shanta and danta in The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Bhashya 4.4.23

[Jaishankar Narayanan]

Namaste,

In his Bhashya to the famous Brihadranyaka Upanishad vakya

...तस्मादेवंविच्छान्तो दान्त उपरतस्तितिक्षुः समाहितो भूत्वात्मन्येवात्मानं पश्यति...॥ ४.४.२३ ॥

...tasmādevaṃvicchānto dānta uparatastitikṣuḥ samāhito bhūtvātmanyevātmānaṃ paśyati...॥ 4.4.23 ॥

Shankaracharya gives the meaning for 'shama' and 'dama' differently as

तस्मात् एवंवित् शान्तः बाह्येन्द्रियव्यापारत उपशान्तः, तथा दान्तः अन्तःकरणतृष्णातो निवृत्तः

tasmāt evaṃvit śāntaḥ bāhyendriyavyāpārata upaśāntaḥ, tathā dāntaḥ antaḥkaraṇatṛṣṇāto nivṛttaḥ

Normally 'shama' is understood as 'mano-nigraha' (Mastery of Mind) and 'dama' as 'bāhyendriya-nigraha' (Mastery over external sense organs and organs of action) from texts like Tattvabodah, Vedanta Saara, Vivekachudamani etc., but here Shankara has interchanged the meanings and is taking 'śāntaḥ' as one who has ceased the activities of his external organs (sense organs and organs of action) and 'dāntaḥ' as one who has averted the longings of his internal organ (mind).

According to the Dhatupaata both the roots have the same meaning दमु उपशमे and शमु उपशमे i.e. to grow calm; to stop, cease. So Bhashyakara could have taken 'shama' as 'bāhyendriya-nigraha', which leads to 'dama' which is 'mano-nigraha', as 'śāntaḥ' appears before 'dāntaḥ' in the Upanishad Vakya.

Kanchi Mahaperiyava Swami Chandrashekarendra Saraswati has also discussed this in the book Deivathin Kural Volume 6. He says that the interchanging of the meanings of 'shama' and 'dama' by Shankaracharya in his Bhashya has caused some controversy. He opines that after becoming a Sanyasi one of the first texts that Shankara authored were the Bhashyas on Upanishads. So in the Brihadranyaka Bhashya he has given the meaning of shama and dama, in keeping with the sequence in which they appear, as 'bāhyendriya-nigraha' and 'mano-nigraha' respectively as both roots have the same meaning in general. But later as he travelled across India he came to know the particular meanings associated with 'shama' and 'dama' and gave the generally accepted meanings in his prakarana granthas like Vivekachudamani.

Interestingly Sureshvaracharya in his vArtika has actually said that dama is 'bahiṣkaraṇaceṣṭāyā nivṛtti' and shama is 'antaḥkaraṇaceṣṭāyā nivṛtti' and the 'sequence in meaning' (arthakrama) is more powerful (balīyān) than 'sequence in reading' (pāṭhakrama)

दान्तो भूत्वा ततः शान्तस्ततश्चोपरतो भवेत् ||
अर्थक्रमो बलीयान्स्याद्यतः पाठक्रमादिह || ४.४.१२०३ ||

dānto bhūtvā tataḥ śāntastataścoparato bhavet ||
arthakramo balīyānsyādyataḥ pāṭhakramādiha || 4.4.1203 ||

क्रियानिवृत्तिविषये प्रयोगो जगतीक्ष्यते ||
अभिधानस्य शान्तादेः प्रत्यक्षेणेह सर्वतः || ४.४.१२०४ ||

kriyānivṛttiviṣaye prayogo jagatīkṣyate ||
abhidhānasya śāntādeḥ pratyakṣeṇeha sarvataḥ || 4.4.1204 ||

बहिष्करणचेष्टाया निवृत्तौ दान्त उच्यते ||
दान्तोऽश्वो गौर्गजो वाऽपि प्रयोगस्तत्र वीक्ष्यते || ४.४.१२०५ ||

bahiṣkaraṇaceṣṭāyā nivṛttau dānta ucyate ||
dānto'śvo gaurgajo vā'pi prayogastatra vīkṣyate || 4.4.1205 ||

