History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.23.1

v7.c94.23.1

Śaṅkarācārya in the passage quoted in n. 2208 remarks that certain Upaniṣad passages may be relied upon as apparently supporting the Sāṅkhya system. Some of the Upaniṣad passages that either foreshadow Sāṅkhya doctrines or employ words that have technical meanings in the Sāṅkhya system would be cited.²²²⁰ But one passage from the Atharvaveda X. 8. 43 deserves notice, viz. 'the knowers of Brahma know that *yakṣa* endowed with ātman which abides in the lotus with nine gates (the physical body) covered by three guṇas.' With this may be compared Śv. Up. III. 18 and Gītā V. 13 (navadvāre pure dehī). The Muṇḍaka Up. states 'From Him are born prāṇa, mind, all indriyas, the five elements, and sky, wind, jyotis (tejas), waters and the earth.' The Kaṭha Up refers to indriyas, the objects of senses, mind, buddhi, mahān, avyakta, puruṣa as a rising series, similar to that of the Sāṅkhya with one exception viz the Up. does not mention *ahaṅkāra* and holds that *buddhi* and *mahān* are different, while the official Sāṅkhya identifies them. It is, therefore, clear that the evolution in these two Upaniṣads is very similar to the theory of evolution stated by the classical Sāṅkhya, the only difference being that the Upaniṣads postulate a supreme Creator (that produces the cosmos) while Sāṅkhya drops the creator and accepts the evolutionary series only. On V. S I. 2. 12 Śaṅkarācārya cites the verse 'dvā suparṇā sayujā' (which is Muṇḍaka Up. III 1. 1, Śv Up III. 1 and also Ṛg. I. 164.