The Vision of Śiva · Chapter 2

The Vision of Śiva — Chapter 2

शिवदृष्टि

Śivadṛṣṭi


Chapter 2 90 verses

Begin reading Verse 1
  1. 1 athāsmākaṃ jñānaśaktiryā sadāśivarūpatā | vaiyākaraṇasādhūnāṃ paśyantī sā parā … Now, that which for us is the power of knowledge, the Sadāśiva-nature — for the orthodox…
  2. 2 ityāhuste paraṃ brahma yadanādi tathākṣayam | tadakṣaraṃ śabdarūpaṃ … Thus they declare: it is the supreme Brahman, which is beginningless and imperishable —…
  3. 3 sa evātmā sarvadehavyāpakatvena vartate | antaḥpaśyadavasthaiva cidrūpatvamarūpakam (They say:) That very (Word) is the Self, abiding by pervading all bodies;
  4. 4 akṣādivṛttibhirhīnaṃ deśakālādiśūnyakam — devoid of the operations of the senses and the rest, and empty of space, time, and the…
  5. 5 sarvataḥkramasaṃhāramātramākāravarjitam | brahmatattvaṃ parā kāṣṭhā paramārthastadeva saḥ Being merely the withdrawal of all succession, bereft of shape — that is the…
  6. 6 āste vijñānarūpatve sa śabdo'rthavivakṣayā | madhyamā kathyate saiva … That Word abides in the state of pure cognition;
  7. 7 saṃprāptā vaktrakuharaṃ kaṇṭhādisthānabhāgaśaḥ | vaikharī kathyate saiva bahirvāsanayā … Having reached the cavity of the mouth, at the several points of articulation beginning…
  8. 8 yasmāttairucyate sadbhirevaṃ vastupravṛttaye — because it is thus declared by those worthy ones, (to account) for the operation of…
  9. 9 vivartate'rthabhāvena prakriyā jagato yataḥ (They hold that) it appears, as a transformation, in the mode of objects — for from it…
  10. 10 na so'sti pratyayo loke yaḥ śabdānugamādṛte | śabdabrahmaṇi … (They say:) 'There is no cognition in the world that occurs apart from accompaniment by…
  11. 11 avibhāgā tu paśyantī sarvataḥ saṃhṛtakramā | ityādivākyaracanaistairevaṃ pratipāditam 'But Paśyantī is undivided, with all succession wholly withdrawn' — by such phrasings as…
  12. 12 ādau tāvadindriyatve sthitā vākkarmasaṃjñite (But our refutation:) First of all, at the outset it (Paśyantī, as 'speech') is…
  13. 13 indriyatve'pi sāmānye pāṇyāderbrahmatā na kim And if faculty-hood in general (is to be exalted to Brahman), then why is the hand and…
  14. 14 antaḥ kramo hṛdādeścetprāṇādeḥ kiṃ na satyatā If (you say Paśyantī's) inner succession belongs to the heart and so on, then why is…
  15. 15 atropāsanayā siddhirdevatāyogiteti cet If it be said, 'Here, through meditative worship of it, there is attainment — union with…
  16. 16 tasmāddhiraṇyagarbhādiyogasāṃkhyetihāsatām — then (by the same reasoning) the (Word-doctrine would have to grant equal authority to)…
  17. 17 vihāya śāstraracanā jātucinna virājate | pāṇyādīndriyavannaitadbrahma vāgindriyaṃ bhavet Setting (the Word) aside, no composition of scriptures would ever have any standing;
  18. 18 athocyate prakiryāsau sāṃkhyādiracitā na sā | tattvonmeṣaprasaraṇe bhavetsaṃbandhabhāginī Now if it be urged: 'This process (of manifestation by the Word) is not that fabricated…
  19. 19 vimarśānubhavenaiṣā yathā vāk prathamaṃ śritā | lakṣyate bodharūpeṇa … (We answer:) just as this Speech, when first resorted to, is discerned through the…
  20. 20 vartamānasamārūḍhā kriyā paśyantyudāhṛtā (But for them) action established upon the present moment is what is declared to be…
  21. 21 yadyābhāsānbahirbhūtāṃstatsato'pyasato'pi vā If (Paśyantī manifests) the external appearances — then are these (manifested) as…
  22. 22 gṛhṇātyathāvidyayā vā sāpyasyāḥ kathamāsthitā Or does it grasp them through nescience (avidyā)?
