Verse 90

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

येषु सत्सु भवद्दृष्टमसत्सु न कदाच ।
तस्यान्यहेतुताक्लृप्तावनवस्था कथं न ते ॥ ९० ॥

yeṣu satsu bhavaddṛṣṭamasatsu na kadāca |
tasyānyahetutāklṛptāvanavasthā kathaṃ na te || 90 ||

When you have seen that a certain thing exists only when certain other things exist, and never when these do not exist,—then, if you assume a cause for the former, other than these latter,—how can you avoid falling into an infinite regress?—(90)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

Further, even in the absence of Causes with perceptible efficiency, you postulate the causal character of God, whose efficiency is never perceived;—and this lands you in absurdities; because even after having assumed such a God, you might as well assume even such (absurd) things as the Ḍheṭkaṣaka and the like (?), as there would be no difference between such things and God.—This is what is shown in the following Text:—[see verse 90 above]

A ‘yat’ has to be added after ‘bhavaddṛṣṭam’, ‘seen by you’. If you assume a Cause other than these;—i.e. a Cause other than those whose efficiency has been perceived (by the positive and negative concomitance spoken of).—(90)