o t t h e d d e A a i t s e l f , 11b u t a n i l l u s t r a t io n . T h e n t h e w o r d d e n o t i n g t h e k i n d i ts e lf , r e s p . c l a y ,c o p p e r , i I o n , i s f i tt e d i n t o a s e v e r e l y a b b r e v i a t e d p h r a s e , r e d u c e d t o i t sb a r e n o u n s , a n d f i t t e d t h u s t h a t s a t y a m i n i t i s m a d e t o d e s c r i b e t h is c l a y ,c o p p e r a n d i r o n . U d d ~ l a k a i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r t h a t p h r a s e c o n c l u d e s :" S u c h i s t h e d d e A a , m y s o n . " T h e r e c a n b e n o d o u b t t h a t t h e p h r a s ev d c ~ r a m b h a . n a m . . , s a t y a m i s t h e ~ d e A a , t h a t i t i s a n d d e g a .

T h e t r a n s l a t o r s h a ve i g n o r e d t h a t d d e A a i s n o t j u s t " t e a c h i n g , i n s t r u c t -i o n " g e n e r a l l y , b u t s o m e t h i n g m o r e p r e c i s e . I t i s a d o c t r i n e i n a n u t s h e ll ,a b r ie f ly i n d i c a t e d c o n c e p t i o n w h i c h r e q u i r e s f u r t h e r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n f o r t h ep u p i l b u t f o r th e i n i t i a t e d c o n t a i n s a w o r l d o f m e a n i n g . T h e y g e n e r a l l yt a k e t h e f o r m o f se v e r e l y a b b r e v i a t e d s e n t e n c e s d e s c r i b i n g e q u i v a l e n c i e sa n d i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s ( s o tw o w o r d s , s u b j e c t a n d p r e d i c a t e u s u a l l y su f fi ce ) ,w h i c h , i f t h e u p a n i .s a d ic c o m m e n t a r y d o e s n o t h a p p e n t o s u r v iv e , s o m e -t i m e s r e m a i n o b s c u r e : t a d v a n a r n , I z d 3 d 3 , ~ t a j j a l d n , 14 k a p y d s a t . n p u n . -. d a r i k a m ? 5 t o q u o t e a f ew . O t h e r s a r e e x p l a i n e d , d d i t y o b r a h m a . ~6 O t h e r su N ot on ly does 6 .4 m ake c lea r tha t the rea l t each ing i s the causa l i ty o f the th reerf~pas - to which the cause-ef fec t re la t ion o f c lay e tc . i s adduced a s d.r.st.anta - , bu t i t isa l so inconce ivab le tha t ~ve take tu ' s t eachers fa i led to obse rve the re la t ion be tween c laya n d p o t , n a i l - c u t t e r a n d i r o n ; s o t h a t i s v e ry e v id e n t l y n o t t h e p r o b l e m .12 K enU p. 4 .6 t a d d h a t a dv an a.m n ~ m a t a d v a n a m i t y u p 4 s i t a v y a m .~a K enU p. 4 .4 t asya is .a dde ~ o y a d e t a d v i dy u t o v y a dy u t a d 43 i t i nny a mf m i sad ~ 3 i ti .R e n o u ( K e n U p . , Par is 1943) t rans la tes " ( le c r i ) ah ! (qu 'on pousse ) quan d i l a 6c la ir6 des6c la i r s , ah ! quand les yeux on t c l ign6 ( i t i nya~ ' ' , b u t t h e b e t t e r t r a n s l a t i o n i s : " i t s( b r a h m a n ' s ) ~de~a i s d3 tha t f lashes f ro m l igh tn ing , t~3 tha t b l inks" . The b rahm an/purusa i s , a s so f requen t ly , thoug h t to be connec ted wi th ce les t ia l luminar ies , u sua l lyth e s u n. T h e m y s t i c n a m e i s O M 3 = u d - g i - t h a m , in which a = u d (C hU p. 1.1.1 ; 1.3.1 ;1 . 3 . 6 - 7 ; 1.5.1.; 1.6.6-8), u d s tand ing fo r the f i rs t o f the th re e o rders , i .e . heaven and theheaven ly ligh ts . To the mac rocosm ic f la shes o f l igh tn ing co r respon ds mic rocosm ica l lyth e b l i n k in g o f t h e e y e , "4 3 ' s " a d h y ~ t m a a b o d e ; t h e c o n n e c t io n w i th t ~ r a k a , t h e s p o to f re f lec ted l igh t in the eye , i s o f course we l l -known. On v i dy u t esp. , note Kau.sUp.1 .1 .2 t a sy a v i dy u t am e v a t e j o gac c ha t i v 4y u.m pr4.na e t ad v a i b rahm a d i py a t e y a d v i dy udv i dy o t a t e ; 4 .2 v i d y u ti s a t y a m ; 4.5 ya evais.a v idyut i puru .sas tam evop~se; 4.18 v i dy u t a~ t m~ . . . aha .m t am up~ se ; ChUp. 4 .13 .1 p r d n a ~ k ~ o d y a u r v i d y u d i t i y a e .s a v i d y u t ipuru .so d .rs ' yate so 'ham asmi sa iv~ham asmf t i (~ BA U p. 5 .15 .1 fo r sun) ; B ,~Up. 2 .1 .4y a e v ~ sau v i dy u t i puru .sa e t am e v4ha.m brahm op4se . T h e b l i n k in g o f t h e e y e a n d o fl igh tn ing com bined in Mah~n~trUp . 1 .8 sarve n ime .sa ja j~ ir e v idyuta.h puru .s~d adhi . - Ih a v e d e v e lo p e d t h is adega a l i t t l e to show how much , and wh a t k ind o f , upan i. sad icsense even such a b iza r re one as the "a3 o f l i g h tn i n g a n d b l i n k i n g " c a n m a k e i f o n e ta k e si t se r ious ly ; ve ry soon i t invo lves the w hole upan i. sad ic t rad i t io n ; w hich make s i t a t rueade~a.x4 C hU p. 3.14.1.~5 Ch Up . 1 .6 .7 ; a b r ie f pap er on th is no to r io us express ion i s to ap pea r f rom theD e c c a n Co l l e g e, P o o n a , i n th e T a r a p o r e v a l a Co m m e m o r a t i o n V o lu m e .~6 C hU p. 3.19.1 4di ty o br ah m ety ~de~at.~ / tasy opa vyak hy4 nar n . . .


