Mahabharata 12.339: ekonacatvāriṃśadadhikatriśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ

12.339.1

brahmovāca |
śṛṇu putra yathā hyeṣa puruṣaḥ śāśvato'vyayaḥ |
akṣayaścāprameyaśca sarvagaśca nirucyate || 1 ||

'Brahma said,--'Listen, O son, as to how that Purusha is indicated. He is eternal and immutable. He is undeteriorating and immeasurable. He pervades all things. O best of all creatures, that Purusha cannot be seen by thee, or me, or others. Those that are endued with the understanding and the senses but destitute of self-restraint and tranquility of soul cannot obtain a sight of him. The Supreme Purusha is said to be one that can be seen with the aid of knowledge alone. Though divested of body, He dwells in every body. Though dwelling, again, in bodies, He is never touched by the acts accomplished by those bodies. He is my Antaratma (inner soul). He is thy inner soul. He is the all-seeing Witness dwelling within all embodied creatures and engaged in marking their acts. No one can grasp or comprehend him at any time. The universe is the crown of his head. The universe is his arms. The universe is his feet. The universe is his eyes. The universe is his nose. Alone and single, he roves through all Kshetras (Bodies) unrestrained by any limitations on his will and as he likes. Kshetra is another name for body. And because he knows all Kshetras as also all good and bad deeds, therefore he, who is the soul of Yoga, is called by the name of Kshetrajna. No one succeeds in perceiving how he enters into embodied creatures and how he goes out of them.

12.339.2

na sa śakyastvayā draṣṭuṃ mayānyairvāpi sattama |
saguṇo nirguṇo viśvo jñānadṛśyo hyasau smṛtaḥ || 2 ||

12.339.3

aśarīraḥ śarīreṣu sarveṣu nivasatyasau |
vasannapi śarīreṣu na sa lipyati karmabhiḥ || 3 ||

12.339.4

mamāntarātmā tava ca ye cānye dehasaṃjñitāḥ |
sarveṣāṃ sākṣibhūto'sau na grāhyaḥ kenacitkvacit || 4 ||

12.339.5

viśvamūrdhā viśvabhujo viśvapādākṣināsikaḥ |
ekaścarati kṣetreṣu svairacārī yathāsukham || 5 ||

12.339.6

kṣetrāṇi hi śarīrāṇi bījāni ca śubhāśubhe |
tāni vetti sa yogātmā tataḥ kṣetrajña ucyate || 6 ||

12.339.7

nāgatirna gatistasya jñeyā bhūtena kenacit |
sāṃkhyena vidhinā caiva yogena ca yathākramam || 7 ||

Agreeably to the Sankhya mode, as also with the aid of Yoga and the due observance of the ordinances prescribed by it, I am engaged in thinking of the cause of that Purusha, but alas, I am unable to comprehend that cause, excellent as it is. I shall, however, according to the measure of my knowledge, discourse to thee upon that eternal Purusha and his Oneness and supreme greatness. The learned speak of him as the one Purusha. That one eternal Being deserves the appellation of Mahapurusha (the great supreme Purusha). Fire is an element, but it may be seen to blaze up in a thousand places under thousand different circumstances. The Sun is one and single, but his rays extend over the wide universe. Penances are of diverse kinds, but they have one common origin whence they have flowed. The Wind is one, but it blows in diverse forms in the world. The great Ocean is the one parent of all the waters in the world seen under diverse circumstances. Divested of attributes, that one Purusha is the universe displayed in infinitude. Flowing from him, the infinite universe enters into that one Purusha again who transcends all attributes, when the time of its destruction comes. By casting off the consciousness of body and the senses, by casting off all acts good and bad, by casting off both truth and falsehood, one succeeds in divesting oneself of attributes.

12.339.8

cintayāmi gatiṃ cāsya na gatiṃ vedmi cottamām |
yathājñānaṃ tu vakṣyāmi puruṣaṃ taṃ sanātanam || 8 ||

12.339.9

tasyaikatvaṃ mahattvaṃ hi sa caikaḥ puruṣaḥ smṛtaḥ |
mahāpuruṣaśabdaṃ sa bibhartyekaḥ sanātanaḥ || 9 ||

12.339.10

eko hutāśo bahudhā samidhyate ekaḥ sūryastapasāṃ yonirekā |
eko vāyurbahudhā vāti loke mahodadhiścāmbhasāṃ yonirekaḥ |
puruṣaścaiko nirguṇo viśvarūpastaṃ nirguṇaṃ puruṣaṃ cāviśanti || 10 ||

12.339.11

hitvā guṇamayaṃ sarvaṃ karma hitvā śubhāśubham |
ubhe satyānṛte tyaktvā evaṃ bhavati nirguṇaḥ || 11 ||

12.339.12

acintyaṃ cāpi taṃ jñātvā bhāvasūkṣmaṃ catuṣṭayam |
vicaredyo yatiryattaḥ sa gacchetpuruṣaṃ prabhum || 12 ||

