उपदेशसाहस्री (आदि शङ्कराचार्य - गद्य व पद्य भाग)

परिसंख्यानप्रकरणम् ॥ ३ ॥
CHAPTER III
REITERATION AND REFLECTION¹
मुमुक्षूणां उपात्तपुण्यापुण्यक्षपणपराणां अपूर्वानुपचयार्थिनां
परिसंख्यानमिदमुच्यते । अविद्याहेतवो दोषाः वाङ्मनःकाय-
प्रवृत्तिहेतवः, प्रवृत्तेश्च इष्टानिष्टमिश्रफलानि कर्माणि उपचीयन्ते,
इति तन्मोक्षार्थम् ॥ ११२ ॥
112. This method of repetition is described for those
who aspire after supreme tranquillity of the mind by
destroying accumulatad sins and virtues and refraining
from accumulating new ones. Ignorance causes
defects.² Defects produce efforts of the body, mind and
speech. And through these efforts are accumulated
actions having desirable, undesirable and mixed results.
(This method is described here) so that there may be a
cessation of all these.
तत्र शब्दस्पर्शरूपरसगन्धानां विषयाणां श्रोत्रादिग्राह्यत्वात्
स्वात्मनि परेषु वा विज्ञानाभावः, तेषामेव परिणतानां यथा
¹ See Sankaracharya's Vâkyavritti 49.
² Desire and aversion.

72 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS
लोष्टादीनाम्। श्रोत्रादिद्वारैश्च ज्ञायन्ते। येन च ज्ञायन्ते सः ज्ञातृ-
त्वात् अतज्जातीयः। ते हि शब्दादयः अन्योन्यसंसर्गित्वात्
जन्मवृद्धिपरिणामापक्षयनाशसंयोगवियोगाविर्भावतिरोभाववि-
कारविकारिक्षेत्रबीजाद्यनेकधर्माणः, सामान्येन च सुखदुःखाद्य-
नेककर्माणः। तद्विज्ञातृत्वादेव तद्विज्ञाता सर्वशब्दादिधर्मवि-
लक्षणः ॥ ११३ ॥
113. As they are perceived by the ear and the other
senses the objects called sound, touch, sight, taste and
smell have no knowledge of themselves or of other
things. Transformed (into the body and other things)
they, like brickbats, are (known to lack in the said
knowledge). Moreover, they are known through the
ear etc. Being the knower that by which they are known
is quite of a different nature. For, connected with one
another those sound and other objects are possessed of
various properties such as, birth, growth, change of
condition, decline, death, contact, separation, appear-
ance, disappearance, cause, effect and sex. All of
them produce various effects like pleasure, pain
and so on. The knower¹ of sound and the like
is of a nature different from theirs as It is the
knower.
तत्र शब्दादिभिः उपलभ्यमानैः पीड्यमानो विद्वान् एवं परि-
संचक्षीत ॥ ११४ ॥
शब्दस्तु ध्वनिसामान्यमात्रेण, विशेषधर्मैर्वा षड्जादिभिः,
प्रियैः स्तुत्यादिभिः इष्टैः, अनिष्टैश्च असत्यबीभत्सपरिभवाक्रो-
¹ The Self.

REITERATION AND REFLECTION 73
शादिभिर्वचनैः, मां दृक्स्वभावं असंसर्गिणं अविक्रियं अचलं
अनिधनं अभयं अत्यन्तसूक्ष्मं अविषयं गोचरीकृत्य स्प्रष्टुं नैवा-
र्हति असंसर्गित्वादेव माम् । अत एव न शब्दनिमित्ता हानिः
वृद्धिर्वा । अतो मां किं करिष्यति स्तुतिनिन्दादिप्रियाप्रियत्वा-
दिलक्षणः शब्दः । अविवेकिनं हि शब्दं आत्मत्वेन गतं प्रियः
शब्दो वर्धयेत्, अप्रियश्च क्षपयेत्, अविवेकित्वात् । नतु मम
विवेकिनो वालाग्रमात्रमपि कर्तुमुत्सह्त इति । एवमेव स्पर्शसा-
मान्येन, तद्विशेषैश्च शीतोष्णमृदुकर्कशादिज्वरोदरशूलादिल-
क्षणैश्च अप्रियैः, प्रियैश्च कैश्चित् शरीरसमवायिभिः बाह्यागन्तु-
कनिमित्तैश्च, न मम काचित् विक्रिया वृद्धिहानिलक्षणा अस्प-
र्शत्वात् क्रियते, व्योम्न इव मुष्टिघातादिभिः । तथा रूपसामा-
न्येन, तद्विशेषैश्च प्रियाप्रियैः स्त्रीव्यञ्जनादिलक्षणैः, अरूपत्वात्
न मम काचित् हानिः वृद्धिर्वा क्रियते । तथा रससामान्येन,
तद्विशेषैश्च प्रियाप्रियैः मधुराम्ललवणकटुतिक्तकषायैः मूढबुद्धिभिः
परिगृहीतैः, अरसात्मकस्य मम न काचित् हानिः वृद्धिर्वा
क्रियते । तथा गन्धसामान्येन, तद्विशेषैः प्रियाप्रियैः पुष्पाद्यनु-
लेपनादिलक्षणैः, अगन्धात्मकस्य न मम काचित् हानिः वृद्धिर्वा
क्रियते । 'अशब्दमस्पर्शमरूपमव्ययं तथाऽरसं नित्यमगन्धवच्च
यत्' इति श्रुतेः ॥ ११५ ॥
114, 115. Distressed by sound and other things
experienced, the knower of Brahman will thus practise
repetition :
"I who am of the nature of Consciousness, not
attached to anything, changeless, immovable, imperish-
able, free from fear, extremely subtle and not an object,