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w i c d r a m b h a . n a m RECONSIDERED 2 9 9a r e q u o t e d m o r e t h a n o n c e a n d a p p a r e n t l y a l l o w o f d i f f e re n t i n t e r p r e -t a t i o n s : n e t i n e t i i s a f a m o u s e x a m p l e . 17

C h U p . 3 .5 .1 f t. g i v e s a c l e a r i d e a o f t h e i r s i gn i f ic a n c e . I n a m e t a p h o r o fb e e s a n d f l o w e r s , rea .h , ya j fo .n . s i, sd m dn i , a tha rvd t ig irasa .h a r e r e s p e c t i v e l yb e e s t o th e f l o w e r s . R g v e d a , Y a j u r v e d a , S ~ m a v e d a , a n d i t i h d sa -p u rd n , a m .T o g e t h e r t h e s e f o u r ( o r fi ve ) c o m p r i s e t h e s a c r e d l o r e . T h e n f o l l o w s :g u h y d e v d d e~ d m a d h u k . r t o b r a h m a i v a p u .s p a m : b r a h m a n " s a c r e d l o r e " h asa s p r i n c i p l e t h e s e c r e t d d e i a s ; t h e y a r e h i g h e r t h a n t h e b r a h m a n , w h i c hi t s e l f i s h i g h e r t h a n t h e V e d i c t e x t s . 18 T h e ddeAa i s t h e b r i e f s i g n a l e m e n t , a sR e n o u e x c e l l e n t l y r e n d e r s , b o t h o f t h e s u p r e m e a n d o f t h e c o n c e p t i o n o ft h e s u p r e m e , o f t h a t w h i c h t h e p u p i l t h e n m u s t u p d s i t u r n . T h u s d d e ~ a a n du p d s a n d / u p a n i . s a d a r e v e r y n e a r l y s y n o n y m o u s ? 9 S a t B r . 1 0.4 .5 ( a g n i r a -h a s y a ) d e s c r i b e s a s upani . saddm dde~a .h a s e r i e s o f u p d s a n d s : a g n i i s v ~ y u ,a g n i i s a d i t y a , a g n i i s y e a r , a l t a r i s v ~ c , v fi c i s s u n , a l t a r i s d e a t h e t c . e tc .

A n d d e ~ a t h e r e f o r e i s th e i n d i c a t i o n i n a fe w w o r d s o f a n e s o t e r i c t h e si sa b o u t a g r e a t c o s m i c c o n n e c t i o n . T h e i r o r ig i n s m a y b e r e m o t e a n d t h ep h r a s e s a l l o w o f d i f fe r e n t r e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s , t a d v a n a m " t h e w o o d i s t h a t( b r a h m a n ) " m u s t r e f e r t o b r a h m a n a s c a u s e a n d i s l i k e ly t o b e a n d d e g ab u i l t o n T a i t t B r . 2 . 8. 9 .6 , 20 b u t i s r e i n t e r p r e t e d ( o r a l s o i n t e r p r e t e d ) a sh a v i n g t o d o w i t h d e si r e ( v d ~ c h - ) . t a j j a l d n f o r t a j j a l d n i 21 m u s t b e a s i m i l a re q u a t i o n o f b r a h m a n w i t h th e p r i m e v a l w a t e rs ( S a f ik a r a : t a j j a l d n = t a j j a ,t a l l a a n d t a d a n a ) , d 3 d 3 v e r y p r o b a b l y r e f e r s t o t h e i n i t i a l a s o u n d i n O M ,i t s e l f a n d d e d a o f i n o e d i b l e f e c u n d i t y . F r e q u e n t l y th e y e x p l o i t t h e w o r d sb e y o n d t h e i r a c t u a l m e a n i n g t o c o n v e y e s o te r ic d e p t h : O M 3 i s u d - g i - t h a m ,1~ B/~ U p. 2.3 .6 ath~ta ade~o neti neti / na hy etasm~d i t i nety anyat param asti;B,~,Up. 3.9.26 sa es. a neti ne ty atmagrhyab etc .xs T h e p a s s a g e is a g a in p r e g n a n t w i th c o n n o ta t i o n s , n o t a b ly o f t h e madhu-vidya(ChUp. 8 ,1 ) .x9 The synon ym y of adega a n d upani.sat p r o p e r i s p l a in ly s h o w n b y T a i t tU p . 1 .1 1.4where a teacher exp la ins to h is pup i l : e.sa ade~a e.sa upadega es.a vedopani$ad etadanukasanam evam upasitavyam evam u caitad upasyam, w h e r e adega a n d vedopani~ad a reev iden t ly synony mo us . I t i s use fu l to m ake the d is t inc t ion be tween upan i. sad " b r ie fs e c re t f o r m u la f o r k n o w in g c e r t a in e q u iv a le n c ie s , g e n e r a l ly , " a n d "e x p o s i t i o n o f t h i sf o r m u l a " (upadega, upavyakh ydna), and " tex ts con ta in ing such fo rmulae and expos i t ions ,p a r t i c u l a r l y b e a r in g o n b r a h m a n e t c . " T h e d i s t i n c t i o n is e x em p l i f ie d i n t h e t i tl e s o f t h eJaiminiya-Upani.sad-Br~hman. a and th e K en a Upani .sad w hich is tak en from the form er,which m eans " b r f thm a ha on the r i tua l equ iva lenc ies accord ing to the Ja im in iyas : " thel a t t e r : " t e x t d e a l in g w i th a n e s o t er i c k n o w le d g e o f b r a h m a n . " T h e K e n U p . h a s b e e nl i f te d o u t o f t h e J a im U p B r . a s a n "u p a n i . sa d " b e c a u s e t h a t d i s c us s io n c o n c lu d e d w i thupani.sada.m brrthity uk t~ ta upanis.ad br~hm i v~va ta upanis.adam abrf:meti; b u t t h i supani.sad i s r e a l ly th e f o r m u la e a 3 a n d tadvanam w h ic h i s th e o n ly , a n d u n e x p o u n d e d ,t e a c h in g o f t h e p r o s e p o r t i o n ( 3 ; 4 ) o f t h e K e n U p .2o brahm a van a.m brahm a sa v.rksa asid etc . ; see below .2x Th is seems to be the mo s t econo m ica l co r rec t io n o f taj]alaniti; however , jala i s on lya t te s ted fo r la te r tex ts .


