संवेगः - Saṃvega

 संवेगः - Saṃvega 

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Blog author Jayaraman Mahadevan

 

Etymology

सम् + विज+ घञ् = संवेगः

sam + vija+ ghañ = saṃvegaḥ

·       The prefix here is sam – which means सम्यक् – well

·       The root is विज् भयचलनयोः - vij bhayacalanayoḥ - to fear and to move

·       The suffix is ghañ – which is used to indicate the meaning भाव – bhava – the act of. The suffix is added based on the grammatical rule भावे bhāve (aṣṭādhyāyī  3.3.18)

The derivation then would be सम्यक् विज्यते इति संवेगः – the act of moving well/with intensity

 

 Lexicon

…समौ संवेगसंभ्रमौ 1.7.34.1.3

samau saṃvega-saṃbhramau

The words saṃvega and saṃbhrama are used to indicate some urgency and urge in action.

It is interesting to note that both the grammatical derivation and the lexicon reference match exactly in this case.

 

Textual Occurrences

Yogasūtra

There is just one occurrence of the term in this text. It is as follows -

 

तीव्रसंवेगानामासन्नः 1.21

tīvrasaṃvegānāmāsannaḥ

Those with intense samvega – (the attainment of Samādhi) is quicker.

 

The word Samvega has been give the following meanings in the Saṃskṛta Yogasūtra commentaries. 

·       Bhojavṛttiḥ - क्रियाहेतुः दृढतरः संस्कारः

kriyāhetuḥ dṛḍhataraḥ saṃskāraḥ

That firm subliminal impression that impels into action

 

·       Bhāvagaṇeśavṛttiḥ - अनुष्ठाने श्रैष्ठ्यम्, अविच्छेदश्च 

anuṣṭhāne śraiṣṭhyam, avicchedaśca

Greatness in practice (of Yoga), unbroken continuity (of practice)

 

·       vārttikam - अतिशयेन उपायानुष्ठानम्

atiśayena upāyānuṣṭhānam

          Practice of the methods (of Yoga) in an intense manner

 

·       maṇiprabhā, yogasudhākāraḥ - वैराग्यम् vairāgyam

Dispassion

 

·       bhāsvatī - निरन्तरानुष्ठानम्, इच्च्छाप्राबल्यम्  

nirantarānuṣṭhānam, iccchāprābalyam

Constancy in practice and strong desire (to attain Samādhi)

 

Thus it could be seen that - Greatness/intensity in practice, continuous practice, being dispassionate (in things other than Yogic practices) and very strong desire – constitute the meaning of the term Samvega.

 

Bhagavadgītā & Haṭhayogapradīpikā

This term is not found in the text, But the spirit (intensity in practice etc) conveyed by the term is found in the both text – albeit in other terms.

 

  Tabulation of Textual References 11.3

Samvega	Yogasūtra 5 Reference	Bhagavadgītā &  Haṭhayogapradīpikā
	Chapter 1 Sūtra 21	No References

 

 

Observations

It could be noted that the term is a unique to Yogasūtras, not be found in the other two Yoga texts. Even in the Yogasūtras the term appears just once.

It is interesting to note that the aspects of practice that are conveyed by Samvega through the commentaries have been enlisted in the Yogasūtras themselves – in the Sūtra (1.14) –

स तु दीर्घकालनैरन्तर्यसत्कारासेवितो दृढभूमिः

sa tu dīrghakālanairantaryasatkārāsevito dṛḍhabhūmiḥ ....

It is also worth noting that – according to one commentator Samvega indicates vairāgya – which is one among the twin practices indicated earlier in the Sūtra 1.12  - अभ्यासवैराग्याभ्यां तन्निरोधः abhyāsavairāgyābhyāṃ tannirodhaḥ. Thus it could be stated that the term Samvega – incorporates in itself both abhyāsa and vairagya.

Thus it can be stated that in just one term – Samvega -  the essence of three Sūtras have been conveyed ((a) abhyasa (Sūtra 1.13) b) the qualities that make an abhyasa intense (Sūtra 1.14) c) Vairagya (Sūtra1.15)).

 Such is the uniqueness of the coinage that emerges from the study of the interoperations of the term Samvega in the Saṃskṛta commentaries.

This unique nature of the term comes to the fore only by approaching the term with the śabda-yoga methodology.

 

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