SUBTLE BODIES POSTULATED IN THE CLASSICAL SANKHYA SYSTEM
Summary
Classical Sāṅkhya posits two ultimate principles—Puruṣa (immutable, all-pervading soul) and Prakṛti (primordial matter). Since the Puruṣa cannot move or change, transmigration between gross bodies at death is mediated by a subtle body (sūkṣma-śarīra or liṅga-śarīra). Early authors like Īśvarakṛṣṇa used “sūkṣma-śarīra”; the term “liṅga-śarīra” became common after Vijñānabhikṣu (VB). The liṅga-śarīra is the experiencer of pleasure, pain, and karmic results, since these cannot be attributed directly to the soul or gross body. It is composed of buddhi (mahat), ahaṅkāra, manas, ten organs, and five tanmātras—seventeen or eighteen principles, though VB counts seventeen, excluding ahaṅkāra separately. It is atomic in size, imperishable until liberation, and migrates through successive gross bodies like an actor changing costumes, influenced by dharma and adharma. Comparisons with other commentators (Vācaspati Miśra, Gauḍapāda Bhāṣya, Māṭhara, Aniruddha) reveal interpretive differences in Sāṅkhya-kārikā (SK) 39–42 regarding whether liṅga denotes the subtle body, buddhi, or the “thirteenfold instrument.” VB’s distinctive view introduces two subtle bodies: Liṅga-śarīra – the cognitive, karmically driven vehicle of transmigration. Adhiṣṭhāna-śarīra – a supportive “vehicular” body made of the five mahābhūtas in subtle form, serving as a tabernacle for the liṅga-śarīra. VB bases this on Sāṅkhya-pravacana-sūtra 5.103, interpreting nīvṛttika as “vehicular.” This innovation aligns SK 39’s sūkṣmāḥ with the subtle mahābhūtas rather than tanmātras. The adhiṣṭhāna-śarīra, like the liṅga-śarīra, endures until liberation, when both dissolve into Prakṛti. The study concludes that VB’s dual subtle body model provides a more coherent reading of the relevant SK verses, avoiding inconsistencies in earlier commentaries and offering a logical framework for transmigration and embodiment in Sāṅkhya philosophy.
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Conclusion
The chapter concludes that Vijñānabhikṣu’s introduction of two distinct subtle bodies—liṅga-śarīra and adhiṣṭhāna-śarīra—offers a clearer and more consistent explanation of Sāṅkhya’s account of transmigration than earlier commentators. This dual-body model reconciles textual ambiguities in Sāṅkhya-kārikā 39–42, integrates the role of subtle mahābhūtas, and provides a logical basis for the soul’s continuity across births until liberation.