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3 0 0 J. A. B. VAN BUITENENb r a h m a n i s ga yatr i , 2~ t h e s u p r e m e ' s n a m e i s s a t - t y a m , s a t - t i - y a m , s a -t i -yam . 23

A l t h o u g h b y d i s c o v e r i n g t h a t o u r p h r a s e i s a n ddeda i n t h e p r e c i s em e a n i n g o f t h e t e r m w e m a y h a v e a g g r a v a t e d o u r p r o b l e m , a t le a s t w eh a v e n o w i d en t if ie d it . T h a t U d d h l a k a q u o t e s t h e ddega ( f o r a n ddega isa l m o s t b y d e f i n it io n a c u r r e n t k e y - p h r a s e ~4 i n t e r p r e t e d f o r h i m s e l f b ye v e r y t h i n k e r , a l l o f t h e m t o g e t h e r c o n s t i tu t i n g a n a m o r p h o u s c o l le c t io no f , c o m p a r a t i v e l y s p e a k i n g , p r o t o - s ~ t r a s o f w h i c h t h e u p a ni .s a ds e m b o d yt h e v a r i o u s c o m m e n t a r i e s ) , t h a t U d d ~ l a k a t h e r e f o r e p r o b a b l y QUOTES h isddega m u s t h a v e a p a r t i c u l a r s i g n i f i c a n c e ; a n d t h i s s i g n i f i c a n c e m u s t h a v el a i n i n t h e s e c o n d p a r t , t h a t a b o u t s a t y a m . F o r t h e a u t h o r i s a t p a i n s t oi d e n t i f y t h i s s a t y a m w i t h t h e t h r e e rftpas, i l l u s t r a t i n g h i s m e a n in g i n t h e i n -t r o d u c t i o n i n t e r m s w h i c h s o u n d t a n t a l i z i n g l y n e w t o t h e i n i t i a t e d~ v e t a k e t u w h o s e t e a c h e r s d i d n o t k n o w o f th i s a p p l i c a t io n o f t h e ddega.A n d i n f a c t , U d d ~ l a k a p r e s e n t s h i s o w n d o c t r i n e o f s a t y a m a s s o m e t h i n gd i f f e r e n t , s o m e t h i n g n e w .

I n C h U p . 6 .2 w e h a v e w h a t i s I b e li e v e t h e f ir st a t t e m p t o f a n I n d i a nt h e o l o g i a n t o u s e l o g i c i n r e f o r m i n g a d o c t r i n e . " S a t w a s h e r e a l o n eo r i g in a l l y , n o t h i n g e l s e. T h e r e a r e th o s e w h o s a y t h a t a s a t w a s h e r eo r i g i n a l l y a n d t h a t s a t a r o s e f r o m asa t : b u t h o w i s i t p o s s i b le t h a t s o m e -t h i n g w h i c h EX ISTS a r i s e s f r o m s o m e t h i n g t h a t EX ISTS N O T ? N o , sa t w a sh e r e a l o n e . " U d d ~ l a k a h e r e c h a l le n g e s t h e c u r r e n t d o c t r in e o f s a t y a m .T h i s o l d d o c t r i n e , a s o l d a s t h e . R g v e d a, s t a t e s t h e p r i m a c y o f a s a t f r o mw h i c h sa t c a m e f o r th . T h i s a t o n e p o i n t b e c a m e f o r m u l a t e d in th eddega o f t h e s u p r e m e ' s " n a m e s a t y a m . " s a t y a m d e s c r i b e s t h e s u p r e m ew h i c h i s b o t h sa t a n d t y a d / t y a m , i .e. asa t , sa t b e i ng th e " e m b o d i e d " , a s a tt h e " d i s e m b o d i e d " .

