[Advaita-l] [advaitin] shanta and danta in The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Bhashya 4.4.23

[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



On Tue, Aug 12, 2025 at 12:08 PM V Subrahmanian <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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
>
> On Tue, Aug 12, 2025 at 9:07 PM Jaishankar Narayanan <jai1971 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> 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
>>
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