IV ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAtfA, 4. 1 75
vital spirits (pr&^as) depart after it. He is conscious, and being conscious he follows * and departs.
' Then both his knowledge and his work take hold of him, and his acquaintance with former things V
3. * And as a caterpillar, after having reached the end of a blade of grass, and after having made another approach (to another blade) 3 , draws itself together towards it, thus does this Self, after having thrown off this body 4 and dispelled all ignorance, and after making another approach (to another body), draw himself together towards it.
4. ' And as a goldsmith, taking a piece of gold, turns it into another, newer and more beautiful shape, so does this Self, after having thrown off this body
1 This is an obscure passage, and the different text of the Madhyandinas shows that the obscurity was felt at an early time. The Madhyandinas read : Sa^winam anvavakr&mati sa esha gnzh savi^Mno bhavati. This would mean, 'Consciousness departs after. He the knowing (Self) is self-conscious.' The Kdwvas read : Savi^w&no bhavati, savi^wlnam evanvavakr&mati. Roer translates : 'It is endowed with knowledge, endowed with knowledge it departs ;' and he explains, with .Sankara, that the knowledge here intended is such knowledge as one has in a dream, a knowledge of impressions referring to their respective objects, a knowledge which is the effect of actions, and not inherent in the self. Deussen translates : «Sie (die Seele) ist von Erkenntnissart, und was von Erkenntnissart ist, ziehet ihr nach.' The Persian translator evidently thought that self-consciousness was implied, for he writes : * Cum quovis corpore addictionem sumat .... in illo corpore ah am est, id est, ego sum.'
2 This acquaintance with former things is necessary to explain the peculiar talents or deficiencies which we observe in children. The three words vidyd, karman, and purvapra^-ild often go toge- ther (see *Sankara on Bnh. Up. IV, 3, 9). Deussen's conjecture, apurvapra^Tia, is not called for.
8 See Brih. Up. IV, 3, 9, a passage which shows how ^difficult it would be always to translate the same Sanskrit words by the same words in English ; see also Brahmopanishad, p. 245.
4 See Br/h. Up. IV, 3, 9, and IV, 3, 13.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