T h e s p e c u l a t i o n s a b o u t t h i s ~dega " b r a h m a n ' s o r s a t y a m ' s n a m e i ss a t y a m " , a r e , w i t h t h o s e o n O M a n d d t m a n , t h e m o s t n u m e r o u s o f a llu p a n i .s a d ic c o m m e n t a r i e s o n s in g l e ~ d e~ a s. C h U p . 8 .3 .4 t a s y a h a v ae tasya brahman , o nd m a sa t - t i -yam i t i, sa t is am! ' tam, t i is m a r t y a m , y a mw h a t c o n n e c t s b o t h . B A U p . 2 .1 .2 0 tasya (brahma.na) upani .sat satyasyas a t y a m i t i . l b . 2 . 3 .6 ath a ndmc~dheyan.~ sat ya sya sa tya m i t i . 4 .1 .4 s a t y a mi t y e t a d ( b r a h m a ) u p d s i t a . 4.5.1 t e devd .h sa ty am evop t~sa te / ta d e ta ttryak.saram, sa-ti-yam it i . T a i t t U p . 2 .6 .1 w h e r e t h e c r e a t o r ( c o r r e s p o n d i n g** ChUp . 3.12; BAUp. 5.14.*~ See belo w .z4 W hich does not, of course, mean th at there was a standard expression; but since inthese ade~as/upani$adsa certain word or sound was so frequently made the vehicle ofthe conception, there must have been a remarkable constancy of expression, as isabundantly illustrated just for the "Name Satyam".


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v d c d r a m b h a n , a r n RECONSIDERED 301t o a s a t a s a p p e a r s f r o m 2 .7 .1 ) h a s c r e a t e d th e w o r l d b y t r i p a r t i t i o ns a t y a m a b h a v a d y a d idan.~ k i m c a / t a t s a t y a m i t y d c a k s .a t e . T h e r e a r e m o r ei n s t a n c e s , b u t t h e s e w i l l s u f f i c e .

L e t u s n o w r e t u r n t o a p r e v i o u s p o i n t . I n t h e f ir st s e n te n c e o f o u r p h r a s ev i k d r a h m u s t b e t h e l o g i c a l s u b j e ct . C a n i t a l s o b e th e g r a m m a t i c a l s u b -j e c t, a n d b e s o i n t h e p r o p e r p l a c e , t h a t i s f o l l o w i n g t h e p r e d i c a t e ? T h e r eis n o t t h e sl ig h t e st d o u b t i n m y m i n d t h a t i t c a n b e a n d is . T h e r e i sa b s o l u t e ly n o a u t h o r i t y 2s f o r t h e t r a d i t i o n a l p u n c t u a t i o n w h i c h b y p l a c i n ga c o m m a a f te r n d m a d h e y a m m a k e s i t t h e g r a m m a t i c a l s u b j e c t , i n s t e a d o f t h el o g i c a l ~ ' i k d r a O . A n d a f te r o u r d e m o n s t r a t i o n t h a t t he p h r a s e is a n d d e A a ,o u r r e c o g n i t i o n o f U d d ~ l a k a ' s p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i th s a t a n d s a t y a m , a n do u r q u o t a t i o n s f r o m o t h e r t ex t s o n t h e n a m e o f t h e s a t y a m t h a t U d d f i la k ad e c l a re s t o c h a n g e , t h e r e w i ll b e n o o n e w h o d o e s n o t f ee l t h e i m m e d i a t er i g h t n e s s o f t h e s e n t e n c e i n t h e ~ d e ~ a : n d m a d h e y a m . . , s a t y a m . W e h a v en o w i d e n t i f i e d a t l e a s t o n e d d e A a , h a p p i l y a m o s t p o p u l a r o n e , a n d s i m u l t-a n e o u s l y r e p h r a s e d m o r e s a t is f a c to r i ly t h e o t h e r o n e . T h e w h o l e p h r a s en o w r e a d s : v d c d r a m b h a n , a n..~ v i k d r a . h / n d m a d h e y a . . m tr~ n. r ftp d n. ~ t y e v as a t y a m . U d d a l a k a h a s s o m e t h in g n e w t o sa y a b o u t s a t y a m , a n d a s s om a n y o t h e r s h e u s e s t h e w e l l - k n o w n 6 d e ~ a t o s a y i t w i t h .S e v e r a l s t a g es c a n b e d i s c e r n e d i n t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e " N a m e i sS a t y a m " d d e g a b e f o r e h i m . F i r s t, s a t - t y a m / t y a d ~ s a t -a s a t . T h i s a s a tf i r s t b e c o m e s s a t , t h e n ( o r t h u s ) e v o l v es c r e a t i o n 3 ~ T h u s e s s e n t ia l l yT a i t t U p . 2 .6 .1 , b u t a l r e a d y u n c e r t a i n a b o u t t h e m e a n i n g o f a s a t Y S e c o n d ,s a t - t y a m , s a t b e i n g t h e s o l id l y , p a l p a b l y e x i st e n t, m f t r t a m , m a r t y a m ; t y a m" y o n " r e p l a c i n g a s a t , p a r t i c u l a r l y c o n t i n u i n g t h e p r i m a c y , t r a n s ce n d e n c e ,s u b t l e t y o f a s a t , n o t t a n g i b l e ( a t m o s p h e r e , p r fn . a ) , a m f t r t a m , a m . r t a m .

