Verse 56 (refutation of the Doctrine of ‘God’ or Theism)

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

तदत्रासिद्धता हेतोः प्रथमे साधने यतः ।
सन्निवेशो न योगाख्यः सिद्धो नावयवी तथा ॥ ५६ ॥

tadatrāsiddhatā hetoḥ prathame sādhane yataḥ |
sanniveśo na yogākhyaḥ siddho nāvayavī tathā || 56 ||

The first argument (propounded by the naiyāyika) is open to the fallacy of being ‘unproven, inadmissible’; because the existence of any such ‘arrangement’ as ‘conjunction’ is not proven, nor that of the ‘composite—(56)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

(B) Refutation of the Doctrine of ‘God’ (Theism).

The text now proceeds to supply the answer to the above arguments—[see verse 56 above]

In the arguments set forth (under Text 47) in the form ‘What is insentient cannot produce its effect without a controller’,—the Probans (‘because it is characterised by a peculiar arrangement of component parts’) is one which, without any valid objection, could be cited as proving the contrary of the Probandum (for proving which it has been put forward); and thus its presence in the contrary of the Probandum being suspected, it becomes ‘inconclusive’;—this is what the Text means.

Then again, the Probans that has been put forward in the first argument—‘Because it is characterised by a peculiar arrangement of its component parts’,—is ‘unproven’ and Inadmissible also. How this is so is explained in the next sentence—Because, etc.;—what is meant by the expression ‘arrangement of component parts’ is a particular kind of Conjunction; and the character of being characterised by this Conjunction is attributed to the substance called ‘Composite’; now both these,—the said Conjunction and also the Composite that it characterises,—are yet ‘unproven’, ‘unknown’ (to at least one of party to the Discussion, the Buddhist, who denies:both); hence the Probans cited is doubly ‘unproven Inadmissible—(56)

Question—“In what way are the two unproven?”

The Answer is supplied by the following Text:—[see verse 57 next]