[Advaita-l] A reference to 'jIvAshritA avidyA'

[Anand Hudli]

Shri V Subrahmanian wrote:

>स्वेनैव कल्पिते देशे व्योम्नि यद्वद्घटादिकम् ।
>तथा जीवाश्रिताऽविद्यां मन्यन्ते ज्ञानकोविदाः ॥
>A pot for example, comes into being in the vast space and occupies a place
>even while containing (pot)space within it. In the same way the jiva comes
>into being and occupies a place in avidyA even while containing avidyA
>within itself.  Thus do the wise hold.

>Would anyone please provide the reference of the above verse/mantra?

Among the schools of advaita, the bhAmatI school has accepted the theory
that the locus of avidyA is the individual soul, jIva. VAcaspati says
in his bhAmatI (1.1.4), "na avidyA brahmAshrayA kiM tu jIve." The quote
is probably from a later work, since I have seen a similar shloka in
prakAshAnanda's Vedanta siddhAnta muktAvalI. amalAnanda, the author of
the vedAnta-kalpataru commentary on the bhAmatI, also has defended
vAcaspati's position. It is often pointed out that vAcaspati's position
is similar to that of maNDana mishra in his brahmasiddhi, where he says,
 "yattu kasya avidyeti, jIvAnAm iti brUmaH".

Anand