Manava Dharmashastra 1.11

1.11.1

kāraṇameva na kāryaṃ na parecchāvidheyaśarīraḥ, svābhāvikena mahimnā yuktam avyaktaṃ nityamuktamityuktārtham | sadasadātmakam | sacāsacca sadasatī | te ātmā svabhāvo yasya tadevamucyate | kathampunarekasya viruddhabhāvābhāvarūpadharmadvayasya yogaḥ || ucyate | arvāgdarśanānāṃ tadviṣayāyā upalabdherabhāvātsattāvyavahārāyogyatvādasadātmetyucyate | āgamebhyaḥ sarvasyāsya tatkāraṇatvāvagamātsadātmakam | ataḥ pratipattṛbhedādubhayato'pi vyavahāro brahmaṇyaviruddhaḥ | ‘‘nanu ca sarva eva bhāvā evaṃrūpāḥ svena rūpeṇa sadātmakāḥ pararūpeṇāsantaḥ | kimucyate brahmaṇyaviruddha iti|’’ ucyate| advaitadarśane naivānyadbrahmaṇaḥ kiṃcidastīti kiṃ tat paraṃ yat tadrū patyā'bhāva ityucyate | tena visṛṣṭa utpādito'ntaraṇḍaṃ nirmitaḥ puruṣo loke brahmeti kīrtyate | yo'sāvugratapasāṃ devāsuramaharṣīṇāṃ varadānārthaṃ tatra tatropaviṣṭa iti mahābhāratādau śrūyate sa eṣa tena mahāpuruṣeṇa pareṇa brahmaṇā prathamaṃ visṛṣṭaḥ |

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
The ‘cause’ spoken of here is one who is always the never the product; the formation of his body is not dependent upon the will of any other being; he is endowed with a natural supremacy all his own;—‘unmanifest and eternal’ as already explained (under verse 7);—‘partaking of the nature of the existent and the non-existent’;—‘sadasat’ stands for the ‘sat,’ ‘existent,’ and the ‘asat,’ non-existent’; and the said ‘cause’ is one whose ‘nature,’ character, consists of the said ‘existent and non-existent.’

“But how can a single entity partake of the two contradictory characters of the ‘existent’ and the ‘non-existent’?”

The answer to this is as follows:—In as much as people of the present day cannot form any idea of such a heing, the cause becomes incapable of being spoken of as ‘existent,’ and hence is described as ‘partaking of the nature of the non-existent; and yet, in as much as the fact of the said being being the cause of the entire world is known from the scriptures, it is described as ‘of the nature of the existent;’ thus the description of Brahman as both (‘existent’ and ‘non-existent’) is not incongruous, being based, as it is, upon the difference in the character of the persons conceiving of it.

“As a matter of fact, this is true of all things; everything is ‘existent’ in its own form and ‘non-existent’ in the form of other things; why then should it be stated that this is not incongruous in the case of Brahman only?”

The answer to this is as follows:—Under the philosophy of ‘Non-duality’ nothing except Brahman being ‘what is that other thing which (while existent in its own form) could be spoken of as ‘non-existent’ in the form of Brahman?

‘The being produced by that,’—being brought into existence, being created within the egg; this Being ‘is described among people as Brahmā’; the being, who is found mentioned in the Mahābhārata and other works as seated hero and there for the purpose of granting boons to such Devas, Asuras and Ṛṣis as have performed severe austerities,—he was the first to be created by the afore-mentioned Supreme Being, the Highest Brahman.

