Shloka 15

Adhyaya 47 — Brahma’s Awakening and the Ninefold Scheme of Creation

Sanskrit

अबुद्धिपूर्वकस्तस्मात् प्रादुर्भूतस्तमोमयः ।

तमो मोहो महामोहस्तामिस्त्रो ह्यन्धसंज्ञितः ॥

Transliteration

abuddhipūrvakas tasmāt prādurbhūtas tamomayaḥ /

tamo moho mahāmohas tāmistro hy andhasaṃjñitaḥ

Translation

Aus ihm entstand, ohne bewusste Absicht, ein Erzeugnis aus Dunkelheit: genannt Tamas, Moha, Mahāmoha, Tāmisra und Andha (Blindheit).

Word by Word

• abuddhi-pūrvakaḥ: preceded by ignorance
• abuddhi-pūrvakaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of Karta)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-buddhi (प्रातिपदिक) + pūrvaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Ekavacana (Singular); tatpuruṣa meaning 'preceded by non-intelligence'

• tasmāt: from that, therefore
• tasmāt: Apādāna/Hetu (अपादान/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ablative-form used adverbially (तस्मात्); indicates source/cause

• prādurbhūtaḥ: manifested, arose
• prādurbhūtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prādur-√bhū (धातु)
• Form: Past active participle (क्त) from √bhū with prādur-; Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• tamo-mayaḥ: consisting of darkness
• tamo-mayaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of Karta)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa 'made of darkness'

• tamaḥ: darkness
• tamaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Ekavacana (Singular)

• mohaḥ: delusion
• mohaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: moha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana

• mahā-mohaḥ: great delusion
• mahā-mohaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + moha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; karmadhāraya 'great delusion'

• tāmistraḥ: Tāmistra (a form of darkness)
• tāmistraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāmistra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha/Avadhāraṇa (निपात/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; particle (निपात) for emphasis/indeed

• andha-saṃjñitaḥ: named 'Andha' (blind/dark)
• andha-saṃjñitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of tāmistraḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: andha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃjñita (कृदन्त; √jñā with सम्- उपसर्ग, क्त)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa 'called blind/dark'

Speakers

• Narrative voice within cosmological account

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "bhakti", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Primary Deities

• Creator principle (Sāṃkhya-like account of ignorance in creation)

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Avidyā
• Sāṃkhya influence
• Guṇas (tamas)
• Psychology of bondage

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Bondage begins with ignorance and delusion; the teaching implicitly urges cultivation of discernment (viveka) to counter the tamasic cascade of moha and blindness.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Sarga: this is a psychological-cosmic stage describing the arising of ignorance principles that condition subsequent beings and their tendencies.

What is the esoteric significance?

The five names indicate graded obscurations of consciousness—from inertia (tamas) to total blindness (andha)—mapping how awareness becomes progressively occluded in manifestation.