Panchapadika of Padmapada English Translation

THE PANCAPADIKA OF PADMAPADA (Translated into English) by Rajasevasakta D. VENKATARAMIAH, B.A., L.T. Formerly Mysore Educational Service ORIENTAL INSTITUTE BARODA 1948 GAEKWAD'S ORIENTAL SERIES Published under the Authority of the Government of His Highness the Maharaja Gaekwad of Baroda General Editor : B. Bhattacharyya, M.A., Ph.D. Rajyaratna, Jnanajyoti No. CVII THE PANCAPADIKA OF PADMAPADA (Translated into English) PRINTED AT THE BANGALORE PRESS, BANGALORE CITY, BY G. SRINIVASA RAO, SUPERINTENDENT, AND PUBLISHED ON BEHALF OF THK GOVERNMENT OF HIS HIGHNESS THE MAHARAJA GAEKWAD OF BARODA BY BENOYTOSH BHATTACHARYYA, DIRECTOR, ORIENTAL INSTITUTE AT THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE, BARODA Price: Rs. 17 FOREWORD The famous Vedanta polemical work, PancapadikS. of Padmapadacarya in English translation is now presented to all lovers of Indian Philosophy as No. CVII of the Gaekwad's Oriental Series. The publication of this work is a melancholy story since the esteemed translator, the late Rajasevasakta Sri. D. Venkataramiah, died as soon as arrangements were made to print his book at the Bangalore Press, Bangalore. Before his death he was very anxious to have the book printed, and always reminded us that delay might kill him. The work was first entrusted under Government orders to the Sadhana Press, Baroda, but this press, hardpressed with work, could not make any headway even after a lapse of full one year. Thereafter, Mr. Venkataramiah himself fixed the Bangalore Press for printing his work, and this printer within a short time set up nearly a hundred galleys in type. These galleys were sent to the editor without delay, but by that time Mr. Venkataramiah was too ill to revise the proofs. That illness proved to be his last illness and he expired on Friday, 13th June 1947, at the ripe old age of 81, and thus India lost a great scholar, a profound philosopher and above all, a gentleman of very high qualities and character. We were associated with Mr. Venkataramiah for the last ten years or more, and we shall ever remember with appreciation and admiration his great desire to help us in difficulties, his remarkable promptitude in disposing of business and the uniform courtesy that was inherent in him. The late Mr. Venkataramiah was conscious that he was old and that he may collapse at any time. In order that the printing of the work may not suffer in any way, he requested his friend and associate, Mr. D. V. Gundappa, a well-known political, literary

and social worker of Mysore, to examine the proofs of the Pancapadika in case anything happened to him. But alas ! the worst happened, and the author passed away leaving the heavy responsibility of printing this complicated work to others. Those were the days of intense political excitement and activity in the State of Mysore, as throughout the rest of India ; and Mr. Gundappa, being an old public worker, could not but go forward to take' his share in the struggle. This necessarily meant the diversion of his attention from the unexciting pages of the Pancapadika which asked rather for concentration of attention. After he had gone through the first 30 or 40 pages, Mr. Gundappa saw that he was in a situation likely to make for delay if he continued to retain the responsibility for proof-reading; and it was thereupon agreed that the General Editor should take over the responsibility. The General Editor would assure the readers that he has performed his part to the best of his ability. His only regret is that the proofs of this great and standard philosophical work could not be examined either by the late author, Mr. Venkataramiah, or his nominee, Mr. D. V. Gundappa. The late Mr. Venkataramiah spared no pains in making the translation perfect. He not only translated the most difficult Vedantic text of Pancapadika but followed the subtle differentiation in elaborate notes from the Vivarana at every step. Besides this in a detailed conspectus he gave exhaustive notes with original quotations from Vedantic works and copious comparisons of topics and views of the greatest authorities on Vedanta. The material presented in this volume with the critical acumen exhibited by the translator at every step is bound to make the volume a standard work on the subject and an outstanding contribution to Vedanta Philosophy. At our request Mr. D. V. Gundappa has contributed a biographical note on the late Rajasevasakta Sri. D. Venkataramiah, and this is printed as part of the preliminary pages, and for this act of courtesy, grateful thanks of the General Editor to Mr. Gundappa are recorded here. It is not possible to close this Foreword without a reference to the author, Padmapada, who is the founder of what is known as the Vivarana school of Vedanta, as running parallel to the Bhamati School started somewhat later by the famous scholar, Vacaspati Mi&ra. It is hardly necessary to state that Padmapada was a direct disciple of Sankaracarya, the founder of what is called the Advaita school of Vedanta. Sankaracarya's teachings are incorporated in the Sariraka Bhasya on the Vedanta Sutras of Badarayana, and subsequently Sankara*s original teachings were interpreted differently by two different schools of thought, one headed by our author, Padmapada, and the other by Vacaspati MiSra as already alluded to. A large literature grew round the works of these two authors, and they were known by the names of the Vivarana and Bhamati schools of Vedanta. * In the course of time, the Vivarana school seems to have fallen into desuetude as compared with its rival ; and for this, two reasons at least are clearly discernible: (1) The basic text of the Vivarana school, namely, the Pancapadika, is available only in the form of a fragment while that of the other '(Bhamati) is in its complete form. The general student of Sankara's philosophy would naturally prefer that Vyakhyana which covers the Bhasya on all the 555 sutras to that which is unfortunately found limited to just four of them. It is not unreasonable to assume that the Bhasyakara's mind is more fully brought out in the Bhamati which

