[INDOLOGY] Bṛhadārṇayaka 2.3.4

[Christophe Vielle]

Dear Evgeniya,
I do not think that there is an inconsistency in the text. In
idam eva mūrtaṃ yad anyat prāṇāc ca yaś cāyam antarātmannākāśaḥ (2.3.4) |
it is like if some correlative tasmād (usually skipped) was implied between the first ca and yaś ca
following the usual translations:
this mūrta is what is different from the prāṇa and [from] what (masc.) is this space within the self

It may be also  possible to understand:
this mūrta is what is different from the prāṇa which is also this space within the self

therefore differently from
athāmūrtaṃ prāṇaś ca yaś cāyam antarātmannākāśaḥ (2.3.5) |
the amūrta is the prāṇa and what is this space within the self
(again, prāṇa = what is the space within the self)

Bw
Christophe

Le 28 févr. 2025 à 13:00, Evgeniya Desnitskaya via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info<mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> a écrit :

Dear all,

BAU 2.3 describes two Brahmans, namely mūrta and amūrta. From 2.3.2 and 2.3.3, we learn that mūrta Brahman is different from vāyu and antarikṣa, while amūrta Brahman is identical with them.
Further, BAU 2.3.4 and 2.3.5 provide a similar description on the adhyātma level:
idam eva mūrtaṃ yad anyat prāṇāc ca yaś cāyam antar ātmann ākāśaḥ (2.3.4) |...
athāmūrtaṃ prāṇaś ca yaś cāyam antar ātmann ākāśaḥ (2.3.5) |
Similarly to the previous passage, mūrta Brahman differs from prāṇa and amūrta is identical with it. Still, both Brahmans are identified with the space within the body, which is indeed inconsistent.
Olivelle translates BAU 2.3.4 as "distinct from breath and the space within the body" and does not comment on this point.

I wonder, if this inconsistency in the text can be explained? Is it simply a result of the oral transmission of the text, a kind of lapsus linguae that became fixed in the normative form of BAU?
--
Evgeniya Desnitskaya
Institute of Oriental Manuscripts
Russian Academy of Sciences


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Christophe Vielle<https://www.uclouvain.be/en/people/christophe.vielle>
Louvain-la-Neuve









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