  23. 23 satyā hyasāvasatyā vā satyatve darśanakṣatiḥ | asatyayāpi satyasya … Is this (nescience) real or unreal?
  24. 24 bahirbhāvānvisṛjyādau paścātpaśyati sātha kim Does it first emit the external entities and only afterward see them?
  25. 25 jñātānsṛjatyasau tānvā neti jñāteṣvadarśanam Does it emit them as already known — or not?
  26. 26 tāni dṛṣṭvānusṛjati sṛṣṭvā vānuprapaśyati Does it emit them after seeing them — or see them after emitting them?
  27. 27 paśyantyāḥ satyarūpāyāstatsatyatve na darśanam | asatye satyadṛṣṭyaiva paśyantyāṃ … Of the (supposedly) real-natured Paśyantī: if those objects are real, there is no (fresh)…
  28. 28 avidyāsyāḥ svadharmaḥ kiṃ paradharmo'thavā bhavet Is this nescience a property of (Paśyantī) herself, or could it be a property of…
  29. 29 svadharmatve'syā mālinyaṃ paradharme'pi kasya sā | parasya śāstrāniṣṭasya … If it is her own property, then there is impurity in her;
  30. 30 tatvānyatvairavācyā vā yadyavidyābhidhīyate Or if this nescience is declared to be indescribable in terms of either identity with or…
  31. 31 paśyantyā lakṣitāsau vā navā yadi na lakṣitā | … Is that (nescience) discerned by Paśyantī or not?
  32. 32 avācyatvena bhavatāṃ tasyā rūpaṃ gatam | alakṣitasvarūpāyā avidyātvaṃ … By calling it indescribable, for you its very nature is lost;
  33. 33 nacānumānamiṣṭaṃ te'pyavasthetyādidūṣaṇāt Nor is inference (a valid means here) admitted by you — because of your own objections,…
  34. 34 satyā vā syādasatyā vā na madhyāyāḥ samanvayaḥ | … It must be either real or unreal;
  35. 35 satyaiva yadi vidyānāmabhāvastarhi śūnyatā | śūnyayā bādhyate citraṃ … If knowledge is truly real, yet (you make it amount to) a sheer absence, then it is…
  36. 36 sindhuśabdādivacchabdo na paśyantyādito bhavet (If the Word were equivocal,) like the term 'sindhu' (meaning both river and ocean) and…
  37. 37 atha madhyamayā bāhyā bhāvā grāhyā hyavidyayā | tasyā … Now if (you say) external entities are to be grasped by Madhyamā through nescience — then…
  38. 38 tatrāpi madhyamā kasya kāryaṃ paśyantyavasthayā | sā janyā … And there too: of what is Madhyamā the product?
  39. 39 nahi tasyā nimittaṃ vā kāraṇaṃ samavāyi vā | … For (Paśyantī) has neither an efficient cause nor an inherent material cause (for…
  40. 40 tathāpyavidyayā yogaḥ paśyantyātmānameva cet | andhamūkaṃ jagadbāhye sarvameva … And even so, (if) Paśyantī's conjunction through nescience is only with herself, then the…
  41. 41 paśyantī kiṃ śarīre'ntarbahiḥ sarvatra vā sthitā Is Paśyantī situated inside the body, or outside, or everywhere?
  42. 42 prasarennādabindvādisāpekṣā cedanīśvarī If it streams forth (only) in dependence on resonance, point, and the rest, then it is…
  43. 43 pratidehaṃ pṛthakkiṃ sā sarvatraikyena vā sthitā | nānātvaṃ … Is it situated separately in each body, or as one everywhere?
