॥अथ शारीरकोपनिषत॥
॥atha śārīrakopaniṣat॥
ॐ अथातः पृथिव्यादिमहाभूतानां समवायं शरीरम् यत्कठिनं सा पृथिवी यद्द्रवं तदापो यदुष्णं तत्तेजो यत्संचरति स वायुर्यत्सुषिअरं तदाकाशम् श्रोत्रादीनि ज्ञानेन्द्रियाणि । श्रोत्रमाकाशे वायौ त्वगग्नौ चक्षुरप्सु जिह्वा पृथिव्यां घ्राणमिति ।
एवमिन्द्रियाणां यथाक्रमेण शब्दस्पर्शरूपरसगन्धाश्चैते
विषयाः पृथिव्यादिमहाभूतेषु क्रमेणोत्पन्नाः ।
om athātaḥ pṛthivyādimahābhūtānāṁ samavāyaṁ śarīram |
yatkaṭhinaṁ sā pṛthivī yaddravaṁ tadāpo yaduṣṇaṁ tattejo yatsaṁcarati sa vāyuryatsuṣiaraṁ tadākāśam
śrotrādīni jñānendriyāṇi | śrotramākāśe vāyau tvagagnau cakṣurapsu jihvā pṛthivyāṁ ghrāṇamiti |
evamindriyāṇāṁ yathākrameṇa śabdasparśarūparasagandhāścaite
viṣayāḥ pṛthivyādimahābhūteṣu krameṇotpannāḥ |
The earth and all the celestial beings are combination of various elements. The earth element is hard and gross, the water element is like fluid, the fire element is like heat, light or radiation, the vāyu or air element permeates, and the ākāśa/ether element spreads and pervades all over into the sky/Universe.
The five subtle elements of nature or abstract qualities of matter (pancha tanmātra पञ्च तन्मात्र) śabda or sound from ākāśa or ether; sparśa (sense of touch) from vāyu or air; rūpa or form from agni or fire; rasa or taste from jalam or water and gandha or smell from prithvi or earth. All these have been created in the order of śabda, sparśa, rūpa, rasa, and gandha and all these have evolved to form this gross creation.
वाक्पाणिपादपायूपस्थाख्यानि कर्मेन्द्रियाणि ।
तेषां क्रमेण वचनादानगमनविसर्गानन्दश्चैते विषयाः
vākpāṇipādapāyūpasthākhyāni karmendriyāṇi |
teṣāṁ krameṇa vacanādānagamanavisargānandaścaite viṣayāḥ
pṛthivyādimahābhūteṣu krameṇotpanāḥ |
From this the five organs of action and five organs of perception have evolved. The five Organs of Action or pancha Karmendriyas कर्मेन्द्रिय are Hands, Legs, Vocal apparatus, Urino-genital organs, and Anus.
मनोबुद्धिरहङ्कारश्चित्तमत्यन्तःकरणचतुष्टयम् ।
तेषां क्रमेण सङ्कल्पविकल्पाध्यवसायाभिमानावधारणास्वरूपश्चैते विषयाः ।
manobuddhirahaṅkāraścittamatyantaḥkaraṇacatuṣṭayam |
teṣāṁ krameṇa saṅkalpavikalpādhyavasāyābhimānāvadhāraṇāsvarūpaścaite viṣayāḥ |
All the above have evolved from the willingness and the non-willingness from that of the four internals or the inner conscience and those are the manas (mind), buddhi (intellect), ahaṁkāra (ego), and chitta (impression). From these internals the sankalpa-vikalpa (will and doubt), intention to do, self-conceit, affirmation have taken form.
मनःस्थानं गलान्तं बुद्धेर्वदनमहङ्कारस्य हृदयं चित्तस्य नाभिरिति ।
manaḥsthānaṁ galāntaṁ buddhervadanamahaṅkārasya hṛdayaṁ cittasya nābhiriti |
The mind stays everywhere, the intellect stays in face, the ahaṁkāra stays in heart and the impressions stay in navel.
