नातींद्रियं मनः सन्ति रोगाः शब्दादिजास्तथा॥१४॥
षड्धातुजस्तु पुरुषः रोगाः षड्धातुजास्तथा॥
राशिः षड्धातुजो ह्येष सांख्यैराद्यैः प्रकीर्तितः॥१५॥
Translation: Hiranyaksha said " No. Soul is not believed to be originated from Rasa. Same with mind which is beyond senses. We also see diseases caused by sound etc.
( I Propose) Organisms and diseases originate from confluence of Six dhatus. Original Sankhya sages have described Purusha as confluence of Six dhatus.
Commentary (Chakrapani): Soul and Mind both being beyond senses they cannot originate from Rasa is the argument here. Had they originated from Rasa then they would have been perceptible by sense organs. He (Hiranyaksha) offers another argument that diseases caused by sound pollution etc. do not originate from Rasa.
Hiranyaksha is proposing Six Dhatus i. e. Pancha Mahabhootas and soul as described in Sharir sthana chapter 1 खादयः चेतनाषश्ठा धातवः पुरुषः स्मृतः॥
Commentary (Vishnu): Hiranyaksha is offering two very convincing arguments for refutation of 'water as origin'. In his own proposal he is confirming the standard position of Sankhya sages. Here we will not go into the gray area about nature of Mahabhootas. That topic will be uncovered in commentary of Sootrasthan Chapter 1. Here we will assume that Panchamahabootas represent material world or molecular world.
In Six Dhatus the term used is Chetanadhatu. This includes Soul(Atman) accompanied by Logical mind (Manas), Ego or conciousness (Ahankara) and Emotional mind (Chitta).
Apparently the argument by Hiranyaksha seems all inclusive. All material parts of the body and all abstract parts are included. Any of them can be cause of diseases and all of them together form the Purusha. Let us wait for the next speaker to refute this seemingly powerful argument in this unfolding drama.
Madan wrote
ReplyDeleteChetanadhatu (as in 14-15) is a important term - but confusing if presented as 'Six Dhatus' - the mind tries to place this against the Ayurvedic 'saptadhatu' whihc has more of a material / anatomical connotation.
In the earlier instalment C S Su 25 #12-13, the rationale and logic developed to arrive at Rasa via Apa is elegant!
Even at this early stage in the progression towards the later verses one can start to see how Shastra has the clarity for guiding Science. A first attempt is below - consider this a very early draft - which once refined I will be happy for you to include in the blog.
Apa, rasa, shrotas, dhatus etc.
In the context of the larger argument about rasa and disease, water and the origin of autocatalytic activities which progress and mature to resemble present day biological activities and then onwards to become Life are valid and important and take on the shape of 'absolutes' or 'essentials'. However, at the level of organisation where present day disease manifests these indispensables can be set aside without disturbing to a great extent the derivation and elaboration of the role of a higher order component - something more complex than water but not as complex as cells and tissue.
It is now much more easy to see ... why 'rasa' takes on the role it does in defining health and the origin of disease. Easy to see how maintenance of quality of 'rasa' is the way to maintaining good health and all the first steps to also appreciating the important the corollaries. For instance, the anatomical issues of disease such as 'shrotas' - the paths or channels that 'rasa' uses to permeate the dhatus and then to link this to cures and treatments like ... 'rasayana'.
What modern day biology can do to help is to clarify the biological (biochemical, biophysical, physiological etc. etc.) qualities of rasa without overlooking possible 'subtle qualities and attributes' and to integrate this in the context of health and disease.
But these are all intricate systems-level interactions and attributes arising from complex interactions.