  44. 44 avibhāgetyādikena lakṣaṇena sulakṣitā (You hold her) well-defined by such a defining mark as 'undivided' and the like —
  45. 45 avibhāgā kathaṃ sā syādyataḥ paśyantyasau smṛtā — but how could she be 'undivided,' since she is precisely designated 'Paśyantī,' the…
  46. 46 atathā yadi paśyantī mithyā paśyantyudāhṛtā And if she does not actually see, then 'Paśyantī' — 'the Seeing one' — is a name falsely…
  47. 47 bhaviṣyantaṃ vartamānaṃ kathaṃ paśyantyanāgatam How does she, (supposedly) seeing (only) the present, (also) see the future, the…
  48. 48 atha sādhāraṇaṃ jñānaṃ tādṛkkiṃcana paśyati Now if (you say) she sees some such general, undifferentiated cognition —
  49. 49 tathāpi tadvibhedana bhedatā tadabhedataḥ | na kiṃcana gṛhītaṃ … — even so, through differentiating it there is differentiation;
  50. 50 saṃhṛtaḥ krama ityasyāṃ saṃhartā jāyate paraḥ | yayā … If 'succession is withdrawn' in her, then there arises a further withdrawer (distinct…
  51. 51 ātmanaḥ sakramatvaṃ syādanyatrāparasaṃgamaḥ | kiṃ pūrvaṃ sakramābhūtsā rūpadvitvaṃ … (If within herself,) she herself would possess succession;
  52. 52 athātmanā sā svātmānaṃ paśyantī nirvibhāgaśaḥ | bhāge karaṇarūpatvātpāratantryaṃ … Now if she, seeing her own self by her own self without any division — (then) in (her)…
  53. 53 ātmānamātmanā hanti devadatto yathā yathā | bhaviṣyatyatra tatrāsya … Just as when Devadatta strikes himself with himself, here and there a differentiation…
  54. 54 hastādeḥ karaṇatvaṃ hi mastakādeśca karmatā | kartā manaḥ … Indeed, the hand and so on play the role of instrument, the head and so on the role of…
  55. 55 paśyantyā darśanaṃ dṛṣṭe na ca vā hyupapadyate Whether (only) when an object is seen, or even (when nothing is seen) — Paśyantī's…
  56. 56 paśyantaṃ sā kimātmānaṃ paśyantī jaḍameva vā | jaḍe … Does she, seeing, see herself as a seer, or as merely insentient?
  57. 57 kiṃñcitpaśyati vā sūkṣmaṃ tadasmaddarśanānvayaḥ | karmatve pāratantryaṃ syāttasyā … Or (if you say) she sees something subtle — that accords with our own doctrine;
  58. 58 sphoṭa eva hi paśyantī tadanyā vā dvayaṃ bhavet … Is Paśyantī the sphoṭa (the indivisible word-essence) itself, or other than it?
  59. 59 āptānāptavicāro vā sarvathaiva nivartate Moreover, (on your view) the whole inquiry into reliable versus unreliable authority…
  60. 60 sphoṭasyāsatyarūpairhi padādyairvyaṅgyatā katham | paśyantyāḥ satyarūpāyā asatyairvyaṅgyatā na … How can the sphoṭa be manifested by unreal-natured (means) such as words and the rest?
  61. 61 paśyantī vā pramāṇena kenāsau pratipādyate And by which means of valid knowledge (pramāṇa) is this Paśyantī to be established at all?
  62. 62 bhavadbhireva nāptasyānanubhūtārthavaktṛtā By your own (admission), a reliable authority cannot be one who speaks of a matter he has…
  63. 63 atha svānubhavenaiva paśyantīṃ paśya yuktitaḥ | evaṃ tarhyaparasyāsau … Now if (you say) 'behold Paśyantī by your own experience, through reasoning!
  64. 64 pratibhā kathitā yā vā sānumānaṃ na tacca te Or that 'intuitive flash' (pratibhā) which (you) speak of — that is not inference, and…
  65. 65 svātmanātmānamatha cetpaśyantī sā bhaviṣyati Now if (you say) it is by seeing herself through her own self that she will be 'Paśyantī'…
  66. 66 tadānīṃ pratipādyasya kimāyātaṃ svavīkṣaṇāt | vaktavyameva tasyāpi paśyantīṃ … — then at that point, what does the one to whom she is to be made known gain from her…
  67. 67 asatyaḥ pratipādyo'sminnasatyaḥ pratipādakaḥ On this (view) the one to be instructed is unreal, and the instructor too is unreal.