अस्थिचर्मनाडीरोममांसाश्चेति पृथिव्यंशाः ।
asthicarmanāḍīromamāṁsāśceti pṛthivyaṁśāḥ |
The skeleton, skin, arteries and veins, flesh, etc., are made from the earth element.
मूत्रश्लेष्मरक्तशुक्रस्वेदा अबंशाः ।
mūtraśleṣmaraktaśukrasvedā abaṁśāḥ |
The urine, phlegm, blood, semen and sweat are made from the water element.
क्षुत्तृष्णालस्यमोहमैथुनान्यग्नेः ।
kṣuttṛṣṇālasyamohamaithunānyagneḥ |
The impetuousness, slothfulness, distraction, copulation are made from the fire element.
प्रचारणविलेखनस्थूलाक्ष्युन्मेषनिमेषादि वायोः ।
pracāraṇavilekhanasthūlākṣyunmeṣanimeṣādi vāyoḥ |
The diffusion, dividing, expanding, appearing, winking etc., are made from the air element.
कामक्रोधलोभमोहभयान्याकाशस्य ।
kāmakrodhalobhamohabhayānyākāśasya |
The lust, anger, greed, delusion, and fear are made from the ākāśa/ether element.
शब्दस्पर्शरूपरसगन्धाः पृथिवीगुणाः ।
śabdasparśarūparasagandhāḥ pṛthivīguṇāḥ |
The sound, sense of touch, form, taste and smell are of the earth element tendency.
शब्दस्पर्शरूपरसाश्चापां गुणाः ।
śabdasparśarūparasāścāpāṁ guṇāḥ |
The sound, sense of touch, form and taste are of the water element tendency.
शब्दस्पर्शरूपाण्यग्निगुणाः ।
śabdasparśarūpāṇyagniguṇāḥ |
The sound, sense of touch, and form are of the fire element tendency.
शब्दस्पर्षाविति वायुगुणौ ।
śabdasparṣāviti vāyuguṇau |
The sound, and sense of touch are of air element tendency.
शब्द एक आकाशस्य ।
śabda eka ākāśasya |
The sound element alone is of the ākāśa/ether element tendency (and this is very important for us to understand the māṇḍukyopaniṣat)
Table indicating how various attributes have formed from the natural 5 elements
| ||||
Earth/prithvi
|
Water/āpāH
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Fire/agni
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Air/vāyu
|
Ether/ ākāśa/
|
Sound / śabda
|
Sound / śabda
|
Sound / śabda
|
Sound / śabda
|
Sound / śabda
|
Sense of touch / sparṣa
|
Sense of touch / sparṣa
|
Sense of touch / sparṣa
|
Sense of touch / sparṣa
| |
Form / rūpa
|
Form / rūpa
|
Form / rūpa
| ||
Taste / rasa
|
Taste / rasa
| |||
Smell / gandha
| ||||
skeleton, skin, arteries and veins, flesh, etc.,
|
urine, phlegm, blood, semen and sweat
|
impetuousness, slothfulness, distraction, copulation
|
diffusion, dividing, expanding, appearing, winking etc.,
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lust, anger, greed, delusion, and fear
|
सात्त्विकराजसतामसलक्षणानि त्रयो गुणाः ॥
sāttvikarājasatāmasalakṣaṇāni trayo guṇāḥ ||
The three qualities of nature or the three gunas are sattva (good attributes), rajas (activating attributes) and tamas (ignorant attributes). Through these three gunas the desire expresses itself. The amarakosha tell us about the three qualities as viśeṣaḥ kāliko'vasthā guṇāḥ sattvaṁ rajastamaḥ विशेषः कालिकोऽवस्था गुणाः सत्त्वं रजस्तमः (1.4.311) - depending on time, the states or conditions are expressed peculiarly as sattva, rajas and tamas.
