Verse 366

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

अथ क्रियानिषेधोऽयं भावं नैव करोति हि ।
तथाप्यहेतुता सिद्धा कर्तुर्हेतुत्वहानितः ॥ ३६६ ॥

atha kriyāniṣedho'yaṃ bhāvaṃ naiva karoti hi |
tathāpyahetutā siddhā karturhetutvahānitaḥ || 366 ||

If it be held that “what is meant by ‘destruction’ is the negation of effective action, and this does not bring about a positive entity”,—even so, it becomes established that what brings about the destruction cannot be its ‘cause—because it is devoid of the character of ‘cause’.—(366)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

If, for fear of this criticism, it be held that—“what is brought about by the Causes of ‘Destruction’ is Negation,—not in the form of ‘Preclusion’,—but in the form of the absolute negation.”—But here also, the ineffîcacy of the cause of ‘Destruction’ would be still clearer.

This is what is shown in the following—[see verse 366 above]

For instance, if ‘Destruction’ means the ‘negation absolute’—as in the expression ‘brings about Destruction, i.e. Negation’—the negative term would be related to the term denoting action, and the meaning would be that it does not bring about an entity (in the form of Action); and as this would be the denial or negation of Action, what it would imply is the fact of the ‘Cause of Destruction’ not being a ‘Cause’; for how can a thing devoid of action be a ‘cause’? So that nothing can be the Cause of Destruction.—(366)

In this connection, the Author proceeds to set forth those arguments in proof of Destruction having a Cause which have been propounded by Aviddhakarṇa:—[see verses 367-368 next]