History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c95.234

v7.c95.234

The Vedāntasūtra in III. 1 examines the passages of the Chān. Up. and of the Br. Up. dealing with Pañcāgnividyā. It is not possible to set out in detail the discussions in the bhāṣya of Śaṅkara on the sūtras in V. S III. 1. Some of the important final conclusions are: The individual self, while passing from one body to another, is accompanied or surrounded by subtle elements (bhūtasūkṣma), that the āhutis are spoken of as 'āpaḥ' (in Chān. Up. V. 9 1) because the human body is full of fluids in the form of chyle, blood &c., because sacred works like Agnihotra &c. are the causes of a new body after death and in those works the principal materials used (such as Soma juice, ghee, milk) are mainly fluid. In the statement that those who perform sacrifices &c. go to the moon by the Pitṛyāna path and that śraddhā is offered as oblation from which Soma that is the food of gods arises, the words 'food of gods' are used in a metaphorical sense (and not in the sense of eating). The souls of sacrificers and the like, after reaching the moon and enjoying the fruits of their good deeds that can be enjoyed in the moon, return to the earth by the way they went but in reverse order of stations for enjoying the fruits of their actions that can only be enjoyed on the earth.²⁵³³ This combines the idea of a life beyond (often referred to in the Ṛgveda) with the notion of rebirth and offers two prizes for good deeds (viz reward in heaven and then a rebirth with material well-being and cultural environment, as in Gautama Dh. S. XI. 29 and Gītā VI. 37-45 and there is a double penalty for evil deeds (viz. hell torture and then a despised or low life).