deals with the sutra topics from A to Z than in the extant fraction of the Pancapadika, whatever be the relative merits of the two VyakhySnas which it should be only for specialists to take into account. To the average student, both alike represent Sarikara's Advaita; and their interpretative distinctions are to him merely a technical matter. Unlike Padmapada whose known achievement is only in the field of one Darsana, Vacaspati the author of Bhamati has to his credit works of recognised authority in all the six DarSanas. His works in Nyaya, Samkhya and Purvamlmamsa have earned for him a prestige which naturally magnifies his stature in the realm of the Vedanta. This is an advantage not matched in the case of Padmapada. In addition to these two facts, we may also note that some scholars hold the view that while Vacaspati (Bhamati) scrupulously keeps close to the letter of the &ankara Bhasya, Padmapada (Pancapadika) tries to supplement the original with something of his own thought in the process of clarification and argument. This impression of Bhamati's greater literal approximation to the original may be another reason for Vivarana's comparative lack of popularity. On the other hand, thinkers and writers of no inferior standing mindful of the doctrinal possibilities of the Saiikara Bhasya have looked upon the Vivarana (Pancapadika) literature as an invaluable source of light and guidance. This should be evident when it is recalled that among the contributors to this literature is the great Madhava Vidyaranya, author of the Vivarana-prameyasangraha as of the more popular Vedanta Pancadasl. The question of the place of the Vivarana school in the history of Advatitc thought is one that awaits the attention of the researcher. Padmapada's work and all commentaries thereon are thus of academic and antiquarian interest, as they are undoubtedly of unique interest to the student of pure philosophy ; and if proper care is not taken to preserve this literature it is quite possible that the school will be relegated to the limbo of oblivion in the course of another century. Whether the Indian Pandits and the Sanskrit Pathasalas will make a renewed attempt to revive this forgotten school, time alone can say. But there is no doubt that Padmapada's arguments are sound and have a strong appeal, and his painstaking interpretations with hair splitting differentiations will certainly excite the admiration of succeeding generations with unabated vigour. The hairline subtleties of his writings perhaps can only be compared with the critical analysis resorted to in the Navya Nyaya school of later times. Being a direct disciple of the great saint Sarikaracarya there is hardly any difficulty in fixing Padmapada's age. 3ankaracarya according to tradition lived for 32 years, and painstaking research has shown that this period was covered by the years 788-820 A.D. Thus Padmapada's time can be precisely fixed at 820 A.D. and scholars have generally agreed on this point. Our author Padmapada is reputed to have written two works both of which have fortunately survived. One of them is the Pancapadika which is a commentary on the Sankara Bhasya on the first four sutras of the Brahma Sutras. The name Pancapadika however suggests that the original commentary was obviously on five sutras, out of which one was lost subsequently. In his introduction to the Siddhanta Bindu (G.O.S. No. LX1V) on p. xci the editor Mr. P. C. Divanji has recorded an interesting story explaining the circumstances under which part of Padmapada's book was lost. The legend goes on to say that when Padmapada had finished his task of composing the full text of the Pancapadika he was