s5 Af te r BShfl ingk (ChUp. 1889) had r e a d . . . ~ ' i k a r a b / n a m a d h e y a m . . . ( "L e h m is tder Nam e in W irkl ichkeit") , Deussen (60 Up. 1897) pun ctuated af ter n a m a d h e y a m in~afik ara's footsteps. Th e correctness o f this pu nctu atio n has never been questionedsince, bu t remains based up on no thing but a preconceived idea o f wh at the text ough tto say.zs I refer to m y discussions in the studies qu ote d s u p r a note 8 .~7 Ta ittU p. 2.6-2.7.1 ; the ~loka head ing 2.6 (but really belonging to 2.5, such being thecurious arrangem ent o f the anuvgtkas thro ugh ou t t il l 2 .8) declares th at b r a h m a n c a n n o tbe a s a t , b u t a s t i b r a h m e t i: clearly the same prob lem as UddAlaka faced, and disposed of,in 6 .2.1-2, the o ld asa t be ing no longer unders tood and now regarded as jus t "n on-exis tent." Bu t in the creat ion accou nt imm ediately fol lowing in 2 .7 , a "pe rson al"creator is in troduced ( b r a h m a n / a t m a n ) wh o creates himself as crea t ion: idarp sy~t .va tadevanuprf tv iga t [ tad anupravidya sac ca t y ac c abha vat . . . sa tya .m can .rta .m ca / sa t - t y ama b h a va t ya d i da r n k i r v ca / t a t s a t - t ya m a ca k. sa te / t a d a p y e~a g l o ko b h a v a t i - (2.7) a s a d v ai d a m a g r a a s i t ta r o v a i s a d a j a y a t / t a d a t m an a ~l~ s v a y a m a k u r u t a t a s m a t t a t s u k r t a mu cya t a i t i , which is the old view again.


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30 2 J . A. B. VAN BUITENENB r a h m a n i s b o t h a t o n c e : dye rape . Th us C hU p. 8 .3 .4 f. ,28 B .g ,U p . 4 . 5 . 1 ;b a s i c a l l y 29 B A U p . 2 . 3 .6 ) . T h i r d , s a t a n d t y a m i n t h e s e c o n d f o r m u l a t i o nd o n o l o n g e r c o n s t i t u t e t h e e n t i r e b r a h m a n ( o r t h i s b r a h m a n i s n o t t h eh i g h e s t ) : t h e r e is a n o r d e r a b o v e it , t h e f l a m i n g p u r u .s a i n s u n a n d e y e( B A U p . 2 . 1 . 2 0 ; 2 . 3 . 6 ) ; s o b r a h m a n ( o r t h e " m o r e s u p r e m e " p u r u . s a ) i ss a t y a s y a ( s a t - t y a s y a ) sa t y a m . N o t e t h a t i n a l l th r e e s t a g e s a t r i a d i c p a t t e r nu n d e r n e a t h is g iv e n a n d m a i n t a in e d .

U p o n t h is U d d ~ l a k a p r e s en t s a n e w i n t e r p re t a t i o n o f s a t y a m , o f w h i ch~ v e t a k e t u 's t e ac h e r s h a d n e v e r h e a r d . H e d o e s a w a y w i t h th e t w o b r a h -m a n s , k e e p s th e t r ia d , b u t b o l d e r e v e n t h a n t h e t h i r d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , l if tssa t a b o v e t h e t r ia d . T h i s is o n e w a y o f l o o k i n g a t it . A n o t h e r w a y z~ s t h a th e r e t u r n s t o t h e v e r y o l d e s t v i ew , s u b s t i t u t e s s a t f o r a s a t w h i c h s t a r t sc r e a t i o n b y s e l f - t r i p a r t i t i o n , t h i s c r e a t i o n b e i n g a s a t ' s s a t t v a , d t ma n o rpuru.sa: f o r U d d ~ l a k a 's sa t , t o o , r e a l ly o n l y b e c o m e s a c r e a t o r w h e n t h eh a s e n t e r e d t h e three rpas f i v e n d t ma n ~ . T h e t r a n s la t i o n o f t h e s e n t e n ceN,~MADHEY AM TR INI RISIPSkNiTY EVA SATY AM the re fore i s : " T H E N A M E ( o ft h e ~ u p r e m e ) I S S ATYAM, I . E . ( a s a n a l y s e d i n t h r e e s y l l a b l e s s a - t i - y a m )THE THREE RISIPAS. ' a l