अहिंसा सत्यमस्तेयब्रह्मचर्यापरिग्रहाः ।
अक्रोधो गुरुशुश्रुषा शौचं सन्तोष आर्जवम् ॥ १॥
ahiṁsā satyamasteyabrahmacaryāparigrahāḥ |
akrodho guruśuśruṣā śaucaṁ santoṣa ārjavam || 1||
The seeker/aspirant should be having the qualities of ahimsa/non-harming (both in body and mind), satyam/truthfulness, asteya/non-stealing, brahmacharya/in constant remembrance of the Brahman or the supreme reality, aparigraha/non-possessiveness, akrodho/no anger, guru shushrusha/serving guru by following the teachings given by that guru, shoucham/purity in thought and deed, santosha/being pleasant all the time without any avarice, aarjavam/honest and sincerity towards or on the path.
अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमास्तिकत्वमहिंस्रता ।
एते सर्वे गुणा ज्ञेयाः सात्त्विकस्य विशेषतः ॥ २॥
amānitvamadambhitvamāstikatvamahiṁsratā |
ete sarve guṇā jñeyāḥ sāttvikasya viśeṣataḥ || 2||
All the qualities of modesty/humbleness, sincerity, being faithful in Oneness alone, non-injury are most importantly known to be increasing the sattva guna (good attributes).
अहं कर्ताऽस्म्यहं भोक्ताऽस्म्यहं वक्ताऽभिमानवान् ।
एते गुणा राजसस्य प्रोच्यन्ते ब्रह्मवित्तमैः ॥ ३॥
ahaṁ kartā'smyahaṁ bhoktā'smyahaṁ vaktā'bhimānavān |
ete guṇā rājasasya procyante brahmavittamaiḥ || 3||
The individual who orates in pride that "I am doing this", "I am in possession of so and so wealth, things, people, etc" is having the qualities of rajo guna (activating attributes) and they also talk that they are in possession of divinity (which is not true).
निद्रालस्ये मोहरागौ मैथुनं चौर्यमेव च ।
एते गुणस्तामसस्य प्रोच्यन्ते ब्रह्मवादिभिः ॥ ४॥
nidrālasye moharāgau maithunaṁ cauryameva ca |
ete guṇastāmasasya procyante brahmavādibhiḥ || 4||
The individual who is sleepy, lazy, deluded, attached, sexual oriented, stealing nature, etc., is said to be having the qualities of tamas guna (ignorant attributes) and they talk about divinity without having any knowledge or experience of that eternal Truth.
ऊर्ध्वे सात्विको मध्ये रजसोऽधस्तामस इति ।
ūrdhve sātviko madhye rajaso'dhastāmasa iti |
Know this that among the gunas, the sattva guna is highest nature, the rajo guna is of middle nature, while the tamo guna is the lowest.
सत्यज्ञानं सात्त्विकम् । धर्मज्ञानं राजसम् । तिमिरान्धं तामसमिति ।
satyajñānaṁ sāttvikam | dharmajñānaṁ rājasam | timirāndhaṁ tāmasamiti |
Know this that having the knowledge of Truth is sattvic, having the knowledge of dharma or duty is rajasic and being ignorant is tamasic.
जाग्रत्स्वप्नसुषुप्तितुरीयमिति चतुर्विधा अवस्थाः ।
ज्ञानेन्द्रियकर्मेन्द्रियान्तःकरणचतुष्टयं चतुर्दशकरणयुक्तं जाग्रत् ।
अन्तःकरणचतुष्टयैरेव संयुक्तः स्वप्नः ।
चित्तैककरणा सुषुप्तिः । - केवलजीवयुक्तमेव तुरीयमिति ।
jāgratsvapnasuṣuptiturīyamiti caturvidhā avasthāḥ |
jñānendriyakarmendriyāntaḥkaraṇacatuṣṭayaṁ caturdaśakaraṇayuktaṁ jāgrat |
antaḥkaraṇacatuṣṭayaireva saṁyuktaḥ svapnaḥ |
cittaikakaraṇā suṣuptiḥ | - kevalajīvayuktameva turīyamiti |
Know this that there are four states of existence and they are jagrat/waking state, swapna/dreaming state, sushupti/deep sleep state and Turiya. Know that the waking state is expressed and experienced by 14 attributes (5 organs of perception, 5 organs of action, mind, intellect, ego and chittam) Know that the swapna/dream state comprises of the four attributes and that are mind, intellect, ego and chittam. Know that the shushupti/deep sleep state comprises chittam. Know that the Turiya state comprises only the jiva (individual soul without any identifications.
