।। Verse 4।।
tamekanemiṃ tribṛttaṃ ṣoḍaśāntaṃ
śatārddhāraṃ biṃśati pratyārābhiḥ।
aṣṭakaiḥ ṣaḍabhirviśvarūpaikapāśaṃ
trimārgabhedaṃ dvinimittaikamoham।। 1/4
Translation:- The great sages saw the cause of the universe in meditation as a wheel. That wheel has a rim, constituted by three substances. The wheel has sixteen ends, fifty spokes, twenty middle spokes or pratyara, having six groups of eight each. The bondage that fastened the components of the wheel is Viśvarūpa.This wheel moves in three different paths. Illusion is the cause of moving in two paths among the three paths
-: Commentary by Raṅgarāmānuja :- taṃ paramātmānaṃ prakṛtyākhyaikanemiyuktaṃ sattbarajastamoguṇaistriprakāratayā tribṛttaṃ ṣoḍaśasaṃkhyāyuktāntaḥśabdita bikāropetaṃ bācakabhūtākārādi pañcāśadbarṇalakṣaṇāropetaṃ dvādaśamāsa ṣaḍartbayanadbayarūpasaṃbatsarātmakaviṃśati pratyarayuktamityarthaḥ pratyarābhiriti liṅgabyatyayaḥ chāndasaḥ arā nemimadhyabartī kāṣṭhabiśeṣāḥ pratyarāścataddārḍhyārthanihitāstanmadhyabarttinaḥ kāṣṭhabiśeṣāḥ, aṣṭakaiḥ ṣaḍabhirhi aṇimādyaiścaryyāṣṭakamekaṃ prācyādi digaṣṭakamaparaṃ dikapālāṣṭakamekaṃ bhūmirāponalobāyauḥ khaṃ mano buddhireba ca ahaṅkāra itīyaṃ me bhinnā prakyatiraṣṭadheti gītoktaṃ prakṛtyaṣṭakamanyat brahmāprajāpatirdebā gandharbā yakṣarākṣasāḥ pitaraḥ piśācāśceti debāṣṭakamekaṃ aṣṭabasaba ityuktaṃ basbaṣṭakaṃ apahatapāpamatbādi brahmaguṇāṣṭakaṃ dayaā sarbabhūteṣu śāntiranasūya়ā śaucamanāya়āso maṅgalamakārpaṇyaṃ aspṛhā iti ātmaguṇāṣṭakamekaṃ bā ebhiḥ ṣaḍabhiraṣṭakaiḥ upetaṃ। biśbarūpo birāṭ puruṣaḥ sa eba mukhyaḥ, pāśaḥ sbāśritajagannaiścalyahetutayā bandhakapāśabadbirāṭapuruṣarūpa brahmacakrasya pāśarūpa ityarthaḥ। trimārgabhedaṃ debayāna pitṛyāna kṣudrajantubhabanalakṣaṇamārgatrayayuktaṃ tatra ca pitṛyāna kṣudrajastubhabanalakṣaṇamārgadbayahetubhūta dehātmaikyarūpaṃ mohamityarthaḥ। apaśyanniti pūrbeśa sambandhaḥ।। 1/4
Translation of commentary:-
The sages realized the paramātmā as a wheel. The rim of the wheel is the prakṛti. The constituents of the rim is the three modes of the prakṛti— sattva, rajaḥ, tamaḥ. The sixteen modifications of matter is the sixteen ends. The fifty spokes are fifty letters of alphabet.
The one year constituted by 12 months, 6 season, 2 ayaṇas are twenty pratyara. In this mantra the word pratyarābhiḥ is derived with a feminine gender suffix to maintain the meter of the mantra. ara means the spokes of a wheel. pratyara means nails that secure the firmness of the spokes. The nails have six types of aṣṭaka. The six groups of eight are— 1) the eight Siddhi— Aṇimā, Garimā, Mahimā, Laghimā, Prāpti, Prākāmyaṃ, īśitā, Baśitā,
2) the eight directions east, northeast, etc.
3) the eight forms of prakṛti told by the Lord śrīkṛṣṇa in bhagabada gītā— earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false pride.
4) the eight kinds of demigods—brahmā, prajāpati, debagaṇa, gandharba, yakṣa, rākṣasa, pitṛpuruṣa o piśāca.
5) the eight Vasus
6) the eight qualities of the brahma described in the vedas—Apahatapāpmā, Bimṛtyuḥ, Biśokaḥ, Bijaraḥ, Bijighatsaḥ Apipāsaḥ, Satyakāma, Satyasaṅkalpaḥ. Or the eight qualities of the jivatma— sarbabhūte dayā, śānti, anasūyā, śucitā, anāyāsa, maṅgala, akārpaṇya, aspṛhā. The brahmacakra is made up of this six groups of eight.
The word biśvarūpa in the mantra means the birāṭa puruṣa. He is the principal. He is the fastening bond of the brahmacakra so that the universe sheltered by him cannot be loosen.
This brahmacakra is the cause to attain the body of demigod, pitṛ, or lower animals. The moha in the mantra means the dehātmabuddhi (thinking
The dehātmabuddhi is the cause of attaining the body of pitṛ and lower animals. In this way the sages saw the brahma as a wheel by meditation. The verb apaśyan in the previous mantra is interpreted as the realization of brahmacakra.
-: Commentary by Raṅgarāmānuja :-
evaṃ cakratvena rūpayaitvā tacchaktitvena nirdiṣṭāṃ prakṛtiṃ bairāgyāya nadītvena rūpayati।
Translation of commentary:-
Thus the brahman is explained by the sages with the metaphor of a wheel in the previous mantra. Now the prakṛti, the energy of the brahman, the upādāna kāraṇa of the material world is described by a metaphor of a river, to yield renunciation in the mind of the aspirants.
-:Gaudiya Commentary:-
ajasya cakraṁ tv ajayeryamāṇaṁ
manomayaṁ pañcadaśāram āśu।
tri-nābhi vidyuc-calam aṣṭa-nemi
yad-akṣam āhus tam ṛtaṁ prapadye।।
SB 8/5/28
Translation:- In the cycle of material activities, the material body resembles the wheel of a mental chariot. The ten senses [five for working and five for gathering knowledge] and the five life airs within the body form the fifteen spokes of the chariot’s wheel. The three modes of nature [goodness, passion and ignorance] are its center of activities, and the eight ingredients of nature [earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and false ego] comprise the rim of the wheel. The external, material energy moves this wheel like electrical energy. Thus the wheel revolves very quickly around its hub or central support, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul and the ultimate truth. We offer our respectful obeisances unto Him.
Next>>>
Next>>>