O n vdcdramb han, a.m vikdra.h a l i tt l e r e m a i n s t o b e s a id . S i n c e d r a mb h a -earn m u s t b e a n o u n p r e d i c a ti v e o f vikdra.h t h e d i s p u t e d e x p r e s s i o n c a n , i fK u i p e r is r i g h t a n d t h e w o r d i s a c o m p o u n d , o n l y b e a t a tp u r u .s a . I t i s a ndde5a n o t s o f a r m e t w i t h . vikdr a a2 m u s t p r i n c i p a l l y r e f e r to t h e c r e a t i o nb y sa t o r saD,am, t h a t is t h e g r e a t c r e a t i o n , 8~ n o t t h e e f f e c t u a t i o n o f a n y28 I n s p i t e o f t h e f a c t t h a t t h e r e a r e o n l y tw o o r d e r s , am.r tam and mar tyam, t h e t r i a d i cp a t t e r n w a s s o i n f l u en t i a l t h a t s a t y a m s t i l l w a s a n a l y s e d i n t o t h r e e : s a t - t i - yam; h e r e ti ,t h e d i s p e n s a b l e s v a r a b h a k t i s y l l a b l e , i s t h e m a r t y a m , s a t t h e a m r t a m ; c o m p a r a b l y i nT a i t t U p . 2 . 6 s a tyam s e e m s t o c o r r e s p o n d w i t h sat, an.rta.m t o t yad / t yam.20 T h i s te x t r e t a i n s t h e tw o o r d e r s o f b r a h m a n , sa t a n d t y a m , b u t a d d s a h i g h e r o r d e ro f p u r u . sa ( t h u s a l s o r e s t o r i n g t h e t r i a d ) ; h e n c e s a t y a m ( = b r a h m a n ) h a s f o r th i s p u r u ~ at o b e e x te n d e d t o satya sya (sat-tyasya) sa tya m.a0 A n d t h i s i s w h a t U d d N a k a h i m s e l f s a y s : t h e s u p r e m e i s n o t r e p r e s e n t e d b y o n es y ll ab l e, a s i n t h e s e c o n d s t ag e , n o r a s a t h i r d o r d e r b e y o n d s a t - t yam a s i n t h e t h i r ds t a g e , b u t a s a l l t h r e e o r d e r s w h i c h , a s s a tyam ( s a - t i - yam) c o n s t i t u t e sat .ax P a r a p h r a s e d : t h e s u p r e m e ' s n a m e is i n d e e d S a t y a m , s i n ce t h e th r e e o r d e r s s u m m e du p i n sa- t i -yam a r e t h e t h r e e o r d e r s t h a t c o n s t i t u t e sa t t h e c r e a t o r .*~ T h e u s e f o r " p r o d u c t g e n e r a l l y " i s l a t e , o n l y a f t e r t h e S ~ .m k h y a k g r ik A s w h e r evikara/vik.rti i s " e v o l u t e i n a c r e a t i o n p r o c e s s . "sa I n t h e e a r l y p r o s e u p a n i. s a ds , i n c l u d i n g t h e o r i g i n a l M a i t r U p . , v i - kr /vya -kr o c c u r so n l y t o d e s c r i b e t h e p r i m a r y w o r l d c r e a t i o n o f t h e s u p r e m e (vi- B A U p . 1 . 2. 3; M a i t r U p .6 . 3 ; vy~- C h U p . 6 . 3 .2 ; 6 .3 .3 - o u r c o n t e x t - , B A U p . 1. 4. 7) . O n e A i t a r e y a U p . ( 6 .1 )p a s s a g e i s q u i t e r e l e v a n t : katarab sa ~ tm a, yen a vfz r~pa.m pa~yat i yen a va ~abdarog.r .noti yen a va gandhan 6j ighrat i yena va vaca.m vyaka rot i ye na va svadu casvadu cavijanati; o n t h e r e l a ti o n b e t w e e n vya-hr a n d vya -kr s e e s o m e r e m a r k s i n m y Aha~nkara.C o n s i d e r i n g t h e g e n e r a l u s e o f vi/vya-k.r i t is w h o l l y u n j u s t i f ie d t o a s s u m e f o r o u r vikaraa n o t h e r m e a n i n g t h a n i ts o w n c o n t e x t c o n c e r n e d w i t h e v o lu t i o n s u gg e st s.


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v d c d r a m b h a n , a m RECONSIDERED 303p r o d u c t , a n d e v i d e n t l y v d c p l a y s a l e a d i n g r o l e i n t h e e v e n t u a t i o n o fc r e a t i o n . B u t U d d f i l a k a ' s d o c t r i n e w i t h r e g a r d t o v d c , a s f a r a s w e h a v e i ta t l e a st , r e m a i n s u n d e v e l o p e d ; y e t it s v e r y i n c l u s i o n a n d r e p e t i t i o n m u s tp o i n t a t t h e g r e a t s ig n i f ic a n c e t h e a u t h o r a t t a c h e d t o v ~ c .

T h i s s ig n i f ic a n c e i s st il l r e c o v e r a b l e f r o m t h e f u r t h e r c h a p t e r s . V ~ c,a c c o r d i n g t o 6 .5 is t h e v e r y s u b t le s t p r o d u c t o f t h e v e r y s u b t le s t r f lp a ,t e j a s , o f s a t . T h e o r d e r o f c r e a t i o n i s t h e r e f o r e S a t ~ t h r e e r Q p asc o n s t i t u t i n g s a t ~ v a c . C h U p . 6 .5 s u g g e st s th e f o l l o w i n g o r d e r i n c r e a t -i o n : 1 . s a t - t e j a s , d p a s , a n n a m ; 2 . t e j a s - v d c , m an a h. , b o n e ; 3. d p a s - p r d n , a ,b l o o d , u r i n e ; 4 . a n n a m - m a n a t . ~ , f l e s h , f a e c e s . T h i s o rd e r i s c u r i o u s b u tw e c a n n o w r e c o n s t r u c t it s b a si s. W e h a v e b a s i c a ll y f o u r r e f le c t io n s o f t h et h i r d s t a g e o f s a t y a m s p e c u l a t io n s . S t r u c t u r e d in t h o s e te r m s w e h a v et h r e e o r d e r s : 1. t e j a s - v a c - ( r o a n s . h )

2 . d p a s - p r dn . a3 . a n n a m - b o n e / b l o o d / f l e s h / u r i n e / f a e c e s .

