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dying sage,' viz. in the passage Bri. Up. III, 2, 11, where Yagnavalkya instructs Ârtabhâga that, when this man dies, the prânas do not depart from it (asmât; the context showing that asmât means 'from it,' viz. from the body, and not from him,' viz. the giva).-The same view is, moreover, confirmed by Smriti passages.
INTRODUCTION.
According to Râmânuga the three Sûtras forming Sankara's sixth adhikarana do not constitute a new adhikarana at all, and, moreover, have to be combined into two Sutras. The topic continuing to be discussed is the utkrânti of the vidvân. If, Sûtra 12 says, the utkrânti of the prânzas is not admitted, on the ground of the denial supposed to be contained in Bri. Up. IV, 4, 5; the reply is that the sense of the tasya there is 'sârîrât' (so that the passage means, 'from him, i.e. the giva, the prânas do not depart'); for this is clearly shown by the reading of some, viz. the Mâdhyandinas, who, in their text of the passage, do not read 'tasya' but 'tasmât.'-With reference to the instruction given by Yâgñavalkya to Ârtabhaga, it is to be remarked that nothing there shows the 'ayam purusha' to be the sage who knows Brahman.-And, finally, there are Smriti passages declaring that the sage also when dying departs from the body.
Adhik. VII and VIII (15, 16) teach, according to Sankara, that, on the death of him who possesses the higher knowledge, his pranas, elements, &c. are merged in Brahman, so as to be no longer distinct from it in any way.
According to Râmânuga the two Sûtras continue the teaching about the prâzas, bhûtas, &c. of the vidvân in general, and declare that they are finally merged in Brahman, not merely in the way of conjunction (samyoga), but completely 1.
Adhik. IX (17)-Sankara here returns to the owner of the aparâ vidyâ, while Râmânuga continues the description of the utkrânti of his vidvân.-The giva of the dying man
1 When the giva has passed out of the body and ascends to the world of Brahman, it remains enveloped by the subtle body until it reaches the river Vigara. There it divests itself of the subtle body, and the latter is merged in Brahman.
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