The person who realises that inconceivable Purusha and comprehends his subtile existence in the quadruple form of Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Sankarshana, and Vasudeva, and who, in consequence of such comprehension, attains to perfect tranquillity of heart, succeeds in entering into and identifying himself with that one auspicious Purusha. Some persons possessed of learning speak of him as the supreme soul. Others regarded him as the one soul. A third class of learned men describe him as the soul. The truth is that he who is the Supreme Soul is always divested of attributes. He is Narayana. He is the universal soul, and he is the one Purusha. He is never affected by the fruits of acts even as the leaf of the lotus is never drenched by the water one may throw upon it. The Karamta (acting Soul) is different. That Soul is sometimes engaged in acts and when it succeeds in casting off acts attains to Emancipation or identity with the Supreme Soul. The acting Soul is endued with the seven and ten possessions. Thus it is said that there are innumerable kinds of Purushas in due order. In reality, however, there is but one Purusha. He is the abode of all the ordinances in respect of the universe. He is the highest object of knowledge. He is at once the knower and the object to be known. He is at once the thinker and the object of thought. He is the eater and the food that is eaten. He is the smeller and the scent that is smelled. He is at once he that touches and the object that is touched.

12.339.13

evaṃ hi paramātmānaṃ kecidicchanti paṇḍitāḥ |
ekātmānaṃ tathātmānamapare'dhyātmacintakāḥ || 13 ||

12.339.14

tatra yaḥ paramātmā hi sa nityaṃ nirguṇaḥ smṛtaḥ |
sa hi nārāyaṇo jñeyaḥ sarvātmā puruṣo hi saḥ |
na lipyate phalaiścāpi padmapatramivāmbhasā || 14 ||

12.339.15

karmātmā tvaparo yo'sau mokṣabandhaiḥ sa yujyate |
sasaptadaśakenāpi rāśinā yujyate hi saḥ |
evaṃ bahuvidhaḥ proktaḥ puruṣaste yathākramam || 15 ||

12.339.16

yattatkṛtsnaṃ lokatantrasya dhāma vedyaṃ paraṃ bodhanīyaṃ saboddhṛ |
mantā mantavyaṃ prāśitā prāśitavyaṃ ghrātā ghreyaṃ sparśitā sparśanīyam || 16 ||

12.339.17

draṣṭā draṣṭavyaṃ śrāvitā śrāvaṇīyaṃ jñātā jñeyaṃ saguṇaṃ nirguṇaṃ ca |
yadvai proktaṃ guṇasāmyaṃ pradhānaṃ nityaṃ caitacchāśvataṃ cāvyayaṃ ca || 17 ||

He is the agent that sees and the object that is seen. He is the hearer and the object that is heard. He is the conceiver and the object that is conceived. He is possessed of attributes and is free from them. What has previously, O son, been named Pradhana, and is the mother of the Mahat tattwa is no other than the Effulgence of the Supreme Soul; because He it is who is eternal, without destruction and any end and ever immutable. He it is who creates the prime ordinance in respect of Dhatri himself. Learned Brahmanas call Him by the name of Aniruddha. Whatever acts, possessed of excellent merits and fraught with blessings, flow in the world from the Vedas, have been caused by Him. All the deities and all the Rishis, possessed of tranquil souls, occupying their places on the altar, dedicate to him the first share of their sacrificial offerings. I, that am Brahma, the primeval master of all creatures, have started into birth from Him, and thou hast taken thy birth from me. From me have flowed the universe with all its mobile and immobile creatures, and all the Vedas, O son, with their mysteries. Divided into four portions (viz., Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Sankarshana, and Vasudeva), He sports as He pleases. That illustrious and divine Lord is even such, awakened by His own knowledge. I have thus answered thee, O son, according to thy questions, and according to the way in which the matter is expounded in the Sankha system and the Yoga philosophy."

12.339.18

yadvai sūte dhāturādyaṃ nidhānaṃ tadvai viprāḥ pravadante'niruddham |
yadvai loke vaidikaṃ karma sādhu āśīryuktaṃ taddhi tasyopabhojyam || 18 ||

12.339.19

devāḥ sarve munayaḥ sādhu dāntāstaṃ prāgyajñairyajñabhāgaṃ yajante |
ahaṃ brahmā ādya īśaḥ prajānāṃ tasmājjātastvaṃ ca mattaḥ prasūtaḥ |
matto jagajjaṅgamaṃ sthāvaraṃ ca sarve vedāḥ sarahasyā hi putra || 19 ||

12.339.20

caturvibhaktaḥ puruṣaḥ sa krīḍati yathecchati |
evaṃ sa eva bhagavāñjñānena pratibodhitaḥ || 20 ||

12.339.21

etatte kathitaṃ putra yathāvadanupṛcchataḥ |
sāṃkhyajñāne tathā yoge yathāvadanuvarṇitam || 21 ||