T h e s e c o n d o r d e r is t h e t y a d / t y a m o r d e r , d p a s c o s m i c a ll y c o r r e s p o n d i n gto a n t a r i k . s a " a t m o s p h e r e " a n d p r ~ j a as t y a r n c o n s t i t u t i n g t h e a m f ~ r t a m ,a m . r t a m . T h e t h i r d c o r r e s p o n d s w i t h s a t , t h e v e r y o b v i o u s l y m f 4 r t a m ," e m b o d i e d , " a n d m o r t a l . O n t h e hi g he s t o r d e r r e m a i n t e j a s , r e p r e s e n t i n gh e a v e n a n d s u n , a b o d e o f t h e f l a m i n g pu r u. sa , a n d v d c . 34 M a n a s c e r t a i n l yb e l o n g s t h e r e t o o , 85 b u t i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y p u t a f t e r v d c i n o n e se r ie s . W h e nw e t h e r e f o r e t a k e t h e s e c o n d s ta g e o f t r i p a r t i t i o n s a s s im p l e t r i a d s m o v e dd o w n , w h i c h t h e y c e r t a i n l y w e r e i n t h e s p e c u l a t i o n s t h a t f u r n i s h e d t h eb a s i s f o r 6 . 5 , t h e f a c t s t a n d s o u t t h a t v d c w a s f i l s t as t h e f i l s t c r e a t u r e .

T h i s i s s o u n d o l d d o c t r i n e . I t r e m a i n s r e c o v e r a b l e f r o m t h e j u m b l e o fs e c o n d - s t a g e t r i p a r t i t i o n s ( w h i c h w e n o w s t r e s s w i t h p a r t i c u l a r s i g n i f i c -a n c e o c c u r in a t e x t f o l l o w i n g a f t e r U d d a l a k a ' s f ir st p r o m i s e d i n s t r u c t io n6 . 1 - 6 . 4 w a s c o n c l u d e d ) a n d i s m o r e o v e r e x p o u n d e d s e v e n t i m e s i nU d d ~ l a k a ' s f i rs t t e a c h i n g i n v d c d r a m b h a n , a m . v i k d r a t . 1 . A s s u r e d l y w e h a v ei n t h e t e a c h i n g a s c r i b e d t o U d d ~ l a k a s o n o f A r u n. a a n d f a t h e r o f S v e t a k e t uo n l y a d i g es t o f a m o r e c i r c u m s t a n ti a l e x p o s i ti o n , w h i c h m a y , o r m a y n o t ,h a v e o r i g i n a t e d f r o m U d d ~ l a k a . I t is f o r i n s t a n c e i n c o n c e i v a b l e t h a t t h er e a l U d d ~ l a k a , a n u d g g t a r o f n o t e , c o u l d p o s s i b l y h a v e s o s y st e m a t i c a l lya v o i d e d r e f e r e n c e s t o r i t u a l is t ic t r a i n s o f t h o u g h t a s t h e p r e s e n t t e x t r e-p r e s e n t s it . I t is e n t i r e l y c r e d i b l e t h a t f u r t h e r e x p l a n a t i o n s o f vt~c h a v eb e e n d i g e s t e d o u t in l a t e r ti m e s w h e n w e s e e t h e a n c i e n t n o t i o n s o f v d c a st h e c r e a t o r ' s s e l f- e x p r e s si o n , a s t h e p r o g e n i t r i x o f c r e a t i o n , b e c o m e o b -84 I m ay dispense with quoting on the relation between va c and a k a g a .a5 Though th e view of the p r a n a m a ya . m m a n a . h may have occasioned m a n a s ' s degrad-at ion when pra.na was demoted.


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3 0 4 J. A. B. VAN BUITENENs o l et e , l e a v i n g s u r v i v i n g t e r m s , n o t a b l y a h a . m k d r a , t o b e r e i n t e r p r e t e d i n ac o n t e x t o f m o r e n e w l y d e v e l o p e d n o t io n s . B u t a s s o o f t e n , j u s t b e l o w t h es u r fa c e w e f i nd h e r e to o u n c o v e r e d t h e a n c i e n t d o c tr i n e s . F r o m t h e c o n -t e x t o f a s s o c i a t io n s o f th e N a m e o f t h e s u p r e m e c a n n o t b e e x c l u d e d th es p e c u l a t io n s a b o u t a b r a h m a n t h a t b e c o m e s c r e a t i o n b y re c o g n i z i n g i t se l ff o r a n ~ t m a n a n d n a m i n g i t se l f A h a m . 8~ T h i s n e a r r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e nt h e s u p r e m e ' s c r e a t i o n a n d t h e s u p r e m e ' s s e l f - a r t i c u l a ti o n m a y q u i t e w e l lh a v e f u r n i s h e d t h e l i n k b e t w e e n t h e t w o d d e ~ a s i n o u r p h r a s e , o f w h i c h t h ep a r a l l e l i s m i s s tr i k i n g .

