Shloka 15

Vidyā–Avidyā and the Twenty-Fifth Principle

Sāṃkhya–Yoga Clarification

Devanagari script

तात! तपस्यामें सभीका अधिकार है। जितेन्द्रिय और मनोनिग्रहसम्पन्न हीन वर्णके लिये भी तपका विधान है; क्योंकि तप पुरुषको स्वर्गकी राहपर लानेवाला है ।।

Transliteration

tāta! tapasyāṁ sarveṣām adhikāraḥ. jitendriya-manonigraha-sampannasya hīna-varṇasya api tapasāṁ vidhānam; yataḥ tapaḥ puruṣaṁ svargasya mārgam ānayati. prajāpatiḥ prajāḥ pūrvam asṛjat tapasā vibhuḥ. kvacit kvacid brahma-paraḥ vratāny āsthāya, pārthiva-bhūpāla! pūrva-kāle śaktimān prajāpatiḥ tapasi sthitvā ca kadācid brahma-parāyaṇa-vrate sthitvā ca jagat-sṛṣṭim akarot.

Translation

Parāśara dit : «Cher enfant, chacun a droit à la pratique de l’austérité. Même l’homme de condition basse, s’il maîtrise ses sens et tient son esprit en discipline, est enjoint d’entreprendre le tapas ; car l’austérité met l’homme sur la voie du ciel. Dans les temps anciens, le puissant Prajāpati créa les êtres par le tapas ; et parfois, ô Roi, protecteur de la terre, il s’établit dans des vœux voués à Brahman, et ainsi fit advenir la création du monde».

Word by Word

• प्रजापतिः: Prajapati (Lord of creatures)
• प्रजापतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजापति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रजाः: creatures, subjects
• प्रजाः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

• पूर्वम्: formerly, at first
• पूर्वम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व

• असृजत्: created
• Type: Verb
• Root: सृज्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• विभुः: mighty, all-powerful
• विभुः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विभु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• क्वचित्: sometimes, somewhere
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित्

• क्वचित्: at other times/places
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित्

• ब्रह्मपरः: devoted to Brahman
• ब्रह्मपरः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मपर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• व्रतानि: vows, observances
• व्रतानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• आस्थाय: having undertaken, resorting to
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-स्था
• Form: Absolutive (Tumun/Lyap), Parasmaipada (usage)

• पार्थिव: O king
• पार्थिव: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Prajāpati
• Brahman
• the king (pārthiva/bhūpāla)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Tapas is a universally available discipline: anyone who cultivates sense-control and mental restraint is eligible for austerity, and such tapas is presented as a means of spiritual uplift (symbolized as the path to heaven).

What is happening in the narrative?

Parāśara instructs a king, arguing for the broad accessibility of ascetic practice and supporting it with a cosmological example: Prajāpati himself created beings by abiding in tapas and by undertaking Brahman-oriented vows.