1.11.2

anye tu ‘tvamevaika’ ityādyanyathā varṇayanti | asyeti pratyakṣābhinayena jagannirdiśyate | sarvasyāsya jagato yadvidhānaṃ nirmāṇaṃ tatsvayambhuvaḥ saṃbandhi | acintyamadbhutarūpaṃ vicitramatimahadaprameyaṃ na śakyaṃ sarvaiṇa jñātum | tathā ṛṣiḥ | ‘ko addhā veda ka iha pravocat kuta ājātā kuta iyaṃ visṛṣṭiriti|’ kimidaṃ jagatsarvamupādānamapekṣya jāyata uta nairmāṇikamātram, yathā buddhasya darśanam | kimīśvarecchādhīnamuta kevalakarmavaśajamuta svābhāvikamaprameyam | tathā kiṃ mahadādikrameṇotpadyata uta dvayaṇukādikrameṇa | asya tvaṃ kāryaṃ tattvamarthaṃ ca vetsi | ‘kāryaṃ’ mahato'haṅkāro'viśeṣāstanmātrāṇyahaṃkārasya, tanmātrāṇāṃ viśeṣāḥ pañcamahābhūtāni, ahaṅkārasyendriyāṇyekādaśa | viśeṣāṇāmapi piṇḍaḥ kāryaṃ brahmādistambaparyantāḥ | teṣāmapi pratyayāt tattvaṃ svabhāvo, yathā mahato mūrtimātratvam | pradhānasya sarvasya vikārāvasthā mahadityucyate | prakṛtermahāniti | prakṛtiḥ pradhānamityeko'rthaḥ | ahaṅkārasya tattvamasmipratyayamātratvam | aviśeṣāṇāmaviśeṣapratyayasaṃvedyatvamiti | ‘arthaḥ’— prayojanam | puruṣārthamidaṃ vastvanena prakāreṇa puruṣāyopayujyate imaṃ cārthaṃ sādhayati | yadyapi dharmaṃ jijñāsamānasya jagannirmāṇajñatā ācāryasaṃbandhinī na kvacidupakāriṇī, na ca praṣṭavyā, tathāpyanyato durvijñānaṃ maharṣīṇāṃ vaiṣamyājjagannirmāṇādau praśvārhaṃ bhavati manośca vacanīyam | yadvastu pramāṇaṣaṭkasyāpyaviṣayastadapi tvamārṣeṇa cakṣuṣā vetsi | dharmaḥ punarvedagocaraḥ so'vaśyaṃ tvayā vijñāta ityevaṃ prakṛtaviṣayaiva pravaktṛpraśaṃsā |

Other people have explained verses 3 et seq. in a different manner.

Verse 3
‘This’ (in verse 3) refers by direct gesticulation to the world;—the ‘vidhāna,’ creation, ‘of this entire’ world i.e., belongs to—the ‘self-born.’—It is ‘inconceivable’ marvellous, wonderful, very extensive;—‘not directly cognisable,’ ‘aprame yam,’ incapable of being known by all persons. This is what is stated in the Veda also—‘Who knows it? Who has described it here? Whence have these been horn? Whence this creation?’ (Ṛgveda, 3.54.5). That is to say,—Does this entire world come into existence through some material cause? Or is it all a mere Idea, as held by the Bauddha? Is it dependent upon the will of a Supreme Being? Or is it dependent only upon the acts of the beings born? Or is it merely a natural process?—

All this cannot be rightly ascertained: similarly it cannot be ascertained whether the creation of the world proceeds from the ‘Mahat’ downwards (as held by the Sāṅkhyas) or from the Diad downwards (as held by the Vaiśeṣikas).—‘Of all this,’ ‘you know (A.) the ‘karya’ product, (B) the ‘tattva ’ real character and (C) the ‘artha’ true purpose,’—‘Kāryatattvārthavit.’

(A) ‘Product,’—i.e. (a) the ‘Principle of Egoism’ is the ‘product’ of Mahat,’ (b) the subtile ‘Rudimentary Elements’ are the product of the ‘Principle of Egoism,’ (c) the Five gross ‘Elementary Substances’ are the product of the ‘Rudimentary Elements,’ (d) the eleven Sense-organs are the product of the ‘Principle of Egoism’; (e) of the gross substances the product consists of the ordinary material objects, from Brahmā down to the tuft of grass,—a fact that is clearly recognised.—

(B) ‘Real character’—nature,—for instance, (a) the ‘Mahat’ consists of mere materiality, the entire Primordial Matter in the state of modification being called ‘Mahat,’ according to the declaration (in Sāṅkya-Kārikā 22) that ‘the Mahat proceeds from Prakṛti,’—this ‘prakṛti’ being synonymous with ‘Pradhāna,’ ‘Primordial Matter;’—(b) the real character of the ‘Principle of Egoism’ consists of the mere ‘notion of I;’—(c) the real character of the subtile elements consists in their forming the objects of unspecified or undifferentiated cognition.—