I f w e n o w a t t e m p t a t r a n s l a t i o n o f th e f i rs t s e n t e n c e w e m u s t p r e f a c e t h a tt h e e x i g e n c i es o f t r a n s l a t i n g i n t o a n o t h e r l a n g u a g e n e c e s s i t a t e a d e f i n i -t e ne s s a t v a r i a n c e w i th t h e c o m p r e h e n s i v e n e s s o f th e o r i g i n a l ; f r o m a m o n ga l l t h e c o n n o t a t i o n s o f d r a m b h a . n a w e m u s t m a k e a c h o ic e w h i c h d o e s n o tp r e t e n d t o i n c l u d e a l l t h a t i s i n c l u d e d i n i t . S t i ll , s i n c e w e h a v e t o s e t t l e o ns o m e t r a n s l a t i o n t h i s w i l l d o : V 3.C ~R A ra~ rtA N .A M VIK.~RA rI " ( t h e S u p r e m e ' s )C R Eh TIO N IS ( h i s ) T AK IN C HO L t) O F V ~ C . " S e v e r a l o t h e r s c a n b e s u g g e s t e d :" c r e a t i o n i s t h e S u p r e m e ' s b a s is o n V a t , " " c r e a t i o n i s t h e t a k i n g h o l d b yV ~ c . " d r a m b h a . n a m i s n o d o u b t a r e f e r e n c e t o R V 1 0 .8 1 .2 , w h e r e i t i sj u x t a p o s e d w i t h adhi . s t .hdnam; b u t I b e l ie v e t h a t K u i p e r i s t o o c a u t i o u sw h e n h e w i s h e s t o e x c l u d e d i f f e re n t c o n n o t a t i o n s o f d r a m b h a n . a m f r o mt h e c o n n o t a t i o n s t h e t e r m h a s h e r e . aT T h e " b a s i s " i s a l s o t h e b e g i n n i n g ;f o r j u x t a p o s e d w i t h R V . 1 0 .8 1 .2 i s i n s t a n z a 4 a l s o t h e v a n a m a n d t h ese See m y Aha.mkara.37 I do ub t if arambha.nam o f K ~ t h S . 7 . 1 5 q u o t e d b y K u i p e r a s m e a n i n g " p o i n t o fsup por t" i s rea l ly on ly tha t (o .c . 157) . In G opB r . 1 .2 .15 the same quo ta t ion occurs inth e f o l lo w in g c o n t e x t : aditir va i pra]akamauda na.m apacat / tata ucchi~t.am a~nat / sagarbham adhatta / tata aditya ajayanta / ya e~a odanab pacy ata arambha.narn evaitatkriyata akrama.nam eva. The significance of the odana b e in g a n arambhat~ac a n h a r d lyb e s e p a r a t e d f r o m th e odana's in s t rum enta l i ty in the p rocre a t ion desc r ibed . [Bu t nowel . in f ra p . 309 , where P ro fesso r K uiper s t resses the ex p l ic i t pa ra l le l i sm be tweenarambhatta a n d akrama.na a n d t h e a b s e n c e o f i n d i c a ti o n s t h a t t h e w o r d c o n n o te s a l sosom eth ing el se . I f e l t tha t the ve ry jus t i f ica t ion o f the od an a ' s be ing an arambha.na l a yin the fac t tha t A d i t i u ses i t to p ro duce the ,~d i tyas . W hether one wishes to cons ide r th i sa c o n n o ta t i o n o r a d e n o t a t i o n ( b u t w h e r e, o n e c o u ld a s k a l s o T h i em e , s t o p s o n e a n dbeg ins the o the r? ) , the fac t remains tha t the in i t ia t ing ro le asc r ibed to " bas i s" , an dp a r t i c u l a r l y arambhat.ta, c a u s e d t h e w o r d t o b e t r e a t e d a s a f o r m o f a-rabh, a n d t h a t t h i s"c o n n o ta t i o n " c a u s e d a c h an g e in "d e n o t a t i o n " . T h e o c c u rr e n c es ofarambha.na w h e r ei t i s a t o n c e a "b a s i s " a n d a " s t a r t i n g - p o in t f o r p r o d u c in g o r i n i t i a t in g a c t i v it i e s " s h o u ldin m y o p in io n n o t t o o e x c lu s iv e ly b e i d e n t if i e d w i th a m e a n in g " b a s i s " b u t r a th e r n o t e das s tages to a f ina l me an ing o f in i t ia ting , ge t t ing a ho ld on , e tc . , wh ich ce r ta in ly pa r t lyresu l ted f rom the ex is tence o f a c lose ly resemb l ing a-rabh, b u t o n ly p a r t l y : u n l e s s t h emean ings were su f ficien tly c lose , mere fo rm al resem blance w ould n o t necessa r i ly a ffec ts e m a n t i c c h a ng e s , a s t h e e x i s te n c e o f h o m o n y m s d e m o n s t r a t e s . K u ip e r ' s v i ew a n dmine a re no t fu ndam enta l ly a t va r iance , bu t re f lec t a t m os t a d i f fe rence in degree o femp has is , d i sce rn ib le on ly in border -cases . ]


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vdcdrambhan , am RECONSIDERED 305v.rk.sa.h which underlies as an adhi.st.hdna the worlds; and wood and treeare obviously the materials of which the creator took hold to fashion theworld. As must have become clear, etymological exactitude was hardlya prime concern of these thinkers who in their d d e ~ a s or upani . sads summedup as many connections as the terms themselves could possibly providein their sounds and their meanings. If one insists on a grammaticallysatisfying explanation of v d c d , Kuiper's suggestion of a v d c d f., in com-posito, may be considered; one may also think simply of an irregularsandhi of v d c a s before d ~ v d c a d ~ becoming v d c d ~ But the instrumentalv d c d thus suggested could, though 'erroneous', undoubtedly be excellentlyaccounted for as V~c's instrumentality in creation by these masters ofthe mystifying Word whose unsurpassed capacity of envisioning a wholeand expressing it totally is singularly well illustrated by the great varietyof meanings that later exegetes have discovered from our famous phrase.

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Vācārambhanam Reconsidered