This is the story of Puranjana. Now its explanation by Nârada: —
1 Puranjana is Purusha — he who illuminates the Pura with consciousness.
The unknown friend is Íshvara.
2 The Pura or Puri or town is the human body.
"The marks were all favourable" — there were no deformities in the body.
3 "The nine gateways" are the nine openings of the body.
The young lady Puranjani is Buddhi.
She is the mistress of the body.
4 The ten male attendants are the five jnanendriyas or organs of perception
and the five karmendriyas or organs of action.
the wives of the attendants are the functions of the Indriyas.
5 The five-headed serpent is Prâna. The five heads are its five
subdivisions.
6 "One hundred years" is the full term of man's life.
7 "Khadyota," literally glow-worm, is the left eye, for, it has not have
the illuminating capacity of the right eye.8 "Âvirmukhi" or the great
illuminator is the right eye. 9 "Vibhrajita" is Rûpa or object of sight.
10 "Dyumat" is the perceiving eye.
11 "Nalini" and "Nâlini" are the left and right nostrils respectively.
"Avadhûta" is Vâyu. In the story, it means the perceiving nose.
"Saurabha" is Gandha or smell.
12 "Mukhya" is mouth.
13 "Apana" is speech.
14 "Bahûdana" is eating.
15 "Panchâla" is Pancha (five) + ala (capable) that which is capable of
bringing to light such of the five objects of the senses, as cannot be
otherwise cognised;
II Śastra or spiritual teachings.
16 the right ear is stronger than the left ear. Therefore, it is more
prominent and useful in hearing the Śastras, of which the first to be heard
is Karma Kânda. A man by the observance of Karma Kânda is called to the
Pitris, i.e. he reaches, after death, the path called Pitriyâna.
"Pitrihû" is therefore the right ear. "Devahû" is the left ear
corresponding to Devayâna.
17 "Uttara Panchâla" is Pravrithi Śâstra or teachings of worldliness.
18 "Dakshinâ Panchâl" is Nivrithi Śâstra or teachings of renunciation.
19 "Nirriti" is death. the anus is called death, because ordinarily the
Linga Sarira goes out through that passage after death. "Lubdhak" is Pâyu.
"Vaisasa" is excrement.
20 "Nirvâk" is foot. "Pesaskrita" is hand. Of the Indriyas, hand and
foot are blind, as there are no openings in them.
21 "Vishûchina" is mind.
22 Moha is the result of Tamas, Prasâda of Satva and Harsha of Rajas.
The aforesaid names indicate enjoyment in the Jâgrat or waking state.
Hunting represents enjoyment in the Svapna or dream state.
The "Chariot" is the body in dream consciousness. the five horses are the
five organs of perception.
The two poles are "I-ness" and "Mine-ness."
The two wheels are merit and demerit.
The axle is Pradhâna.
The three flags are the three Gunas.
The five chains are the five Prânas.
The bridle is Manas the seat of desires.
The charioteer is Buddhi.
The yoke-ends are sorrow and delusion.
The seven fenders are the seven Dhâtus or essential ingredients of the
body.
The five courses are the five organs of action.
The gold color of the armour is due to Rajas.
Brihadbala is the even perceiving mind.
The sons are the transformations of perception.
daughters are the concepts following such transformations.
"Chandavega", the Gandharva king, is the year, every year of human
life. the Gandharvas are days. their wives are nights. The 360 Gandharvas
are the 360 days of the year. With their wives or nights they form the
number 720.
The daughter of Kâla is Jarâ or decrepitude.
The Yavanas are diseases or infirmities.
Fear is the King of all diseases and infirmities viz., Death.
Prajvâra is a destructive fever.
As long as Purusha does not know his real self, but identifies himself
With the Gunas of Prakriti, he becomes subject to births and
deaths The only remedy for this malady is pure devotion to Guru
and to Bhagavân. By such devotion, dispassion and wisdom are both acquired.
23 "Darbha" is Kusa grass, symbolical of Yajna. "Vidarbha" is pure land.
24 "Malaya" or the Deccan is famous for Vishnu worship.
"Malayadhwaja" is therefore a Vaishnava king.
[It appears that Vaishnavism had its rise and growth in the South of India
before it overspread Northern India. this would be natural considering the
hold of Vedic Brahmânism in Northern India.]
The daughter of Malayadhvaja is Devotion. the seven sons are the seven
divisions of Bhakti, viz. —
1) Sravana or hearing the glory of Vishnu,
2) Kirtana or reciting the glory of Vishnu,
3) Smarana or constant remembrance of Vishnu,
4) Pâdasevana or shewing respect to Vishnu,
5) Arthana or worship of Vishnu,
6) Bandana or adoration of Vishnu,
7) Dâsya or consecration of one self to the service of Vishnu.
8) The other two divisions, Saukhya or companionship with Vishnu and Âtmâ
nivedana or complete resignation are not mentioned in this connection as
they relate to a highly advanced spiritual state. these modes of Bhakti
worship are prevalent in Dravida. The millions of sons are subdivisions of
Sravana, &c.
25 "Agastya" is mind.
26 "Dridhachyuta" is one confirmed in dispassion.
