________________
262
ANUGËTA.
ment of knowledge, requires everything knowable' (as its offering). The mind is within the body the upholder of the frame, and the knower is the upholder of the body. That' upholder of the body is the Gårhapatya fire; from that another is produced, and the mind which is the Ahavaniya; and into this the offering is thrown. Then the lord of speech was produced ; that (lord of speech) looks up to the mind. First, verily, are words produced; and the mind runs after them.
Each sense can only offer up its own perceptions—the mind offers up all knowledge whatever.
• Arguna Misra says this is an implied simile, the mind is an upholder of the body as the 'knower' or self is.
• Arguna Misra says this means the mind.' I think it better to take it here as the self (see p. 238 supra), to which the mind' and the other,' mentioned further on, would be subordinate; the
other' Arguna Misra renders by the 'group of the senses.' The senses are compared to fires at Gîtâ, p. 61. The passage at Taittiriya-aranyaka above cited refers only to the Gårhapatya and Ahavaniya fires. Nilakantha's text and explanation of this passage are, to my mind, not nearly so satisfactory as Arguna Misra's
• In the Taittirfya-brâhmana and Aranyaka loc. cit., the equivalent of the original word for 'lord of speech' here occurs, viz. Vakpati for Vakaspali here ; but that is there described as the Hotri priest, and speech itself as the Vedi or altar. The com. mentator there interprets lord of speech' to mean the wind which causes vocal activity, and resides in the throat, palate, &c. As 10 mind and speech, see also Khândogya, pp. 285-441, and comments of Sankara there. The meaning of this passage, however, is not by any means clear to my mind. The Dasahovi mantras in the Taittiriya are stated to be the mantras of the Isha, or sacrifice, performed by Pragapati for creation. It is possible, then, that the meaning here is, that speech which is to be learnt by the pupil, as stated further on-namely, the Vedas-was first produced from that Ishli (cf. Kulláka on Manu I, 31). But to understand that speech, mind is necessary; hence it is said to look up to the mind. The Brahmana's wife, however, seems to understand speech as ordinary speech, hence her question.
Digitized by Google