Abhidharmakosakarika (I. 9-48)

In “Abhidharmakośakārikā (I. 9–48) with English Translation and Notes from Yaśomitra’s Commentary,” Prof. N. Aiyaswami Sastri offers a detailed exegesis of selected verses of Vasubandhu’s seminal Buddhist text. The Abhidharmakośa synthesises Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma doctrine, and Sastri translates verses 9–48, supplementing them with explanations drawn from Yaśomitra’s authoritative commentary. The section begins by defining matter (rūpa) as comprising the five sense faculties, their corresponding objects and an imperceptible element (avijñapti). Sastri clarifies that the term rūpa excludes mental factors and faith (śraddhā) despite their translucent nature; instead, it refers to physical faculties that serve as the basis for sensory consciousness. He discusses the Vaibhāṣika view that sense faculties are transformations of matter and notes the scriptural argument that they are supersensible yet inferred from their functions. The text proceeds to classify matter into different categories: twofold (colour and shape), twentyfold (four primary colours and eight types of figure plus additional colours), eightfold sound, six tastes, four odours and eleven tactile qualities. Sastri translates each verse and explains technical terms, such as how ‘colour’ includes varieties like blue, red, yellow, white and subtler shades, and how ‘sound’ is distinguished as produced by living beings or not, and as pleasant or unpleasant. He also analyses the Buddhist theory of sense objects, explaining how tactile objects encompass the four great elements and secondary tangible qualities. The notes draw on earlier Abhidharma texts like the Dharmasaṃgīti and Vibhaṣā to elucidate divergences among schools. Sastri comments on compounds and grammatical constructions to justify particular translations, providing insight into Sanskrit etymology and Buddhist hermeneutics. By presenting the original verses with interlinear commentary, the article serves both as a translation and a doctrinal study. It illuminates how early Buddhist philosophers systematically analysed the phenomenal world, categorised sensory experience and distinguished between intrinsic and acquired characteristics of matter. Sastri’s work thus contributes to our understanding of classical Abhidharma thought and offers English‑speaking scholars access to primary textual material enriched by traditional commentary.

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