27 "Idhmavâha" is one who goes to Guru, fuel in hand, for instructions.
Iśvara, the unknown friend, called Himself and the Purusha two Kansas of
the Mânasa Lake. Hansa is one absolutely pure. Mânasa Lake is the Heart.
28 "For one thousand years' ' — Both Jiva and Iśvara remained together
as friends, the same in essence and in form, during the one thousand years
of Mahâ Pralaya, at the end of a Kaipa. During Manvantaric Manifestation,
the Jiva parts from his Friend Iśvara and launches into a wild course of
enjoyments, of joys and sorrows. The touch of that fascinating lady Buddhi
destroys all previous remembrances and the Jiva plays several characters in
the drama of life, in dream and delusion.
29 Nârada concluded his explanation of the allegory with this eloquent
exhortation:
"Know thou, O King, the deer, skipping in the flower-garden, in company
with its sweet-heart, deeply attached to the sweets of that garden,
devouring with eager ears the humming music of bhramaras, little caring for
the wolves on its way or for the arrows of the huntsman that pierce its
back.
30 "the flowers are but women who bloom only to droop. The fragrance and
honey, the sweets of the garden, are the enjoyments brought on by the karma of
another birth."
31 "the music of bhramaras is the pleasing conversation of women and
others. The wolves are the days and nights. The huntsman who stealthily
flings arrows at the deer is Death. the deer is thy own self."
32 "Consider the efforts of the deer. Concentrate citta into the heart
and all perceptions into citta. Give up the company of women. Turn a deaf
ear to all idle talks. Be devoted to that one true Friend of Jivas —
Îśvara. Retire, retire from all others."
33 King Prâchina Barhis wondered why such beautiful teachings were
withheld by his teachers. Or forsooth, they knew not themselves. He
requested Nârada however to remove two doubts that were still lurking in
his mind. — Purusha acquires karma in one body, but he reaps the fruits of
that karma in another body.
34 One body is the doer while another is the enjoyer and sufferer. To one
body, the fruits of its own work are lost. To another body, there is an
acquisition of fruits it did not sow. How can this be? This was the first
doubt.
35 What is done is done. Nothing apparently remains of our karma. How can
then the sequences be accounted for? this was the second doubt.
36 Narada replies: — Purusha reaps the fruits in that very body without
break in which it acquires karma, but that body is the Linga Sarira,
inclusive of Manas. As in dream man works out the impressions of the
wakeful state without changing the body, so he enjoys the fruits of
karma created
in one birth in the Karma-made body of another
birth. And the doer of Karma is verily the Manas and not the Sthûla body.
"These are mine," "I am so and so," only such concepts of the mind produce
re-birth, and not anything in the Sthûla body. So the mind sows and the
mind reaps. The body is merely the vehicle of birth producing thoughts.
This is in answer to the first question.
37 Now to the second.
How do you know there is chitta or mind? All the senses are at one and
at the same time in contact with the objects of all the senses. But still
you perceive only one thing at a time. Hence you infer the existence of the
mind. Similarly, by marking the tendencies of the mind their connection
with a former birth is inferred. Otherwise, why should there be one mental
affection at a time and not another? then, in this life you never realise a
thing which you never heard or saw or felt before. How can the mind then
reproduce makers you never experienced before?
The mind by its present characteristics gives an insight into the past as
well as into the future. It sometimes happens that things are perceived in
the mind with strange combinations in time, space and action, as in dreams.
But men are endowed with mind and the mind perceives one after another the
objects of the senses in an enormous variety, and the perceptions are lost
again. So (in the long run) not one experience is altogether strange. (For
instance, a man sees in a dream that he is a king. He must have been a king
in some birth or other. The present combination in the dream is untrue but
not so the kingly experience. The experience is always true with reference
to some time, some space, some action or other). When the mind is intensely
Sâtvic (calm, pure and transparent) and becomes constantly devoted to
Bhagavân, the whole universe is reflected on it. In Jiva there is never a
break in the egoistic experience as long as the Linga Sarira continues.
38 There is only a seeming break in sleep, swoon-and-deep distress such
as death and fatal illness, but such break is due to a collapse of the
perceiving senses.
39 There is similarly a break in the foetal stage and in extreme
childhood. But such break is due to imperfection of the senses; The moon
though not visible on the new moon night does still exist.
the connection with gross objects does not cease because there is a
temporary absence of such objects. For, are not thoughts about objects
potent in their effects in dreams? The Linga Sarira, consisting in their
essence of the five pure elements (Tanmatra), subject to the three Gunas,
extending over the sixteen transformations (of the Sânkhya category),
permeated with consciousness, is called Jiva. It is with this Ling Sarira
that Purusha enters into a body or comes out of it, and it is with this
Sarira that he experiences joy, sorrow, fear, misery and happiness. As the
leech has its hold on the first blade of grass till it connects itself with
another, so the Jiva identifies itself with one body till it enters
another. Manas only acquires karma by its contemplation of the objects of
the senses. The bondage is thus created by Avidyâ.
Therefore, do thou meditate on Hari to free thyself from all worldly
attachments and to be fixed in Him for ever.
KR Nardha philosophy by allegory 20423
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