History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c71.s1.32

v5.c71.s1.32

How sin arises in the individual mind has been a difficult problem at all times¹⁶. Men are conscious of the sins they commit, though they may have no definite conclusions or theories about the origin of sin In the Ṛg VII. 86 6 a sage¹⁷ pleads with Varuṇa that sin is not due to a man's own power, but it is rather due to fate, to *surā* (intoxicants), to anger, dice or heedlessness and even dream state leads one to commit what is not right In the Kauṣītaki-brāhmaṇopaniṣad (III 9) it is stated. 'the Lord of all makes that man perform good works whom He desires to raise to higher worlds than these and He makes that man commit bad deeds whom He wishes to drag down'.¹⁸ Here it appears to be suggested that some men are chosen by God for being saved and some are chosen for being damned. This sounds like the Calvinistic doctrine of pre-destination. In the Bhagavadgītā (III. 36) Arjuna questions Śrīkṛṣṇa as follows: 'impelled by whom does a man commit sin as if constrained thereto by force, even though he does not desire to do so'? The answer given is (III. 37) 'it is lust and anger springing from the element (*guṇa*) of *rajas* (passion) that are the enemies of man in this world. In another place the Bhagavadgītā (XVI. 21) says 'this¹⁹ is the three-fold door or entrance to Hell that is ruinous to the self viz. lust, anger and greed; therefore a man must shun these three.' But it must be said that this does not go to the real root of the matter. The question is why should carnal lust, anger or greed themselves arise in the mind of man. The only answer that is indicated is in accordance with the tenets of the Sāṅkhya philosophy viz. that there are three guṇas, *sattva*, *rajas* and *tamas* which combine in various proportions in different men and that it is *rajoguṇa* that is the cause of man's sinfulness In the Śāntiparva, chap. 163, it is stated that there are thirteen very powerful enemies of men beginning with anger (*krodha*) and *kāma* (lust) and it is said that krodha springs from *lobha* (covetousness), which latter arises from ignorance (verses 7 and 11). But there is no satisfactory discussion of the origin of ignorance in that chapter. Gautama 19.2 observes²⁰ that 'man in this world is polluted by a vile action such as sacrificing for a man unworthy to offer a sacrifice, eating forbidden food, speaking what ought not to be spoken, neglecting what is prescribed and practising what is forbidden'. Yājñavalkya III. 219 prescribes: 'by omitting to do what is ordained, by resorting to what is condemned (prohibited) and by not controlling the senses, man incurs fall (i e sin)' Manu XI. 44 and Sāntiparva 34 2 are similar verses The Mitākṣarā explains that matters ordained are such as performing Sandhyā (morning and evening adorations) and Agnihotra and what are condemned are such actions as drinking liquor Viśvarūpa explains that *patana* (fall or sinfulness) in Yāj III. 219 is not used in the technical sense attached to that word by Gautama 21 4 viz 'to be a *patita* means to be deprived of the right to follow the lawful occupations of twice-born men,' but it is used only in the sense that the man so acting (as mentioned in Yāj III. 219) becomes liable to undergo prāyaścitta and that the words of Gautama (21.4) are restricted only to what are called mahāpātakas The word *pātaka* is derived from the causal of the root '*pat*' Vide Medhātithi on Manu XI 54 'pātakaśabdaḥ pātayatīti vyutpattyā sarva-vyatikrameṣu vartate' and Madanapārijāta p 786 In ancient works the word *patanīya* (meaning the cause of *patana*) has been employed as in Āp Dh S. I. 7 21 7 The Pr V (p 35) paraphrases patantyānı by 'pātakāni' and derives it from the root 'pat' (*patatyanena ıti patanīyam*) with the addition of the termination 'anīya' according to Pāṇ III 3 113 The word occurs also in Yāj II. 210, III. 297, Śaṅkha quoted by Viśvarūpa on Yāj. III. 237 (in prose) and other smṛtis