seized with a desire to go out on a pilgrimage. Before he could put that idea into practice he went to his guru like an obedient disciple for permission to leave. Sankara at first was not willing to let him go, but as he was insistent, he ultimately gave permission much against his wishes. Padmapada started on his journey all the time carrying the Pancapadika along with him. On the way to RameSvaram he halted at the house of his maternal uncle who was a follower of the Prabhakara School of MlmamsS. To this uncle Padmapada showed his Pancapadika wherein he had refuted Prabhakara and supported the Sankara view-points. Thereafter he left for Ramesvaram leaving all his belongings with his uncle including his new book Pancapadika. In his absence, the uncle thought that if Pancapadika gains publicity and popularity it will injure his masters doctrines which may ultimately go out of currency. Thinking thus he hit upon the trick of destroying the manuscript by setting fire to his own house. Padmapada informed his master about this disaster on his return, and bitterly regretted having gone out on pilgrimage against his advice. The latter thereupon dictated to him the Catussutri portion of the work which he remembered. That accounts for the incompleteness of the present work if this legend can be trusted. The second work attributed to Padmapada is the Atmabodhavyakhyana, also called the Vedantasara. Although he had left us two works his reputation is based on the sure foundation of the Pancapadika. According to Dr. Das Gupta this Pancapadika is one of the most important of the Vedanta works known to us. Tt was commented upon by Prakasatman (A.D. 1200) in his Pancapadikavivarana, which was later further commented upon by Akhandananda (A.D. 1350) in his Tattvadlpana. Anandapurna (A.D. 1600), another famous author, wrote a commentary on the Pancapadika. Dr. Das Gupta informs us that Nrisimhasrama wrote a commentary on the Pancapadika-Vivarana entitled Paficapadika-vivarana-prakasika while another old author Srikrsna composed a further commentary on the Pancapadika. Among other writers on Vivarana may be mentioned the names of Ramananda Sarasvatl, the author of Vivaranopanyasa, and of Vidyaranya author of Vivaranaprameyasamgraha. In this long line of Vivarana authors Ramananda is perhaps the last great scholar. Dr. Das Gupta places him in the early part of the 17th century on arguments which appear to be sound.1 General Editor. 1 For further details and elaborate discussion on the subtle differentiations existing between the two schools Vivarana and Bhamati, see remarks of Dr. S. N. Das Gupta: A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume H, p. 102 ff. (Padmapada) and 106 ff. (Vacaspati MiSra). It is unnecessary to dilate on them here. A study of the contribution of the Vivarana School to Advaitic theory is contained in The Philosophy of Advaita: with Special Reference to BharatUJrthaVidyaranyat by Dr. T. M. P. Mahadevan of Madras. A BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE ON THE LATE RAJASEVASAKTA SRl. D. VENKATARAMIAH Mr. D. Venkataramiah, author of the English version of the Pancapadika herein offered to the public, was born in October 26, 1867. He came of an orthodox Brahmin family of Mysore and grew amidst living traditions of devotion to the disciplines of religion and learning. The struggle he had to put up so as to keep himself at school and college was another factor that contributed to his strength of character. Soon after taking the B.A.

degree he joined service under the Government of Mysore in 1893, and the next year saw him in the position of Assistant Master in the Normal School at Mysore. It is illustrative of the seriousness with which he always regarded the duties of his office that he sought to qualify himself the better for the teaching profession by taking the L.T. course at the Training College at Saidapet (Madras). It was there that he met the late Rt.-Hon. V. S. Srinivasa Sastri as a fellow-student. The friendship they formed there grew with years and proved a source of comfort and strength to both alike in days of old age. In 1896 Mr. Venkataramiah was transferred to the Maharani's College where classes had to be taken in English literature; and with characteristic zeal he prepared himself by equipping himself with a library of standard works on Shakespeare and Wordsworth and other great poets and studying them with conscientious diligence. He was promoted to the headmastership of the Normal School in 1913, and then to the principalship of the Training College in 1916. He was made Circle Inspector of Education in 1919 and Deputy Inspector-General (Director) of Education in 1922. He retired from service in June 1923. In appreciation of his manifold services to the public in the fields of education and learning, the title of Rajasevasakta was conferred on Mr. Venkataramiah by His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore at a Durbar in June 1944. He died on Friday, the 13th of June 1947, in his 81st year, in his house in Basavangudi, Bangalore City. The first sheaf of the pressproofs of this work (Pancapadika) reached Mr. Venkataramiah's hands 4 or 5 days prior to his passing. He was then too ill to go through them. But he eagerly ran his eyes over them and expressed appreciation of the typography and format of the pages, and said xii (in Kannada) : " May this be for Sri Rama's acceptance ! (jSri Rama-arpita)" These were practically his very last words. Even when pressed for time in the midst of his onerous and multifarious duties as an administrative officer, he always made it a point to find time for his studies in Sanskrit and English literature and in philosophy. He sought the company of Pandits and took delight in their discourses on topics of religion and philosophy. As teacher and professor, as Inspector and Principal, he won the respect and gratitude of all by his conscientious devotion to duty and his unfailing gifts of sympathy and understanding. A keen student of literature and philosophy, he had no difficulty in finding work for his hands in days of retirement. He continued to serve the cause of education as a member of the Text-Book Committee, as the Chairman of the Local Education Board and as an influential member of many such public bodies, besides giving his services as honorary professor to a local College. He continued to find delight in the pages of the Bible and Shakespeare as well as of Valmlki and Vyiisa. For some 12 years he was the President of the Association of Pandits which was founded and built up largely through his effort. He was also one of the founders of the Sanskrit Academy of Bangalore, to which institution he has made a gift of his collection of Sanskrit books. The most enduring monument to his learning and love of service to fellowmen is in his insightful and well-phrased English renderings of some of the principal Upanisads and other celebrated Sanskrit philosophical treatises. His translation of Parthasarathi Misra's " Sastra-DIpika " into English was published in the Gaekwad Oriental Series eight years ago. These works testify to his conscientious care as well as to the deftness of his workmanship

