Mahabharata Santi Parva Chapter 241:2

link=Mahabharata Santi Parva Chapter 241
Mahabharata Santi Parva (Mokshadharma Parva) Chapter 241:2


As regards the man devoted to acts, his nature may be inferred from beholding the new-born moon which appears like a bent thread in the firmament[1]Know, O son, that the person of acts takes rebirth with a body with eleven entities, for its ingredients, that are the results of modification, and with a subtile form that represents a total of six and ten.[2] The deity who takes refuge in that (material) form, like a drop of water on a lotus leaf, should be known as Kshetrajna (Soul), which is Eternal, and which succeeds by Yoga in transcending both the mind and the knowledge[3]Tamas, Rajas, and Sattwa are the attributes of the knowledge. The knowledge is the attribute of the individual soul residing within the body. The individual soul, in its turn, comes from the Supreme Soul.[4]The body with the soul is said to be the attribute of jiva. It is jiva that acts and causes all bodies to live. He who has created the seven worlds is said by those that are acquainted with what is Kshetra (and what is Kshetrajna) to be above jiva.'

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References

  1. ↑ .[The meaning is this: the man of acts is like the new-born moon, i.e., subject to growth and decay.]
  2. ↑ [This has been explained in a previous section.]
  3. ↑ .[The soul resides in the body without partaking of any of the attributes of the body. It is, therefore, likened to a drop of water on a lotus leaf, which, though on the leaf, is not yet attached to it, in so much that it may go off without at all soaking or drenching any part of the leaf. Yogajitatmakam is yogena jito niruddha atma chittam yena tam, as explained by the commentator.]
  4. ↑ [Literally, 'Tamas and Rajas and Sattwa have the attribute of Jiva for their essence.' The particular attribute of Jiva here referred to is the Jnanamaya kosha. Jiva, again, is all accident of the Soul. The Soul comes from the Supreme Soul. Thus the chain of existence is traced to the Supreme Soul. In verse 20 again it is said that the body, which by itself is inanimate, when it exists with the Soul, is an accident of Jiva as uninvested with attributes.]