The above meaning is the superficial meaning. These four states are not independent states. They are interdependent and in each state all the four states co-exist. How they co-exist let us see in detail.
For example, let us say if an individual is listening to a topic with full concentration, then that individual is in the waking state in the waking state. If the same individual is able to concentrate for a while and unable to concentrate for some time, then that individual even though appears to be in waking state, he/she is in the dreaming state for all that time where he/she is not concentrating on the topic (often we call it as day-dreaming). The same individual listens with full concentration the whole topic, but unable to remember anything, then that individual is said to be in sushupti state in the waking state. If the individual listens attentively a topic and also ponders on that topic, then that individual is said to be in turiya state in waking state. So-on and so-forth.
उन्मीलितनिमीलितमध्यस्थजीवपरमात्मनोर्मध्ये जीवात्मा क्षेत्रज्ञ इति विज्ञायते ॥
unmīlitanimīlitamadhyasthajīvaparamātmanormadhye jīvātmā kṣetrajña iti vijñāyate ||
Know that this is a fact that the jiva/ individual soul appears/manifests and disappears/unmanifests in between the states of jivatma and paramatma.
बुद्धिकर्मेन्द्रियप्राणपञ्चकैर्मनसा धिया ।
शरीरं सप्तदशभिः सूक्ष्मं तल्लिङ्गमुच्यते ॥ ५॥
buddhikarmendriyaprāṇapañcakairmanasā dhiyā |
śarīraṁ saptadaśabhiḥ sūkṣmaṁ talliṅgamucyate || 5||
The Buddhi/Intellect; the Manas/mind; the five subtle elements / tanmātras: shabda/sound, sparsha/sense of touch, rupa/form, rasa/taste and gandha/smell; the five Organs of Perception or pancha Jnanendriyas: Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue, and Body/skin and the five Organs of Action or pancha Karmendriyas: Hands, Legs, Vocal apparatus, Urino-genital organs, and Anus; these seventeen will manifest into the subtle Lingasarira.
मनो बुद्धिरहङ्कारः खानिलाग्निजलानि भूः ।
एताः प्रकृतयस्त्वष्टौ विकाराः षोडशापरे ॥ ६॥
mano buddhirahaṅkāraḥ khānilāgnijalāni bhūḥ |
etāḥ prakṛtayastvaṣṭau vikārāḥ ṣoḍaśāpare || 6||
The manas/mind, Buddhi/intellect, ahaṅkāra/ego, ākāśa/ether, air/vāyu, fire/agni, water/jalam, and earth/bhu — these are the eight-fold differentiation of prakriti (or matter) and these get transformed and expresses themselves in 16 ways.
The eight-fold differentiation is also expressed by Bhagavan Krishna in the Bhagavadgita in Chapter 7 verse 4.
भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च ।
अहङ्कार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥ ७-४॥
bhūmirāpo'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhireva ca |
ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛtiraṣṭadhā || 7-4||
My manifested nature (Prakriti) has an eightfold differentiation: bhūmi/earth, āpaH/water, analaH/fire, vāyuH/air, kham/ākāśa/ether, sensory mind (manas), intelligence (buddhi), and egoism (ahaṁkāra).
