History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.69

v7.c94.69

In the dialogue between Viśvāvasu Gandharva and Yājñavalkya (in Śāntiparva, chap. 306) there is a long list of sages from whom Viśvāvasu says he learnt a great deal (in verses 56-60) but prays to Yājñavalkya²²⁵⁰ that the latter should expound to him the knowledge of Sāṅkhya and Yoga (verses 65-66). Then Yājñavalkya states that *prakṛti* is also called pradhāna, that it does not know the 25th (viz. the puruṣa) and that there is a 26th (Highest Self) and so on. That list contains the following names: *Jaigīṣavya*,²²⁵¹ Asita, Devala, *Vārṣagaṇya* of the Parāśaragotra, *bhikṣu Pañcaśikha, Kapila, Śuka*, Gautama, Ārṣṭiṣeṇa, Gārgya, Nārada, *Āsuri*, Pulastya, Sanatkumāra, Śukra, father of Kaśyapa. The sages are not mentioned in chronological order. Five of them (that are in Italics) are important so far as Sāṅkhya and Yoga are concerned. We saw above that Pañcaśikha is said to be of Parāśara gotra and in the above list Vārṣagaṇya also is said to be of the same gotra. Vācaspati on S. Kārikā 47 ascribes to Vārṣagaṇya the view that *avidyā* has five facets or aspects.²²⁵² The Yogasūtrabhāṣya on III. 53 quotes a sūtra of Vārṣagaṇya. It is shown above from the reconstruction of the Sanskrit Com. from Chinese that Vārṣagaṇa was one of the teachers after Pañcaśikha and before Īśvarakṛṣṇa. So it is extremely doubtful if Pañcaśikha and Vārṣagaṇya are identical. Vide JRAS for 1905 pp. 33-53 (by Takakusu who shows on p 47 that Vṛṣagaṇa was a teacher of Vindhyavāsa and that Vasubandhu wrote a work called Paramārthasaptati in opposition to Vindhyavāsa and that Paramārtha was in China from 546 to 569 A. D.