अन्तःकरणचेष्टाया निवृत्तौ शान्त उच्यते ||
शान्तो भिक्षुस्तपस्वीति तत्प्रयोगसमीक्षणात् || ४.४.१२०६ ||

antaḥkaraṇaceṣṭāyā nivṛttau śānta ucyate ||
śānto bhikṣustapasvīti tatprayogasamīkṣaṇāt || 4.4.1206 ||

with love and prayers,

Jaishankar

[V Subrahmanian]

Namaste Sri Jayashankar ji,

Very interesting post.  One is reminded of the Mandukya Karika 4.86 and the bhashyam:  Here the Bhashyam seems to take both the śama and dama to mean the same: upaśānti.  

विप्राणां विनयो ह्येष शमः प्राकृत उच्यते ।
दमः प्रकृतिदान्तत्वादेवं विद्वाञ्शमं व्रजेत् ॥ ८६ ॥  4.86

विप्राणां ब्राह्मणानां विनयः विनीतत्वं स्वाभाविकं यदेतदात्मस्वरूपेणावस्थानम् । एष विनयः शमोऽप्येष एव प्राकृतः स्वाभाविकः अकृतकः उच्यते । दमोऽप्येष एव प्रकृतिदान्तत्वात् स्वभावत एव चोपशान्तरूपत्वाद्ब्रह्मणः । एवं यथोक्तं स्वभावोपशान्तं ब्रह्म विद्वान् शमम् उपशान्तिं स्वाभाविकीं ब्रह्मस्वरूपां व्रजेत् ब्रह्मस्वरूपेणावतिष्ठत इत्यर्थः ॥ 

Here is the Swami Gambhirananda translation:


86. This is the modesty of the Brahmanas, this is called their natural tranquility, and this is their natural self-restraint resulting from spontaneous poise. Having known thus, one gets established in tranquility.

This continuance in the state of identity with the Self is the natural vinayah, modesty; viprānām, of the Brahmanas. This is their humility, and this is also ucyate, called; their prākrtah śamah, natural mental tranquility. Damah, self-restraint, too, is this only; prakrtidantatvat, because of (their) spontaneous poise, and because Brahman, too, is by nature quiescent. Evam vidvān, having known thus, having known the aforesaid Brahman as naturally tranquil; vrajet, one should attain; śamam, tranquility, which is spontaneous and which is the very nature of Brahman--that is to say one remains established in identification with Brahman.

warm regards

subbu

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[Vikram Jagannathan]

Namaskaram acharya ji, Subbu ji,

Revered Bhamatikara too brings in a sense of similarity / consequence between sama and dama.

"प्रसङ्ख्यानाभ्यासलब्धवैराग्यपरिपाकभग्नरागादिकषायमदिरामदं तु मनः पुरुषेणावजीयते वशीक्रियते, सोऽयमस्य वैराग्यहेतुको मनोविजयः शम इति वशीकारसंज्ञ इति चाख्यायते । विजितं च मनस्तत्त्वविषयविनियोगयोग्यतां नीयते, सेयमस्य योग्यता दमः ।"

Translation by Sri Suryanarayana Sastri:

"That mind, however, in which the intoxication due to the wine of passion etc., has been put an end to by the perfecting of non-attachment gained by the repetition of the contemplation (mentioned above), is subjugated, i.e., is brought under control by the self. This subjugation of the mind occasioned by non-attachment is called calmness (sama) or 'vaśīkāra-samjñā'. And the subjugated mind is made fit for application in respect of truth {i.e., to the investigation of truth) ; this its capacity is (dama) equanimity,"

prostrations,

Vikram

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[V Subrahmanian]

Thanks Vikram ji, for the reference. Really interesting.  This is from the very first Brahma sutra bhashya (athāto brahmajijnāsā) gloss of the Bhamati. 

regards

subbu

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