Verse 42

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

अयःशलाकाकल्पा हि क्रमसङ्गतमूर्त्तयः ।
दृश्यन्ते व्यक्तयः सर्वाः कल्पनामिश्रितात्मिकाः ॥ ४२ ॥

ayaḥśalākākalpā hi kramasaṅgatamūrttayaḥ |
dṛśyante vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ kalpanāmiśritātmikāḥ || 42 ||

All ‘manifested things’ are found to be like iron-bars; as having their forms associated with an order of sequence and their essence mixed up with fancies.—(42)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

Question—“How is it known that the Manifest is not imbued with any single generic character?”

The answer is supplied in the following:—[see verse 42 above]

Just as bars made of Iron stand apart from each other,—so these ‘Manifested Entities’, as they appear in their own forms, are found to be diverse and separate, due to diversities of place, time, potencies, appearances and so forth; and they do not enter into each other’s essence (or constitution). This proves the multiplicity (of Manifested Entities).

In order to prove their non-eternality, it is added—Having their forms, etc. etc.;—the compound is to be analysed as—‘have their forms associated with—embraced, affected by—an order of sequence’.

Question—“If this is so, then how is it that Entities are conceived of as units,—in the form of ‘Earth’ and the like,—and also as lasting,—in such notions as ‘this is that same thing’?”

Answer—Their essence mixed, up with fancies; that is to say, the conception of ‘unity’ in regard to things is a ‘fancy’, a wrong assumption. This is going to be established later on, under the sections dealing with the doctrine of the ‘Perpetual Flux’,—(42)