34
Sāṅkhya Kārikā / Verses 22–55, the world / 34
बुद्धीन्द्रियाणि तेषां पञ्च विशेषाविशेषविषयाणि वाग् भवति शब्दविषया शेषाणि तु पञ्चविषयाणि
buddhīndriyāṇi teṣāṃ pañca viśeṣāviśeṣaviṣayāṇi vāg bhavati śabdaviṣayā śeṣāṇi tu pañcaviṣayāṇi
The line
The five senses of knowing have both particulars and non-particulars as their range. Speech has sound as its range. The other acting senses range over all five.
नेपालीमा
पाँच जान्ने इन्द्रियको विषय विशेष र अविशेष दुवै हुन्। वाणीको विषय शब्द हो, र अरू कर्मेन्द्रिय पाँचैमा लाग्छन्।
Where it sits
Verse 38 will define particular and non-particular as the gross elements and the subtle elements. You can read this verse again after that one.
Split: buddhi-indriyāṇi (बुद्धि-इन्द्रियाणि) + teṣām (तेषाम्) + pañca (पञ्च) + viśeṣa-aviśeṣa-viṣayāṇi (विशेष-अविशेष-विषयाणि) + vāk (वाक्) + bhavati (भवति) + śabda-viṣayā (शब्द-विषया) + śeṣāṇi (शेषाणि) + tu (तु) + pañca-viṣayāṇi (पञ्च-विषयाणि)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| buddhi-indriyāṇi (बुद्धि-इन्द्रियाणि) | nominative plural, neuter | the senses of knowing. |
| teṣām pañca (तेषाम् पञ्च) | genitive, then nominative | five of them, of those senses. |
| viśeṣa-aviśeṣa-viṣayāṇi (विशेष-अविशेष-विषयाणि) | nominative plural, neuter | having as their field both particulars and non-particulars. Particulars are the gross elements. Non-particulars are the subtle elements. A sense can meet both, in the school's account of gods and yogins as well as ordinary seeing. |
| vāk (वाक्) | nominative singular, feminine | speech. |
| śabda-viṣayā (शब्द-विषया) | nominative singular, feminine | having sound as its object. |
| śeṣāṇi (शेषाणि) | nominative plural, neuter | the rest. Hand, foot, and the two organs. |
| pañca-viṣayāṇi (पञ्च-विषयाणि) | nominative plural, neuter | having five objects. They deal with all five sorts of stuff, not with one sense-quality only. |
The phrases
The knowing senses are aimed at both the gross and the subtle. Ordinary seeing is of the gross. The verse leaves the subtle open because the subtle elements are real objects, not metaphors.
Speech is the odd one among the acting senses. It makes sound, so its field is sound. The hand handles things of every kind.
Sanskrit in this line
viṣaya (विषय) at the end of a compound, with an adjective ending, means 'having that as object.' śabdaviṣayā (शब्दविषया) agrees with feminine vāk (वाक्).
Say it back
Which acting sense is limited to one object, and which object?