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34
RAMKRISHNA BHATTACHARYA
SAMBODHI
kecit svabhāvaditi varnayanti śubhāsübhaṁ caiva bhavābhavau cal svābhāvikaṁ sarvamidaṁ ca yasmād ato'pi mogho bhavati prayatnaḥ//
Some affirm that good and evil and existence and non-existence originate by natural development; and since all this world originates by natural development, again, therefore, effort in vain.
This doctrine, I would submit, was anticipated by Pūraņa Kassapa, whose idea has been called 'the doctrine of non-action', akriyāvāda. However, nobody has connected svabhāvavāda with the teachings of Pūraņa Kassapa. On the other hand, A. L. Basham proposed to relate svabhāvavāda to ‘a small sub-sect of Ājivikism'."
One important contribution of Asvaghosa is that he has quoted a verse purportedly composed by a svabhāvavādin:
kaḥ kantakasya prakaroti taiksnyaṁ vicitrabhāvaṁ mrgapakşiņāṁ vā svabhāvatah sarvamidaṁ pravrttaṁ na kāmakāro'sti kutah prayatnah//
Who fashions the sharpness of the thorn or the vivid nature of beast and bird? All this takes place by natural development. There is no such thing in this respect as action of our own will, a fortiori no possibility of
effort."
Thus svabhāvavāda appears to be a doctrine of blind predeterminism which makes all human efforts absolutely futile. Moreover, svabhāba rejects the idea of creation according to anybody's will as well as the efficacy of any endeavour (akriyāvāda).
Haribhadra (eighth century) in his LTN quotes a variant of this verse, retaining both the aspects mentioned above."
Yet another reading of the same verse found in Utpalabhatta (tenth century)'s commentary on Br.S, 1.7 and in the CRS avoids the issue of both will and effort but highlights the role of svabhāva.
kaḥ kantakānāṁ prakaroti taiksnya
vicitrabhāvaṁ mrgapakşiņāṁ cal mādhuryamiksoh kațutāṁ ca nimbe svabhāvataḥ sarvamidaṁ pravsttam//
