Verse 515

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

असतः प्रागसामर्थ्यात्सामार्थ्ये कार्यसंभवात् ।
कार्यकारणयोः स्पष्टं यौगपद्यं विरुध्यते ॥ ५१५ ॥

asataḥ prāgasāmarthyātsāmārthye kāryasaṃbhavāt |
kāryakāraṇayoḥ spaṣṭaṃ yaugapadyaṃ virudhyate || 515 ||

What did not exist could have no potency;—if the potency were there, the effect would surely be produced; hence simultaneity between cause and effect is clearly incongruous.—(515)

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

When the co-born Cause (i.e. the Cause that comes into existence along with its Effect) produces its Effect, it can do so either while it is itself unborn, or when it is itself born;—the former alternative cannot be right; as the Cause does not exist prior to the production of the Effect,—and as such, is devoid of all potentiality.—If it be said that—“It produces the effect when it is born, and then, being endowed with potentialities, it produces the Effect”,—the answer is—‘if the Potency were there, etc.’; i.e. if the Cause has its potency while it is in the state of having been born, then, like the character of the Cause, the Effect also would be already born; and under the circumstances, on what would the potency of the Cause operate?—Thus the doctrine that Cause and Effect are simultaneous is clearly contrary to the authority of Inference.—(515)