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174
Dr. Sharma JenChunTON Yur.
its philological status. its historical role and its philosophical teachings are still open", as aptly remarked by Halbfass, the text as it stands does not give grounds for the suspicion that its author was not remarkably well acquainted with the tradition of Patañjala Yoga and quite at home in this 'ambiance', although it is for the time being not possible to answer the question whether and, if at all, to which extent the explanations he offers are also based on or at least partially influenced by personal Yogic practice and corresponding experiences. Except for this proviso, however, there is nothing in the Vivaraná which could prevent us from regarding it as an authentic Yoga text, as a trustworthy source of information about traditional Yoga thought, albeit at a particular point of time and
perhaps with a certain degree of originality still to be determined. . I deem it therefore legitimate to start from the assumption that the
passage I am going to analyse does not from an exception in this regard, i.e. that it may indeed be looked upon as representative for the manner in which (the) very adherents of Yoga - apd most probably also of Samkhya, - itself attempted to cope with the theory of the four varnas within the framework of their own philosophical doctrine.
Wezler ... Parañjalayogaśästravivarana 175 '. The key word 'cause' (karana) leads to a digression, i.e. its mention is regarded by the author of the Bhäşya as the right opportunity to deal in a systematic and comprehensive manner with all the different types of 'causes' recognised in the system. To this topic he proceeds by simply continuing with the--general and at the same time principal -- question (209.3): kari caitäni käranäni śāstre santi, which is answered concisely: navaiveti aha, but only to add immediately afterwards, introduced only by "namely" (tadyatha), a verse which indeed looks very much like a samgrahaslokal handed down by tradition for it reads thus (209.4-5):
3. After having explained YS 2.28 word for word, the author of the Bhasya adds the following remark, evidently meant to clarify a particularly important aspect of what is stated in this satra (209, 1-2):11
Uipattisthityabhivyaktivikärapratyayāptayah
Viyogányatvadhrtayaḥ karanam navadha smpiam As the nine causes said to be distinguished in the Yoga-Sastra are here merely enumerated, by means of a complex compound at that, they are subsequently named and explained one after the other in the Bhasya itself. When coming to the last, viz. dhrtikärana. "the cause of sustentation, the Bbāşyakära states (210-3-5):
dhrtikäranam sariram indriyanam ! tani ca tasya mahabhūtāni sariranām tāni ca parasparam sarvesam tairyag yonamānuşadaivatāni ca parasparartharvat...
The cause of sustentation is for instance) the body as the cause wbich sustains) the sense-organs, and these (organs as the cause sustaining] this [body], [and again, the great elements (as the sustaining cause] of bodies," and these [bodies as the cause sustaining) each other; and (finally) animal and human and divine (bodies as the cause sustaining) all (the other objects), since they] exist for each other/serve each the purpose of the others'. • This rather detailed, ie rather well illustrated explanation of the cause of sustentation" is in its turn made further clear by the Vivaraṇakāra (210. 16-26, 211, 6-7).
dhrteh käran a m' dharaṇam dbftih, tasyah karanam sariram indriyana mi nabi sariram
yogäriganusthānam asuddheh viyogakäraṇam, yatha para-.. - yh chedyasya / vivekakhyātes tu praptikäranam, yarha
dharmah sukhasya / nanyatha karanam I.
"The following up of the aids to Yoga is the casue of discorrelation (viyoga) with impurity, just as an axe [is the cause of the disjunction (vi yoga) of a tree) which is to be cut [from its root). Now [the eight aids) are the cause of attaining discriminative discernment, just as right-living (dharma) is (the cause of getting) happiness, in other ways it is not a cause", 11