(C) ‘Purpose’—the fact that—‘this thing is for the purpose of man, it serves man’s purpose in such and such a manner, it accomplishes such and such a purpose.’—Though as a matter of fact, for one who is seeking for the knowledge of duties, the fact of the Teacher being cognisant with the process of the world’s creation is of no use at all,—nor does it form a proper subject for enquiry,—yet, in view of the fact that the process cannot be learnt from any other source, and that there is diversity of opinion among the Great Sages themselves, it does become a fit subject for them to ask and for Manu to explain. Thus what the verse means is this—The subject that does not come within the range of any of the six Means of Cognition, that also you know with your intuitive eye,—as for Duty it is described in the Veda, and as such it must be known to you’; and this is an eulogy of the Teacher, bearing directly upon the main subject-matter.

1.11.3

evaṃ stutyā protsāhito jagannirmāṇameva tāvadvakti ‘āsīdidamiti’ | (ślo. 5) ‘tataḥ svayambhūriti’ ( ślo. 6) | pradhānamevaitaiḥ śabdairabhidhīyate | svayaṃ bhavati pariṇamati vikriyāmeti mahadāditattvabhāvena | na kaścidīśvaraḥ svabhāvasiddho'sti, yasyecchāmacetanaṃ pradhānamanuvartate | vastusvabhāva evāyaṃ yaduta prakṛtirūpaṃ pradhānaṃ punarvikriyate | yathā kṣīramacetanaṃ maṇḍakāvasthābhirdadhībhavati | bhagavāniti | svavyāpāra īśvaraḥ | mahābhūtādidvāreṇa pravṛttaḥ svakāryotsāha ‘ojaḥ’ sāmarthyam | ādiśabdaḥ prakāre vyavasthāyām | tena mahadādikāraṇamavyaktaṃ bhavati | vikārāvasthāyāṃ pracyutaṃ prāgrūpātsūkṣmabhāvāt prakāśamayaṃ ‘tamo nudatī’tyucyate | artha śabdādhyāhāreṇa vā pradhāne pulliṅganirdeśaḥ | puruṣaśabdaśca pradhānādiṣu dṛṣṭaḥ, ‘teṣāmidaṃ tu saptānāṃ puruṣāṇāmiti’ (manu. 1|19)| yo'sāviti ( ślo. 7 ) pūrvavat | so'bhidhyāyeti ( ślo. 8) | abhidhyānaṃ guṇataḥ, acetanatvātpradhānasyābhidhyānāsambhavāt | yathā kaścidabhidhyāyaiva kāryaṃ nirvartayet | anyakāryanirapekṣameva vastu svābhāvyena pariṇamamānamīśvarecchānapekṣatayā'bhidhyāyetyucyate | apa ādau sasarja | mahābhūtāntarāpekṣayā tāsāmāditvaṃ, na tu mahadāditattvotpatteḥ | vakṣyati hi ‘teṣāmidaṃ tu saptānāmiti’ | prathamaṃ tattvotpattistato bhūtānām | tāsu vīryamiti | vīryaṃ śaktimavāsṛjat | pradhānameva kartṛ bhavati | sarvataḥ pradhānaṃ pṛthivyādibhūtotpattau kāṭhinyameti, aṇḍarūpaṃ sampadyate | tadaṇḍamiti (ślo. 9) |

Verse 5-6
Being encouraged by the above eulogy, the Teacher proceeds to explain the subject of World-creation—‘Āsīt idam,’ ‘this was in existence,’ etc. (verse 5);—‘thereafter the self-born, etc., etc.’ (verse 6). It is Primordial Matter that is referred to by all these terms.—

(1) It is ‘self-born’ in the sense that it is by itself that it is ‘born,’ evolves, undergoes modifications, in the form of ‘Mahat’ and other principles; there is no such self-established being as ‘the Supreme Lord,’ whose will Primordial Matter obeys; on the other hand, it is in the very nature of things that Primordial Matter, in the form of the Hoot Evolvent, undergoes modifications; just in the same manner as milk (which is a non-intelligent entity), modifying into co-agulated milk, becomes solidified in the form of the Curd.—

