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 nói: “Hỡi con, ai cũng có quyền thực hành khổ hạnh. Ngay cả người địa vị thấp, nếu chế ngự được các căn và giữ tâm trong kỷ luật, cũng được khuyên dạy phải tu tapas; vì khổ hạnh đưa con người lên con đường đến cõi trời. Thuở xưa, Prajāpati hùng lực đã an trụ trong tapas mà tạo ra muôn loài; và có lúc, hỡi Đại vương—đấng hộ trì cõi đất—Ngài an trụ trong những giới nguyện hướng về Brahman, nhờ đó mà khai sinh thế giới.”

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.