  68. 68 yena sā vā pramāṇena sthāpyate tasya satyatā And whatever means of valid knowledge she is established by — (you must first guarantee)…
  69. 69 sādhuśabdasamuccārātkasya svargādiyogitā (And you claim) that from the correct pronunciation of a grammatically proper word comes…
  70. 70 paśyantyāścedavidyātvaṃ tadbhogaunmukhyayogataḥ | madhyamāderjaḍāyāḥ kiṃ bhogena śabalātmanā If (you say) Paśyantī's status as nescience comes by her being oriented toward…
  71. 71 tasmādasādhuḥ sādhuḥ syācchabdavidyāphalapradaḥ | evaṃ vyākaraṇasyāpi samuccheda upaiti … Therefore (on your incoherent view) an improper word might (as well) be the 'proper'…
  72. 72 bhavatāmaprastutena na kevalamihoditam What has been said here against you is not merely (an objection) by something irrelevant…
  73. 73 svānubhūtirvartamānakālenāsya vibhāvyate (You hold that) its self-experience is conceived as bound to the present time (alone) —
  74. 74 anantasyānubhūtiḥ kā paricchedaṃ vinātmanaḥ — but what experience can there be of the infinite Self without (some) delimitation…
  75. 75 anante'vagamaḥ kutra tejastve śāntatā katham | asarvagapramāṇaṃ hi … In the infinite, where (could) apprehension (find a foothold)?
  76. 76 atraiva śabdanityatvavādino rūḍhatāṃ gatāḥ | anādinātha tenaiva śabdatattvena … Just here the proponents of the eternality of the Word have become entrenched;
  77. 77 āptānāptabhāṣitatve viśeṣo nāsti śabdagaḥ | nityatve śabdatattvasya vyaṅgyatvaṃ … If (the Word is) eternal, there can be no distinction, with respect to the Word itself,…
  78. 78 bhavatpakṣe na kiṃ nyāya eṣa āyāti cecchive If you object, 'Does this very reasoning not apply equally to (your own) Śiva?
  79. 79 tathā rūpānurūpatvātprasūteḥ śivarūpataḥ | satyatvācca na tulyatvamato'smātpraviramyatām (We answer:) No — because the (manifest) form conforms to (his) nature, because the…
  80. 80 atha nāmnaiva paśyantī sphuṭameva jaḍā tataḥ | jñānaśaktiḥ … Further, by her very name 'Paśyantī' she is quite evidently insentient;
  81. 81 śabdasya viṣayākhyasya miśratvenendriyasya tu | sarvadarśanavijñānaśūnyatā padavedinām Since the Word, called an object, is mixed up with the sense-organ (of speech), the mere…
  82. 82 yasmādanādinidhanaṃ śabdatattvaṃ parā hi vāk | paśyantyā varṇyamānatve … Since (you hold) the beginningless and endless Word-principle to be the supreme Speech —…
  83. 83 paśyantī hi kriyā tasyā bhāgau pūrvāparau sthitau | … Indeed Paśyantī (rightly understood) is action;
  84. 84 yathā kartuḥ kulālāderghaṭaḥ kārya itīdṛśaḥ | vimarśa icchārūpeṇa … Just as for an agent such as a potter there is the reflective awareness 'the pot is to be…
  85. 85 sā sthitā pūrvatastasyā icchāyāḥ prasaraḥ katham | yāvanna … She stands as the prior (phase);
  86. 86 tasyā api sāmarasye vyavasthāvān sthitaḥ śivaḥ | evaṃ … And even within her equipoised unison, Śiva abides possessed of his own settled order;
  87. 87 sthitā sā na punaḥ satyā vāco vāyugamātmanaḥ | … She (Paśyantī) is (thus) established, but not as the ultimate reality;
  88. 88 yathā sarvapadārthānāṃ bhagavacchivarūpatā | tadvadvāgindriyasyāpi na punaḥ sā … Just as all entities have the nature of the Blessed Śiva, so too does the speech-faculty…
  89. 89 kaṇṭhādau vadane vāyau vyāpāro vāgrutasya sā | karaṇaṃ, … The operation in the throat, the mouth, and the breath, of what is heard as speech — that…
  90. 90 tasyāpi kathitā pañcatattvadīkṣāvidhau kvacit | na vāca iṣyate … Its (Śiva-nature) too is taught somewhere in the rite of initiation by the five…