History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.107

v7.c94.107

Many other Purāṇas devote a great deal of space to the elucidation of Sāṅkhya doctrines and terminology. Considerations of space preclude any statement beyond references to chapters and verses of some Purāṇas and the citation of a few striking or informative verses. Matsya (3. 14-29) begins with prakṛti, guṇas and all the twenty-five tattvas, remarks that the three gods, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, though one, arose from the guṇas being put into activity and winds up by saying that Sāṅkhya is full of enumerations and was proclaimed by Kapila and others.²²⁶⁸ The Brahmapurāṇa (1. 33-35, 33. 3-4, 242, 67-70, 76-85) recounts the tattvas from prakṛti to kṣetrajña and remarks at the end that the soul becomes *kevala* (free from all contacts and liberated) when he realizes the truth about himself. The Padmapurāṇa in several places dilates upon the tattvas of the Sāṅkhya such as in Pātālakhaṇḍa 85. 11-18, Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa, chap. 2. 88-103, chap. 15 177-187, which closely follow the S. Kārikā verses. The Kūrmapurāṇa (I. 4. 13-35) states that Maheśvara enters prakṛti and puruṣa, activates them and sets out Sāṅkhya ideas and in II. 7. 21-26 it refers to the twenty-four tattvas and the state of equilibrium (sāmyāvasthā). The Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa in chap. 42. 32-62 treats of creation with Sāṅkhya terminology. Three verses of the Brahmāṇḍa IV. 3. 37-46 referring to the threefold bondage (bandha) are quoted by the Kṛtyakalpataru (mokṣa) p. 124. Similarly, Brahmāṇḍa (II. 32. 71-76) employ the Sāṅkhya terminology of mahat, ahaṅkāra &c. Prof. Das Gupta in 'Indian Philosophy' vol. IV. pp. 24-48 deals at some length with Kapila's philosophy in the Bhāgavatapurāṇa and Sri Siddhesvara Bhattacharya contributes a paper 'a critique of the Bhāgavata' in JBRS for 1950 pp. 9-50 in which he severely criticizes Prof. Das Gupta.