3
Sāṅkhya Kārikā / Verses 1–21, the two realities / 3
मूलप्रकृतिरविकृतिर् महदाद्याः प्रकृतिविकृतयः सप्त षोडशकस् तु विकारो न प्रकृतिर् न विकृतिः पुरुषः
mūlaprakṛtir avikṛtir mahadādyāḥ prakṛtivikṛtayaḥ sapta ṣoḍaśakas tu vikāro na prakṛtir na vikṛtiḥ puruṣaḥ
The line
Root nature is unproduced. The seven beginning with the great one are both products and producers. The sixteen are products only. The person is neither a product nor a producer.
नेपालीमा
मूल प्रकृति अनुत्पन्न हो। महत्देखि सुरु हुने सात कार्य पनि हुन् र कारण पनि, सोह्र कार्य मात्र हुन्, र पुरुष न कार्य हो न कारण।
Where it sits
This is the table of contents of the world. Everything after it is a row of this table, or a reason the table has to be this way. Yoga's puruṣa (पुरुष) is this puruṣa (पुरुष). Yoga's prakṛti (प्रकृति) is this prakṛti (प्रकृति).
Split: mūla-prakṛtiḥ (मूल-प्रकृतिः) + avikṛtiḥ (अविकृतिः) + mahat-ādyāḥ (महत्-आद्याः) + prakṛti-vikṛtayaḥ (प्रकृति-विकृतयः) + sapta (सप्त) + ṣoḍaśakaḥ (षोडशकः) + tu (तु) + vikāraḥ (विकारः) + na (न) + prakṛtiḥ (प्रकृतिः) + na (न) + vikṛtiḥ (विकृतिः) + puruṣaḥ (पुरुषः)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| mūla-prakṛtiḥ (मूल-प्रकृतिः) | nominative singular, feminine | root nature. prakṛti (प्रकृति) is what brings forth. mūla (मूल) is the root, what itself was not brought forth. |
| avikṛtiḥ (अविकृतिः) | nominative singular, feminine | not a product. vikṛti (विकृति) is a modification. |
| mahat-ādyāḥ (महत्-आद्याः) | nominative plural, feminine | those that begin with mahat (महत्), the great one, which is buddhi (बुद्धि), the intellect. |
| prakṛti-vikṛtayaḥ (प्रकृति-विकृतयः) | nominative plural, feminine | natures that are also products. Each is produced, and each produces. |
| sapta (सप्त) | nominative plural | seven. |
| ṣoḍaśakaḥ (षोडशकः) | nominative singular, masculine | the group of sixteen. |
| tu (तु) | indeclinable | but, and. It turns the line to the next class. |
| vikāraḥ (विकारः) | nominative singular, masculine | a product only. |
| na prakṛtiḥ (न प्रकृतिः) | nominative singular, feminine, with na | not a nature, not a producer. |
| na vikṛtiḥ (न विकृतिः) | nominative singular, feminine, with na | not a product. |
| puruṣaḥ (पुरुषः) | nominative singular, masculine | the person, the seer. Spirit, not a mind. |
The phrases
Four classes, and the verse sorts everything into them.
Root prakṛti (प्रकृति) produces and is not produced. That is avyakta (अव्यक्त), the unmanifest of verse 2.
Seven are both. They are mahat (महत्) (intellect), ahaṅkāra (अहङ्कार) (the I-maker), and the five tanmātras (तन्मात्र) (the subtle elements: sound, touch, form, taste, smell). Verse 22 will walk this down. You can hold the count now and the names then.
The sixteen are products only: mind, the ten senses, and the five gross elements. They do not produce a further tattva in this list.
puruṣa (पुरुष) is neither. He is not made of prakṛti (प्रकृति), and he does not make a world. That is the whole distinction the book exists to teach.
Sanskrit in this line
tu (तु) does not decline. na (न) twice is two denials, not a double negative. ṣoḍaśaka (षोडशक) is a group-noun, 'the sixteenfold,' so it is singular even though sixteen things are in it. The gender of prakṛti (प्रकृति) is feminine, so avikṛtiḥ (अविकृतिः) and vikṛtiḥ (विकृतिः) are feminine with it. puruṣaḥ (पुरुषः) is masculine and keeps its own gender. In 'A is B' the two nouns do not have to match.
Say it back
Say the four classes from memory: root, seven, sixteen, person. Say which one produces nothing and is not produced.