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Bhagavai 3:1:4
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The Vitti sanskritizes the Prakrit phrase as evammaharddhika and considers the Sanskrit equivalent iyanmaharddhika as the opinion of others."
11. Clasping of hands
hub of the wheel
In order to explain the dense pervasion of the bodies created by the protcan power, the Sutra gives two examples: Clasping the hand of a maiden by a youth in the state of erotic rapture, that brings the fingers of the maiden so close that no gap is left between them, comparable to the pervasion of the entire Island of Jambudvīpa by the all protean images that lie so closely located that no gap exists between them.
The second example illustrates the pervasion of the whole Island of Jambudvipa by all the protean images connected to the image of god, like all the spokes of the wheel meeting at the hub..
The Vṛtti has mentioned an earlier commentary which explained the purpose of the examples as follows: Just as a maiden walks with the youth with clasped hands in a crowd and keeps attached to the crowd, so the bodies created by the protean power keep themselves connected with their creator god. Similarly, just as the hub of the cart-wheel connected with the spokes becomes devoid of gaps, exactly so the creator of the protean bodies densely fills up the whole space with those bodies that are connected with his own body.
Maharși Patanjali has identified the protean power with the psychic power capable of creating things (nirmäṇa-citta). The meditator (yogi) can create different nirmāṇa-cittas by means of the principle of asmita (ego) with which the numerous nirmana-cittas remain connected, and as such they are all related to the same soul (jiva). (The yogi endowed with such power can create numerous bodies, each of which has a separate mind (manas) which, in turn, is operated by a nirmana-citta. The number of such cittas is also as great as that of the bodies. But all these cittas are ultimately connected with the original one which is in the form of asmită). Patanjali has mentioned five means of the creation of such cittas, viz., birth, medicine, mantra, austerity and meditation."
According to him, the soul, emancipated from the worldly bondage, also can exercise his power to create nirmana-cittas."7
12. Exercising the power of projecting the protean bodies
The soul resides in the body. It has innumerable number of soul-units which, in special circumstances, are expanded outside the body. Such expansion is called samudghāta which is of seven types, due to (1) sensation, (2) passions, (3) impending death, (4) protean body, (5) fiery body, (6) conveyance body, and (7) prematurely exhausting sensation-karma by the omniscient.
When the soul exercises its power of creating various images (bodies), it expands its soul-units outside the body. In such circumstances, it employs its protean power to create various forms. This is the first step in such creation. At the second stage, it creates a vertical column which is numerable yojanas in length; its breadth and thickness are equal to that of the body of the soul. Such image is made up of the
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