in clarifying the intricacies of Vedantic polemics and suiting the vehicle of a foreign tongue to convey the subtleties of Sanskrit philosophical thought. Clean from every point of view throughout his career, gentle and forbearing, free from vanity and ostentation, with a temperament trained to equanimity and calm, Mr. D. Venkataramiah lived the twofold Dharma of self-culture (Svadhyaya) and teaching (Pravacana) prescribed to a Brahmana. March 8, 1948. D. V. Gundappa. INTRODUCTION —R.V., I. 164. 39. What gain to him is all this Vedic lore That comprehendeth not the That-The Lord? But they that Him do comprehend for sure Shall tranquil rest in Him for evermore. I The Pancapadika is a gloss on &amkara's Sutra-Bhasya (I. i. 1-4). Padmapada, its author, was one of the favourite disciples of Samkara, the others being SureSvara, Hastamalaka and Trojaka. The names well known to posterity are only those of Padmapada and Suresvara. The main source of information from which we could get to know the circumstances under which the Pancapadika was written is the Samkara-digvijaya attributed to Vidyaranya and though we may not place implicit faith on its authenticity, we need not altogether discredit the account. It is stated that at the request of Suresvara, Samkara gave him permission to write a commentary on his Bhasya. The friends of PadmapSda pleaded before &amkara that Mandana1 (the pre-ascetic appellation of SureSvara) should not be entrusted with the task of writing an authoritative commentary on the Bhasya. They argued that having been an ardent upholder of the teaching of the Karma Kanda which attaches ultimate value to ritualistic practice, he would minimise if not altogether suppress the importance of jnana as the only means of liberation. They feared that he would pervert the pure Vedantic doctrine and accordingly recommended Padmapada as best fitted to be entrusted with the work of expounding the Bhasya since his absolute faith in the Guru had been evidenced when, as the tradition goes, 1 The identity of Mancjanamisra with Suresvara has been of late questioned.—See Prof. Kuppaswami Sastri's Introduction to Brahmasiddhi of Mandana. in obedience to the master's call he stepped across the Ganges on whose bosom miraculously sprang up lotuses to serve as his foothold; (hence the name Padmapada). Samkara though he was convinced of the competency of Suresvara to interpret the Advaitic doctrine in its purity, yielded to the importunities of those who discredited SureSvara. He consequently commissioned Sanandana (the ascetic name of Padmapada) to write the sub-commentary (Nibandhana) but assigned to Suresvara the composition of Vartikas on the Brhadaranyaka and Taittiriya Upanisads bringing out in full the essentials of the Advaita system. From these Vartikas and also from his Naiskarmyasiddhi, an independent work with its powerfull advocacy of knowledge dissociated from ritual as the only means of freedom, we see how groundless was the charge of those fellowdisciples who suspected Suresvara's bias to the Karma doctrine. Padmapada's commentary on the Bhasya is known as the Tika,1 the first part being styled the Pancapadika, the rest Vrtti. From internal evidence it is perceived that Padmapada in all probability wrote his gloss on the entire Bhasya but what is left to us is only the Tika relating to the Bhasya on Badarayana-

SGtras, 1. i. 1-4. 2 After completing his work Padmapada sought permission from the master, it is said, to travel south on a pilgrimage to Ramesvaram and though warned against the dangers incidental to such a long journey, he wrested Samkara's consent and proceeded on his travels taking his work with him. On his way he reached his uncle's house. This uncle of his who was a staunch follower of Prabhakara—the famous exponent of the ritualistic doctrine of one school of Purvamlmamsa—naturally felt aggrieved at the attack made in the Pancapadika on the Prabhakara teaching but without revealing his mind complimented his nephew on his 1 Ramananda in his commentary on Samkara-bhasya—Sri Venkateswara Press, Bombay—p. 13, quotes the passage from p. 4 of PP. — 3TR-^T faTOTgw RWerfafa —which he calls the Tika. 2 References to the Vrtti found in Pancapadika are: — p. 29—aron: t&T?§*raira