वेदान्त पारिजात सौरभ (भगवद् निम्बार्काचार्य - द्वैताद्वैत वेदान्त ब्रह्मसूत्र भाष्य सटीक)

[SŪ. 3. 3. 10. ADH. 3.] VEDĀNTA-KAUSTUBHA 595 sooth, the oldest and the best of his own people. The vital-breath, verily, is the oldest and the best" (Bṛh. 6.1.1 ¹) and so on; and they demonstrate the attributes of speech and the rest, such as: being the richest and so on, thus: "These divinities, verily, disputed for self- superiority" ² and so on, "Disputing for self-superiority" (Bṛh 6.1.7 ³) and so on; as well as establish the excellence of the vital- breath on the ground that speech and the rest and the body have their existence as well as activities under the control of the vital-breath, and finally ascribe the attributes of speech and the rest, such as, being the richest and so on, to the vital-breath, the oldest and the best, thus: "Then, verily, speech said to him: 'If I am the richest, you are the richest' " (Chānd. 5.1.13 ⁴) and so on. Thus, according to them, the object to be worshipped is the vital-breath, endowed with the attributes of being the oldest, the best, the richest and so on, as subserving speech and the rest. In the dialogues of the sense-organs in the branches of the Kauṣītaki and the rest, on the other hand, the excellence of the vital- breath is demonstrated, but the attributes of speech and the rest are not ascribed to it (Kauṣ. 2. 14). The attributes in question are those belonging to speech, the eye, the ear and the mind,—namely, being the richest being the support, being prosperity and being the abode (respectively), to be known from the following texts: "He who, verily, knows the richest . . . . Speech, forsooth, is the richest" (Bṛh. 6.1.2; Chānd. 5 1.2), "He who, verily, knows the support . . . . The eye, forsooth, is the support" (Bṛh. 6 1.3; Chānd. 5 1.3), "He who, verily, knows prosperity . . . . The ear, verily, is prosperity" (Bṛh. 6.1 4; Chānd. 4.1.4), "He who, verily, knows the abode . . . . The mind, verily, is the abode" (Bṛh. 6 15; Chānd 5.1.5) and so on. On the doubt, viz. whether these attributes are to be included in the meditations on the vital-breath of the Kauṣītakins, or not, the ¹ An exactly similar passage—omitting only the word 'svānām', is Chānd. 5.1.1. ² This is evidently a mis-quotation, since it is traceable neither in the Chānd nor in the Bṛh. ³ Cf. Chānd. 5 1.6.—"Now the sense-organs disputed among themselves about self-superiority " ⁴ Cf Bṛh. 6.1.4.—"She (i.e. speech) said: 'Verily, wherein I am the richest, therein you are the richest'."