(2) Primordial Matter is called ‘supreme being’ in the sense that it is master of its own activity.—

(3) It operates upon things like the elemental substances and other things [this is what is meant by the epithet ‘having its power operating upon elemental substances and other things’]; ‘power’ stands for capacity or energy for its own activity; the term ‘ādi’ (‘and other things’) signifies method and restriction, so that the unmanifested Primordial Matter becomes the cause of Mahat and other things [which it would not be if ‘mahābhūtādi’ were taken as ‘things beginning with the elemental substances’].—

(4) It is described as ‘dispelling darkness’ in the sense that when Primordial Matter changes from its pristine subtile (non-evolvent) condition into the evolvent condition, it becomes resplendent with light.—

The masculine gender of the epithets referring to Primordial Matter, Pradhāna (which is Neuter) may be explained as due to the word ‘puruṣa,’ (‘Being’) understood (which is Masculine); and the word ‘puruṣa’ is often found to be used in the sense of Primordial Matter and other things, as for instance in verse 1.19, where we have the expression ‘of the said seven puruṣas, etc.’

Verse 7
‘He who’ (verse 7) is explained as before.

Verse 8
‘So’bhidhyāya,’ ‘by mere willing’ (verse 8)—the willing is purely figurative; for Primordial Matter being non-intelligent, actual willing is not possible for it; what is meant by by ‘mere willing’ is that Primordial Matter, in evolving, acts by its own inherent force, independently of the will of a Supreme Lord, just in the same manner as a certain person accomplishes an act by himself, by his own will, independently of any extraneous thing.—‘He in the beginning produced water’—water is called ‘first’ in comparison with the other elemental substances; it does not mean that water was produced before Mahat and other principles; the real process is going to be described under verse 1.19, where it is stated that it is the Principles that are produced first, and then the elemental substances.—‘In that he threw the seed’—that Primordial Matter, which is the intended Nominative, threw the ‘seed’—i.e., its energy.

Verse 9
In the production of the earth and other Elemental Substances, Primordial Matter becomes solidified all over, and assumes the form of an egg; this is what is meant by the words ‘that became the egg’ (verse 9). Just as the Principles are, in the beginning, produced without any intercourse between the male and the female, in the same manner (without intercourse between male and female) was Brahmā also born, under the influence of his previous acts; his body is due to his own powers, and is not born out of any womb; just as the bodies of the mosquito and other insects are not born of wombs.

1.11.4

yathā tattvāni strīpuruṣasaṃyogaṃ vinotpannāni prathamamevaṃ pūrvaka rmavaśena brahmā'pi svamahimnaiva | ayonijaṃ tasya śarīraṃ daṃśamaśakādivat | tadvisṛṣṭaḥ (ślo. 11) | tena pradhānena visṛṣṭaḥ | tanmayatvāttaccharīrasya tadvisṛṣṭa ityucyate | śeṣaṃ pūrvavat | yadatrārthatattvaṃ tadasmābhiruktameva | arthavādā ete yathākathaṃcidguṇavādena nīyante |

Verse 11
‘The Being produced by that’ (verse 11)—produced by Primordial Matter; the body of Brahmā is described as ‘produced by that’ in the sense that it consists of Primordial Matter. The rest is as before.

The real meaning of these verses we have already explained; that is to say, they are mere ‘arthavāda,’ ‘eulogistic descriptions’ and as such are with difficulty construed figuratively. (11).

Verse 9
In the production of the earth and other Elemental Substances, Primordial Matter becomes solidified all over, and assumes the form of an egg; this is what is meant by the words ‘that became the egg’ (verse 9). Just as the Principles are, in the beginning, produced without any intercourse between the male and the female, in the same manner (without intercourse between male and female) was Brahmā also born, under the influence of his previous acts; his body is due to his own powers, and is not born out of any womb; just as the bodies of the mosquito and other insects are not born of wombs.