सङ्गीतरत्नाकर: प्रथम भाग (शार्ङ्गदेव - स्वरगताध्याय सविस्तार व्याख्या व अनुवाद सहित)

34 Treatment of Svara
through¹⁰ the words of the veda-s. (14)
By his¹¹ command Brahmā created through¹² his
mind, the Prajapati-s¹³, and from them the seminal¹⁴
creation of bodies is being expounded.¹⁵
in the context that Brahman, as conditioned by the five universal
elements created Brahmā, the progenitor of all the beings and the
physical world inhabited by them. However, the Veda proclaims Virāj
to be the first progeny of Puruṣa; Tasmād Virāḍajāyata (Rv. 10.90.5).
But then in vedic mythology, Brahmā possibly has no such place. Thus
obviously, our author has synthesised the concept of Virāj and Brahmā
in this doctrine. In this context Brahman is not differentiated from
Virāj, which has been spoken of as Saguṇa-brahman in the puranic
parlance. Indeed, perhaps that is why 'S' has equated Brahman of this
verse with Īśvara of the vedānta philosophy.
10. The creation takes place through the word, as codified in the
vedas. The vedas in the Indian tradition are considered to
be 'apauruṣeya', i.e., literally, beyond human authorship. Since
creation and dissolution in the author's view form a unitary
movement, the creation takes place through the word of the
vedas which, through the process of association give rise to
the form as ideas in the universal mind, which then creates
the world according to those ideas, the latent seeds.
11. That is, Virāj; it is notable that here 'K' also interprets it as
such.
12. That is, by his will power.
13. Literally, the word prajāpati means the lord of creatures,
of all the created beings. There have been many prajāpati-s
and their number differs from seven to twenty-one, according
to different accounts. Prajāpati originally seems to be a god
of the vedic hymns who was later raised to the status similar
to that of Brahmā in the sūtra-s. But later in the purāṇa-s, the
word prajāpati became more or less an appellation of the
founders of the great dynasties such as Marīci, Atri, Aṅgiras,
Pulastya, etc. However, in the present context prajāpati-s are
conceived as the mental progeny of the creator, Brahmā.
14. Retas, literally means 'semen', but the expression is metaphorical
and signifies the product of copulation, i. e., the creation that
takes place as a result of the opposites coming together.
Section 2 : The Genesis of the Human Embodiment 35
(vii) भौतिकदेहभेदाः
स्वेदोद्भेदजरायुण्डहेतुभेदाच्चतुर्विधम् ।
देहं यूकाऽऽदिनः स्वेदादुद्भेदात्तु लताऽऽदिनः ॥१६॥
जरायोर्मानुषादीनामण्डात्तु विहगादिनः ।
(viii) मानुषदेहाभिधाने हेतुः
तत्र नादोपयोगित्वान्मानुषं देहमुच्यते ॥१७॥
(vii) Types of physical bodies : 16-17b
The body is of four types, depending on the nature of
its cause, viz., sweat, sprout, womb¹ and egg; such as louse
etc., from sweat, creeper etc., from the sprout, human being
etc., from the womb and birds etc., from the egg.² (16-17b)
(viii) The purpose of dealing with the human body: 17cd
Of the above (four), the human body¹, being suitable
for (the manifestation of) nāda is dealt with (here). (17cd)
The Āyurvedic classification of the manifestation of life is substan-
tially different and quite comprehensive. It comprehends life under
three main heads, viz., jaṅgama (animals), audbhid (plants) and pārthiva
(minerals). The jaṅgama (animal class) is subdivided into jarāyuja,
aṇḍaja, svedaja (all the three given in the text) and udbhijja, the last of
which comprises of animals in hybernation etc. that remain unmanifest
for a certain period of time concealed in the soil, and develop only
during particular seasonal conditions. The author has identified the
vegetable kingdom with udbheda rather than the fourth category of
animals spoken of in the Āyurvedic tradition. The inclusion of creepers
etc. under types of bodies does not seem to be as scientific as the udbhijja
class of Āyurveda. The author's classification, however, appears to
follow the puranic tradition.

1. The word jarāyu of the text precisely means the outer layer
   of foetus, and technically refers to the viviparous creatures.
2. Ad. ed of S. R. reads "aṇḍatta" instead of "aṇḍattu" wherein
   tu seems to have been used as a conjunctive.
3. That is why the author has introduced this section on human
   embodiment in a musical treatise. Also, this provides the
   reason for dealing with the human body only from out of the
   four types.