74 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS
cannot, for the very fact of my being not attached, be
made an object and touched by sound in general or by its
special forms such as, the notes of the gamut, praise,
etc. which are pleasant and desirable, and also false,
terrible, insulting and abusive words which are
undesirable. So there is no loss or gain due to
sound. Therefore what can sound, pleasant or un-
pleasant, consisting of praise or blame do to me?
Pleasant or unpleasant sound regarded as belonging
to the Self glorifies or injures an ignorant man
on account of indiscrimination. But it cannot do
even the slightest good or evil to me who am a
man of knowledge. (These ideas should thus be
repeated.)
“Similarly, no change consisting of gain or loss can
be produced in me by touch in general or by its special
forms such as fever, colic pain, etc., coldness, hotness,
softness or roughness which are unpleasant. Again,
pleasant touches connected with the body or brought
into existence by external and adventitious causes can
likewise produce no change in me inasmuch as I am
beyond touch like the ether which, when struck with
one's fist, does not meet with any change whatever.
“Likewise, as I am entirely unconnected with sight
no good or harm is done to me by it either in its
general form or in its special forms pleasant or
unpleasant, such as, ugly sights.
“Similarly, Independent of taste I am not harmed or
benefited by it either in its general form or in its
special forms ‘such as, sweetness, sourness, saltiness,

REITERATION AND REFLECTION 75
pungency, bitterness and astringency, though accepted
as pleasant or unpleasant by the ignorant.
"Thus I who do not consist of smell cannot be
harmed or benefited by it either in its general form or
in its special forms such as, flowers, fragrant pastes,
etc. considered to be pleasant or unpleasant. For the
Śruti¹ says that I am one who am 'eternally devoid of
sound, touch, sight, taste and smell'.
किंच य एव बाह्याः शब्दादयः ते शरीराकारेण संस्थिताः,
तद्ग्राहकैश्च श्रोत्राद्याकारैः अन्तःकरणद्वयतद्विषयाकारेण च,
अन्योन्यसंसर्गित्वात् संहतत्वाच्च सर्वक्रियासु । तत्र एवं सति
विदुषो मम न कश्चित् शत्रुः मित्रं उदासीनो वा अस्ति । तत्र
यदि कश्चित् मिथ्याज्ञानाभिमानेन प्रियं अप्रियं वा प्रयुयुङ्क्षेत
क्रियाफललक्षणं, तन्मृषैव प्रयुयुङ्क्षते सः । तस्य अविषयत्वा-
न्मम—'अव्यक्तोऽयमचिन्त्योऽयं' इति स्मृतेः । तथा सर्वेषां
पञ्चानामपि भूतानां अविकार्यः, अविषयत्वात् । 'अच्छेद्योऽय-
मदाह्योऽयं' इति स्मृतेः । यापि शरीरेन्द्रियसंस्थानमात्रमुपलक्ष्य
मद्भक्तानां विपरीतानां च क्रियाक्रियादिप्रयुयुङ्क्षा, तज्जा च
धर्माधर्मादिप्राप्तिः, सा तेषामेव, न तु मयि अजरे अमृते अभये,
‘नैनं कृताकृते तपतः’, ‘न कर्मणा वर्धते नो कनीयान्’,
‘सबाह्याभ्यन्तरो ह्यजः’, ‘न लिप्यते लोकदुःखेन बाह्यः’
इत्यादिश्रुतिस्मृतिभ्यः । अनात्मवस्तुनश्च असत्त्वात् इति परमो
हेतुः । आत्मनश्च अद्वयत्वविषयाणि, द्वयस्यासत्त्वात्, यानि
सर्वाणि उपनिषद्वाक्यानि, विस्तरशः समीक्षितव्यानि समीक्षित-
व्यानीति ॥ ११६ ॥
¹ Kath. U., 3. 15.

76 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS
116. “Moreover, sound and the other external
objects transformed into the forms of the body,
the ear and the other senses through which they are
perceived, are transformed into the forms of the two
internal organs, (the intellect and the mind), and also
into those of their objects.¹ For they are connected and
combined with one another in all actions. When this
is so, I who am a man of knowledge have no one be-
longing to me as a friend or a foe nor have I anyone
indifferent belonging to me. Anybody, therefore, who
wishes to connect me with pleasure or pain, the results of
his action, through a false egoism, makes a vain effort.
For I am not within the reach of pain or pleasure as
the Sruti² says ‘It is unmanifested and inscrutable’.
Similarly, I am not changeable by the action of any of
the five elements as I am not of an objective nature.
Therefore the Sruti³ says ‘It cannot be cut or burnt’.
The merit or demerit arising out of good or evil done
to this combination of the body and the senses on the
part of those devotional or adverse to me will be
theirs, but will not touch me who am devoid of old
age, death and fear as the Sruti and Smritis say ‘It⁴ is
not pained by omission or commission’, ‘It⁵ is not
harmed or benefited by any action’, ‘Unborn,⁶ compris-
ing the interior and exterior’ and ‘It⁷ is beyond the
pain felt by the people, and unattached’. The supreme
reason (why I am unattached) is that nothing really exists
except the Self”.

¹ Pleasure, pain, etc. ² Bh. Gîtâ, 2. 25. ³ Bh. Gîtâ, 2. 24.
⁴ Br. U., 4. 4. 22. ⁵ Br. U., 4. 4. 23. ⁶ Mu. U., 2. 1. 2.
⁷ Kath. U., 5. 11.

REITERATION AND REFLECTION 77
As duality does not exist the portions of the Upani-
shats regarding the oneness of the Self should be studied
to a great extent.¹
Here ends the prose portion of A Thousand Teachings
written by the all-knowing Sankara.
¹ The repetition of the last word in the text shows that the prose
portion of the book is concluded.

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