श्रोत्रं त्वक्चक्षुषी जिह्वा घ्राणं चैव तु पञ्चमम् ।
पायूपस्थौ करौ पादौ वाक्चैव दशमी मता ॥ ७॥
śrotraṁ tvakcakṣuṣī jihvā ghrāṇaṁ caiva tu pañcamam |
pāyūpasthau karau pādau vākcaiva daśamī matā || 7||
The 10 are the five organs of perception or pancha Jnanendriyas: Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue, and Body/skin; and the five organs of action or pancha Karmendriyas: Hands, Legs, Vocal apparatus, Urino-genital organs, and Anus.
शब्दः स्पर्शश्च रूपं च रसो गन्धस्तथैव च ।
त्रयोविंशतिरेतानि तत्त्वानि प्रकृतानि तु ।
चतुर्विंशतिरव्यक्तं प्रधानं पुरुषः परः ॥ ८॥
śabdaḥ sparśaśca rūpaṁ ca raso gandhastathaiva ca |
trayoviṁśatiretāni tattvāni prakṛtāni tu |
caturviṁśatiravyaktaṁ pradhānaṁ puruṣaḥ paraḥ || 8||
With the five subtle elements / tanmātras: shabda/sound, sparsha/sense of touch, rupa/form, rasa/taste and gandha/smell the total become 23 and in these 23 ways the prakriti is manifested or expressed itself. When we include the chittam into this then it becomes 24. With the Purusha or the avyakta (the unmanifested One) as the prime included all of it becomes 25 (see Figure-6).
Know that the manifestation of jiva expresses with the help of 24 primordial qualities with Purusha or the avyakta (the unmanifested One) as prime.
- Four: Manas/mind, buddhi/intellect, ahaṁkāra/ego, chittam/impression (4)
- Five elements of nature/ pancha bhutas: Earth, Water, Fire, Air and ākāśa/Ether (9)
- Five subtle elements / tanmātras: shabda/sound, sparsha/sense of touch, rupa/form, rasa/taste and gandha/smell (14)
- Five Organs of Perception or pancha Jnanendriyas: Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue, and Body/skin (19)
- Five Organs of Action or pancha Karmendriyas: Hands, Legs, Vocal apparatus, Urino-genital organs, and Anus. (24)
- Purusha/avyakta (25)
The Sankhya philosophy given by sage Kapila also mentions the same. Sage Kapila mentions that what we see as the manifested Universe has evoluted from the Unmanifested or Nothingness. The ONE which is ever present is called as Purusha which is Universal Awareness and Universal Consciousness. This is the unmanifested non-form of the Universe. This when gets expressed into manifested form is called as Prakruti which will have limited consciousness and hence called as unconscious. (The word consciousness here should not be considered as the word that we use in general forms that of related to mind.)
The Prakruti gets expressed into the Cosmos that we perceive and see. For this Prakruti to get expressed in various forms, it splits into three characteristics called as Triguna - Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. While the Rajas characteristic takes care of activity, the Tamas characteristic takes care of the inertia. The Sattwa characteristic takes care of the equilibrium of activity and inertia. Whatever we see, perceive and experience in this cosmos is a combination or recombination of these three characteristics.
While the three characteristics makes the framework for the manifestation of the cosmos, it is further manifested into 23 elements. The first is the Mahat tattwa which forms the basis for the Buddhi or Cosmic Intelligence. The Buddhi gives rise to Ahankara. Ahankara with the help of Sattwa characteristic expresses into the subtle substance of thoughts called as Mind, 5 organs of perception called Jnanendriyas, 5 organs of action called Karmendriyas. The same Ahankara with the help of Tamas characteristic expresses into the 5 gross elements called Pancha Bhutas and 5 subtle elements called Pancha tanmātras and the Pancha vāyus. The Rajas characteristic provides energy for the evolution and existence of these 24 elements (see Figure 6).
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| Figure 6 - Evolution of Unmanifest |
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