Rachana

Rachanā (Sanskrit: रचना) is derived from the root verb – रच् - meaning – to arrange, prepare, contrive, plan, or to form, make, effect, create, produce, or to write, compose, put together, or to place in or upon, fix on, adorn, decorate. Rachanā (रचनम् - ना = रचना) means – arrangement, preparation, disposition, formation, creation, production, performance, completion, array of troops, literary work, a creation of the mind, contrivance, invention e.g. chitra-rachana (drawing/painting), kāvya-rachana (poetic composition), anvaya-rachana (indeclinable/undistributable middle sentence construction).^[1]

Proponents of Advaita Vedanta use this term to refer to the composition or structure of Brahman; Shankara explains that Brahman cannot be described by any name or form, the mind cannot think about Its composition (rachana).^[2] Even Badarayana in his Brahma Sutras (Sutra II.ii.1) states :-

रचनाऽनुपपत्तेश्च नानुमानम् |

"The inferred one (pradhana) is not (the cause) owing to the impossibility of explaining the design, as also for other reasons."

Badarayana uses the word rachana to mean - 'design', he explains that on no account can the insentient pradhana create this universe, which cannot even be mentally conceived of by the intelligent (skilful persons, architects).^[3]

References

1. The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Digital Dictionaries of South Asia. p. 1324.
2. S.P.Chaube. Foundations of Education. Vikas Publishing. p. 219.
3. Brahma sutra Bhasya of Sankaracarya. Advaita Ashrama. p. 367.